My apologies to the Anderson Council, but the year 1968 comes to mind easily now, given the circumstances in our Glorious Union. Another assassination attempt, a Democratic Party in chaos, lines drawn along with guns throughout the nation, a convention coming up in Chicago...surely it must be time again for whatever it may be called that we do when we stop thinking and start shouting about good and evil.
We know how things turned out in 1968. It's hard not to think things will be worse this time around as to all appearances we're even more gullible than we were then. Not surprisingly, the media seems to participate and even delight in stirring the pot. It's promulgation of horror stories and blame is incessant. It's as if a Conspiracy Theory of Everything is being sought by everyone. The shooter in the most recent example of American assassination culture would in other circumstances be called crazy, and his possession of the mass murderers' weapon of choice explained away as unavoidable, but in these circumstances given his target will no doubt be blamed on his target's opponent or the Dark State at work to remove him.
The gluttons and hoarders who dominate our society thrive on chaos, as chaos breeds fear and when we fear we spend money, generally on things they sell. The legal climate is such that the regulation of what they sell will be more and more unrestricted. The power of the presidency is being increased by a remarkably detached Supreme Court, wrapped in scented cotton wool, members of which now spend too much of their time seeking handouts.
Stoicism provides some comfort, as it teaches us that a world increasingly outside of our control shouldn't disturb us unreasonably. But the bulk of us will be disturbed by what is to come, and being disturbed will want to disturb others if they can.
No comments:
Post a Comment