My Brain just up and quit
It was thunk out.
My brain up and went on strike.
It had read all the articles, chugged thru the charts, pondered the pundits’ pontifications, and drafted a dozen partial blog posts—until the next better thought crowded in.
The result? I finished none of them. My brain had reached 120% of capacity and refused to think another useful thought.
So I revived an old LEGO kit.
I went to the movies and watched a political election that came with white robes, red cloaks, and clinking rosary beads: the choice of a new pope. [Conclave…highly recommended!]
I walked up to the Japanese Garden.
And now the final day of the 2024 election is upon us. Women are turning out in droves, which makes me feel more hopeful than I have in months. Trump will try to claim victory as the more rural (GOP-leaning) votes come in first, thus giving him fuel to claim “I WIN!” before the votes from the bigger (bluer) urban centers dribble in. This is how he spun his “stolen election” gambit in 2020, and has already set up the same narrative/plan for this election.
Of course, if he actually wins, he will call it a “PERFECT election.”
In the final weeks of our national agony, I ask myself, “WHO do these presidential candidates think we are—what kind of people? And what kind of America do they believe voters want?”
Planet A and Planet Z.
The candidates speak to us and about us voters as if we’re from two different planets.
Inhabitants of these two planets have certain deep values in common: We love our families and want the best for our children. We want jobs that pay enough that we can support them. We want safe stable housing. We want to be healthy and have access to good food and affordable health care. We want to be able to drink clean water, breathe fresh air, and have some free time to enjoy the gift of being alive. We want to feel safe in our communities.
The differences end here.
Planet A is teetering on the verge of chaos and total collapse. It is crawling with dark-skinned people from other shit-hole countries who want to steal our jobs, rape our wives and our children, and infect our lily-white gene pool with their mutant genes. On Planet A, we cannot trust scientists, journalists, or the government, because they lie to us, and the whole system is corrupt anyway. We’re the Good Guys. However, because our communities are crawling with Bad Guys, we strap on our guns in case we encounter one of those bad guys who also carries a gun. We cannot trust the public schools, because they indoctrinate our children with communist ideology, critical race theory and pornographic literature. We worry that our kid will come back from high school one afternoon and BLAM! without our permission they’ve given him or her a sex change operation. We get great pleasure in doing or saying things that “own the libs,” because it makes us feel less powerless. We feel incapable of dealing with the unfairness of our lives and the treachery that’s everywhere, so we put our trust in the one great leader who has promised that he alone can fix this mess. If the law must be broken, or he has to avenge those who’ve opposed him, so be it. They’re evil and deserve it.
Planet Z is optimistic, but not oblivious to its problems. Its inhabitants believe in progress, possibility, and in our ability to come up with creative solutions to our collective problems. We value education, science, a free press, and the freedom to make our own decisions about our bodies without government interference. We appreciate the gifts of a diverse society, even as we sometimes struggle to understand and accept others’ religious beliefs, political views and gender identities. We recognize that our capitalistic system has not floated all boats. As the system has lifted 1% of the population into stratospheric wealth, millions of us have been left behind, working three jobs just to pay the rent. We find this unacceptable and search for ways to make our society more equitable. We recognize the fragility of the planet that has sustained us thus far. We want to make sure that it is habitable for our children, grandchildren and beyond, so we’re willing to make some sacrifices for their future.
I cannot imagine choosing Planet A, when Planet Z gives us hope and agency. But, hey! if you prefer Planet A and that’s what wins, do not come whining to me when it turns out to be darker than you ever imagined.
PUT YOURSELF IN THE PATH OF BEAUTY
You can never have too much autumnal beauty. On my way home from the Japanese Garden I collected some fallen leaves and arranged them like so.
The stairs, leaving the Rose Garden. (Across the street from the Japanese Garden—how lucky am I!)
If you appreciate these newsletters, please share with your friends. And subscribe (it’s free!) Once election season is over I promise to return to lighter, more uplifting fare. Really. I’ve done it before and will do it again.
Thank you for the lovely fall foliage photos. The leaves are pretty much down here in WI.
Have faith in the women to overcome in this election. Hester in WI
Well said! Especially appreciated the acknowledgment of Planet Zer’s, "…even as we sometimes struggle to understand and accept others’ religious beliefs, political views and gender identities."
Respecting, Honoring, and Appreciating the differences among us Does Not come easily. But the willingness to be open to listen and speak with others, to express curiosity respectfully, to learn about their story, their struggles, then we can share our common humanity, and feel respected, connected, and secure.