I returned to Warren after six weeks in the south and west, with four weeks passed in the van traveling to National and State parks to hike and golf, and I also visited a friend in eastern California. After so much time off the grid I returned with a renewed aversion to the news and the superficial, simplistic soundbites of commentators and politicians; it saddened me to think that our leaders are chosen and important decisions are being made on such distorted, incomplete information. Being away from society for a month clarified the inanity of our culture-the exaggerations and sensationalizing and general 'dumbing down' of the complexities of human existence.
So while I was away the Ukraine war started and Omicron mostly came and went and I was blissfully unaware or only marginally aware while on the wide open desert roads through which I was driving. Ignorance is bliss so long as the troubles of the world are not directly affecting you, although sticking ones head in the sand does not really solve anything, and the world is too connected anyway to avoid for long.
Upon returning home it was obvious that the alternate realities of Republicans and Democrats had not changed, and there truly is no reconciling with those who believe the world is flat. People who sow division to obtain or maintain power, or people who are incapable of compromise, or people who are incapable of seeing holistic viewpoints-unfortunately, they hold disproportionate power in societies, with Mr. Putin being the latest example. I suspect that Mr. Putin had no incentive to invade Ukraine while Mr. Trump was in power because Mr. Trump was doing his best to dismantle NATO without violence; it would have been nice to be a fly on the wall during their two hour off the record meeting back in 2018. It was only the American constitution and a few key, morally and ethically motivated people who provided the checks and balances to prevent Mr. Trump from overriding the will of the people as is happening in Russia. ...Civilization and freedom really are that tenuous, even here, and many Americans have the same blindness and simplistic inability to see the implications of their grabs for power.
Meanwhile, people are blaming Mr. Biden for all their troubles, from inflation to gas prices to the Ukraine war as if they had no knowledge whatsoever of budgeting and personal choices and random fate. Have they not noticed all the twists and turns in their own lives that were beyond their control? Why on earth would they suppose that one man-or even one institution-can control all the thoughts and actions of the rest of humanity? Stop blaming others for the state of your personal life. Start using the freedom you possess to think critically and make better choices while you can. Your gas guzzling SUVs and pickup trucks and smart phone contracts and fancy nails and pizzas are not necessities, although one would be hard pressed to convince some of you otherwise. ..and on and on...obviously I did not miss this crap during my time in the van, but I am still sad that it is human nature and the state of our world.
