A NUMB THREAD

 Are we becoming numb?


Why am I asking? You ask.


Typically, when I wake up in the A.M. I spend a few minutes looking to see if there are any interesting stories to post on my forum. If nothing catches my eye, I put it off till later in the day and try to think of a theme for a thread.


This morning: I started to scan the news headlines, and to be perfectly honest, I got numb.


Covid cases and deaths on the rise AGAIN. The fear of what will happen when the Republicans retake the House. Will they attempt to impeach Joe Biden? Jan. 6 commission. Possible, or probable, war in Ukraine. More and more environment disasters. 


Worse, what seems to me at least, more and more division. Anger at anti-vaxxers who are angry about vaccine mandates. Teachers angry about school openings and parents angry about school closings. Growing global threats from Russia, China, North Korea, Iran.


Indifference towards real action on climate. More and more people simply fed up, quitting their jobs, protesting anything and everything, cancel culture, what is being taught in schools, leaving the church in droves, family disputes over politics.


Worse, nothing but negativity in the news. CNN feeding the fear of election integrity. Fox feeding the fear of voter fraud. Every outlet prophesizing what will happen if war breaks out over Ukraine. 


Now for the worst part: even in my quaint home town, when I go out and about, I see drawn faces, bent heads, fed up looks. The days of cheerfulness seem to have gone. School where I live is in session. The cheerful laughter I used to hear from kids going to and fro has disappeared. They are strangely silent. I am NOT making this up. One notices this kind of thing. 


Because I am fully vaccinated, and my friends are, we have our weekly weekend coffee get together at a coffee shop that observes limited seating, and we do not sit shoulder to shoulder. Topics of discussion between us that used to be lively, and when it came to politics, spirited - are now mundane, we keep jumping from one topic to another because we have gotten bored with talking politics, Covid, world news. It's like ho hum, so our coffee visits have become shorter.


My biggest concern is not partisan politics, or pending wars. My biggest worry is the environment. YET, no one is talking about it. When was the last time you heard anything new about Greta? In fact, Novak Djokovic is more of a headline maker nowadays. GAWD!!


SO yeah, I am feeling numb. Then it hit me. MAYBE being numb is in itself a good subject of discussion. Or not? Maybe we are numb about feeling numb? OR MAYBE, YOU don't feel as numb as I do.


So the topic of the day is numbness. Do you feel it? Or is it just me?



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

That Uplifting Tweet You Just Shared? A Russian Troll Sent It

Image
Here’s what Russia’s 2020 disinformation operations look like, according to two experts on social media and propaganda. By   DARREN LINVILL   &   PATRICK WARREN Internet trolls don’t troll. Not the professionals at least. Professional trolls don’t go on social media to antagonize liberals or belittle conservatives. They are not narrow minded, drunk or angry. They don’t lack basic English language skills. They certainly aren’t  “somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds,”  as the president once put it. Your stereotypical trolls do exist on social media, but the amateurs aren’t a threat to Western democracy. Professional trolls, on the other hand, are the tip of the spear in the new digital, ideological battleground. To combat the threat they pose, we must first understand them — and take them seriously. MORE: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russia-troll-2020-election-interference-twitter-916482/ Posted by Jamie B.
Read more

The Nightmare Scenario That Keeps Election Lawyers Up At Night -- And Could Hand Trump A Second Term

Image
The Nightmare Scenario That Keeps Election Lawyers Up At Night -- And Could Hand Trump A Second Term   (Photo: Photos: Getty Images) Americans will almost certainly go to bed on Nov. 3 without knowing who won the presidential election. Since millions of people will vote by mail, constraints on time and resources will slow ballot counting into potentially a weeks-long process. Voting patterns suggest it’s likely that President  Donald Trump  could end Election Day in the lead in certain key states, only to be overtaken by Democratic opponent  Joe Biden  when more votes are tallied.  This could create a nightmare scenario during the three months stretching from Election Day to the Jan. 20 inauguration: a battle on the state and congressional level over who is the legitimate winner. This could include Congress reconvening on Jan. 6, presided over by Vice President  Mike Pence , with no consensus over its potential role in choosing the next president. This is arguably the most likely of th
Read more

Philosophical Question #14 – Lifestyle Choices

Image
Here is an interesting question in my list of philosophical questions: 1.) Should governments have penalties for those who live unhealthy lifestyles? A list of unhealthy lifestyles would include things like smoking, drinking, illegal drugs, prostitution, and other “vice” type activities. I guess the “government penalties” would be referring to monetary punishments, withholding medical treatments (insurance companies would love that), possibly imposing/regulating very high (exorbitant) prices on things considered unhealthy in order to cut down on their use, and other possibilities. 2.) Or, would you say that living an unhealthy lifestyle, likely resulting in a LOT of eventual personal pain and suffering, should be punishment enough for unhealthy lifestyles? When people make bad choices in life, often in their youth where ignorance and immediate gratification takes them over,  3.) Should a society be obligated to help "fix" them, by way of tax money?   Is that part of
Read more