[Note: This post was meant for Biden’s scheduled “just before Labor Day weekend” speech. Everyone was wondering what crazy hail-Mary shit would come out of the drugged up dementia patient at the podium. The speech is over now and I haven’t heard it. What was it? An air strike on Baltimore? Mass executions of Deplorables? Concentration camps for Republicans who own trucks? Declaring chicken McNuggets a banned substance? The form of the destroyer will surely be at least a little funny.
I laugh because it doesn’t have to make sense or be constrained by logic. Biden greedily sniffed the hair of Nuremberg just a year ago. “Vaccine compliance or you’re fired.” Really? He picked a fight with half the nation. Smart people don’t pick fights with millions of people at a time. Cornpop was amusing fiction, gutting the workforce wasn’t.
I sought to offer words of hope. Alas the post took on a life of it’s own and I branched out to show the dark cold misery of the 1970’s. Carter’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day was darned near the same as right now. That’s how I know that stupid times aren’t necessarily forever.]
Did you notice? Was it pleasant? For most of the summer I’ve tried to keep my blog in a “lower politics than usual” mode. I’ve posted stories and essays about motorcycles and corn as much as I could. It’s not a perfect system. I think too much and fall off the wagon, but can you blame me? It’s not like one can tell a story in modern America without politics in the background. The self-inflicted decline of society is a canvas upon which we paint the true substance of our lives.
Comment: “I liked your story about going fishing in 1938 Germany but can you leave out the social unrest?”
Response: “Not in 1938 Germany.”
There’s good news though. The current chaos is not as “real” as it seems. Serial emergencies and wild swings in policy are precisely what happens when the people in charge are not in charge; particularly when they’re not in charge of themselves. Chaos isn’t an accident. Nor is it due to external forces. Shit goes wrong for everyone sometimes but when everything is going to hell all at once that’s how you know it’s self-inflicted. The universe doesn’t re-arrange itself to ruin a political theory; the theory was already shit and nobody else was dumb enough to try a shit theory. This cycle has happened before; at least three times in my meager lifetime. (There might be a fourth instant but I wasn’t paying attention so I won’t mention it.)
This is where age gives perspective unavailable to youth. I’ve watched this movie before. I made a point to remember as much as I could. That means I’ll never be quite so “hair on fire” as folks who think the world was born yesterday and it’ll end tomorrow. I endured once, I will endure again. I know this because I’m old-ish and not dead yet. Youth will someday see the other side and if they’re smart they’ll start thinking old-ish too… probably.
The advice is the same as always. Keep your wits about you. Take care with debt and other encumbrances (both fiscal and emotional). Cut lose those who would drive you mad or pull you down. Hold tight to those with whom you share a bond. Be kind to adults when you can and children all the time. Don’t lose your shit. Try to avoid dumb decisions. Know that you can’t avoid all mistakes but don’t get in the habit of maintaining bad paths. Let the lunatics flame out but don’t flame out yourself.
Buy canned goods.
Trite advice isn’t it? Well yes, it does seem trite but I’m not wrong. Do those things and you’ll be OK. Act well and you’ll be glad you kept your head on straight.
Now for the truly lost souls out there (especially youth) I offer a clue that will serve them well. If it sounds like a good idea now but it’ll make no sense when you’re old, don’t do it. Most living beings try to get old. You should to. Don’t listen to the stupid lyrics from the Rolling Stones… they got old too. Don’t screw up permanent shit when you’re 15 because it’s going to really suck when you’re old. Taking up smoking is stupid. A face tattoo is never a good idea. Doing weird shit to your face and body nudges you into a life where you’re perceived to be a thug or a moron. Unless you’re a shaman in Borneo don’t overdo the tattoos. Also, don’t cut off your dick. I really shouldn’t have to say it but now you’ve heard it. In fact, don’t cut off anything unless there’s a damn good reason for it. Don’t stick a horseshoe up your nose. Don’t drive your car into a wall. Don’t lick light sockets. Don’t knock up the wrong woman or get knocked up by a dipshit man. If you think you can’t tell the difference between man and woman, get your head of your ass. This is all basic shit.
Youth should endeavor to emerge as an adult with mind, body, and soul more or less intact. You should be free to pursue any path once you’ve started “adulting”. Try not to commit murder, star in a porn shoot, or scramble your brain. If you’re missing parts because you lopped them off… you chose badly.
That said, lunatics flaming out is nothing new. It’s only when they’re treated seriously that we even notice. Look at the person below. Before the internet would we know this person existed? Would we care? Before the internet would this person get in a car and drive clear to Washington just to scream? If an idiot screams and there’s nobody to post it on the internet did the scream matter? Does a scream ever matter?
Close association with this person will do no sane person any good. Sane people prefer to avoid idiots and maniacs.
Th image you just watched is what happens when a person publicly demonstrates their mental illness as part of a herd. God intended us to be more than herd animals. Do your part by not being a joyless zombie. Humans should be able to work together without becoming a hive mind that stampedes off a buffalo jump.
Remember what your mom said; “If everyone else jumped off a cliff would you?” In a time of decline it’s a serious question.
It’s 2022. You know the answer to the question. When everyone jumped off a cliff were you there with them? Don’t tell me your reasons. I don’t care. If you stampeded off the cliff, that’s on you. If you did something stupid, re-evaluate your choices and strive do better.
Stand on firm ground and hang tight.
More to come…
I didn’t watch the crazy people on the video but I do agree with the “buy canned goods” advice.
Beef stew, canned chili, canned vegies & fruit will keep for a long time, can be eaten out of the can, don’t cost that much and will live happily in a plastic tub in some out of the way spot until they are needed.
If you never need them it was not a lot of money lost.
Sage advice as is usually found here. Low intensity polyticks is a good thing…Honey Badger and homestead adventures are always in demand. I fear not enough youth peruse these pages just based on what I see around me in the Frozen Freakin’ North. There are a few youngsters (to me, anyone with a 4 as the first digit of their age is a youngster) who get it, but not many. I offer advice born of age, knowledge gained through experience, yet they just nod and smile patronizingly while they join the long line for overpriced bad coffee served by their peers with half a dozen letters after their name. They’ll figure it out someday…..or not.
Kids today live in (what looks like) a very different world from the one I grew up in. They seem to have no interest in how it was, they are assured that things will just get better as they are told so around the clock.
“You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink”.