We're just about a month in and increasingly, I am focused on one particular question; how much attention should I provide to Trump's day-to-day blatherings, bloviations, executive orders, and sinister acts, from the silly and ephemeral (the emancipation of the federal government's plastic straws) to the deadly and far-reaching (USAID horrors, the pardoning of the violent J6 traitors, the confirmation of so many despicable and dangerous cabinet members, and DOGE's ominous and illegal meddling), to name but a few! Where is the sane, sweet spot between dwelling too much, ushering in existential dread, and fulfilling one's civic obligation to be a vigilant, informed, patriotic American, ready to act where it's demanded. I do sense that part of Trump's daily firehouse of provocative falsehoods, his flooding the zone with shit, serves multiple purposes, and one is to derange and dispirit us. How do we refuse to become the hapless opposition that he would relish us to become? How do we continue to live as our best selves, not squandering our attention and lives, not having regrets related to how we dealt with these four years? I think we need to seize the best that humanity has offered up from the past and present. Check out what the stoics said about living in tough times, and Spinoza has wise, spine-straightening guidance, and Monty Python! Throw in some fiction that has stood the test of time with some insightful contemporary non-fiction. That's my current formula, but it's open to change. But you good people need to determine what fortifies you. What will stand as a bulwark against any regrets you may have accumulated when 2028 rolls around! Lastly, good cheer is readily available at this DBIS pub. It's always open, it's easy to get a seat at the bar, and, Dan, the proprietor is a solid gent who doesn't water down the drinks! And who knows, a legendary singer-songwriter has been known to pop in, and perhaps he'll even bring his guitar one of these days! Peter T.
Four Years of This!
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We're just about a month in and increasingly, I am focused on one particular question; how much attention should I provide to Trump's day-to-day blatherings, bloviations, executive orders, and sinister acts, from the silly and ephemeral (the emancipation of the federal government's plastic straws) to the deadly and far-reaching (USAID horrors, the pardoning of the violent J6 traitors, the confirmation of so many despicable and dangerous cabinet members, and DOGE's ominous and illegal meddling), to name but a few! Where is the sane, sweet spot between dwelling too much, ushering in existential dread, and fulfilling one's civic obligation to be a vigilant, informed, patriotic American, ready to act where it's demanded. I do sense that part of Trump's daily firehouse of provocative falsehoods, his flooding the zone with shit, serves multiple purposes, and one is to derange and dispirit us. How do we refuse to become the hapless opposition that he would relish us to become? How do we continue to live as our best selves, not squandering our attention and lives, not having regrets related to how we dealt with these four years? I think we need to seize the best that humanity has offered up from the past and present. Check out what the stoics said about living in tough times, and Spinoza has wise, spine-straightening guidance, and Monty Python! Throw in some fiction that has stood the test of time with some insightful contemporary non-fiction. That's my current formula, but it's open to change. But you good people need to determine what fortifies you. What will stand as a bulwark against any regrets you may have accumulated when 2028 rolls around! Lastly, good cheer is readily available at this DBIS pub. It's always open, it's easy to get a seat at the bar, and, Dan, the proprietor is a solid gent who doesn't water down the drinks! And who knows, a legendary singer-songwriter has been known to pop in, and perhaps he'll even bring his guitar one of these days! Peter T.
