ACHING FOR SIMPLER TIMES
Friday, February 12, 2021 – daily column #6666
In uncomplicated, slower-moving, times we knew where balance was, mid-point of that pendulum swinging, of trends, fads, and downright craziness. Most days, most of us could navigate to glide through. We got along without debate or discussion of much that matters much about how our communities run or how the world works.
Two things seem missing from the discourse, the media, and the noise …
Ethics matter, truth matters.
Planning, hard work and perseverance matter.
We are so well inter-connected that anyone having whim or twitch or lousy mood can bring their angst to the attention of vast numbers of people. Media, new and old, social and anti-social – complicit in this blizzard of truth, falsehood, near-truth, and outrageous invention. And why? Because we thirst for it. We’ve become insatiable – as if we were being conditioned, programmed, and trained like Pavlovian dogs.
I spent some time in front of the TV this week, watching the U.S. Senate Impeachment Trial of Donald Trump relating to the events of January 6, 2021.
As I a long-term politics junkie, I had to …
Norms of society have stretched so far in such short time; those who saw things as black and white, clear as a bell – are opposed by the who argue the opposite, that harmful free speech is not worthy of prosecution depending on who or where you are.
I imagine, if any citizen in any country did what Trump did that day, causing the results that day, the deaths that day, and the property damage too – they’d be locked up awaiting trial on charges for which they would surely be convicted.
I expect public opinion will one day reflect whether people believe justice was rendered or whether voters have short memories.
For some people, it doesn’t matter.
For some, little else does …
Reader feedback:
Some days are diamonds, some days are stones! R ead your column today and totally understand your comments. Even the very most positive people I know, (including me) are fighting a bit of depression and stress these days. The uncertainty, the lack of an obvious plan and the general malaise of the city and the country is really starting to impact on all of us. You can only tell yourself so often how lucky we are to live in this country etc., before you say “Okay enough of that.” For most of our lives, the best solution has been to call up a couple of friends, go out for some dinner and be buoyed up by the energy of the others. Right now that is almost impossible and the result is a slow but inexorable decline in our mental attitude. Anyway, chin up, stay warm. I always liked the expression “Everything works out in the end and if things are not working out, then obviously it is not the end.”, GB, Calgary, AB
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