"THE NORM?"

The “norm” is a crock. It gives us a safe place and time to yearn for. The old days are gilded in our memory and represent status quo, a comfort zone if you will. A place where we have to think less, do less. In that respect, many would think we’ve arrived, as there doesn’t seem to be an abundance of productive thinking going on anywhere right now. The world of political domination has set forth two parties. In turn each sets forth unsubstantiated tales, charging the other based on their often outlandish fringes. Pick a team.

Virtually, no one hears an unbiased account of the issues. You can vote for the third party to, “make a statement.” Nevertheless, a ‘true patriot’ chooses a team, to live and die with. When you reach social media, much to everyone’s surprise you have not simply been swilling beer in retirement but have closely followed government swordplay for years. As each generation, quietly becomes compost, history interpretation is challenged. A faction of the mentally challenged cry, “the holocaust was a hoax.” “The Parkland school killings never happened.” All, with survivors of both, still with us to present their counterpoint to deaf ears. What the hell will the dialogue be one hundred years from now. I take great delight in denigrating opinions and observations of friends of many years, now on Facebook. The common thread is we never discuss politics in person or on the phone. However, lifelong friendships and/or romantic relationships including marriages have been forsaken over politics. One might suspect additional problems existed in a seventeen year marriage coming to a close with six bullets, resultant of wearing an R.B.G. t-shirt after being forewarned. (fiction but not far fetched) Virtually nothing is implausible at this point.

A team member shall dutifully adopt nearly all the values of the rest of the team and be silent of any they don’t. The right shall identify any leftists as ‘tree hugging, climate changer, gun haters and socialists.’ Conversely the left labels the enemy, ‘insecure, gun toting, war mongers, who feign concern for the unborn, only to subsequently kick them to the curb.’ Relatively few fit either description in its entirety. However, money talks and money is not as bountiful in the middle as it might be elsewhere, politically speaking.

As the saying goes, “haters will hate,” so it goes for worriers. Our present problems are a clear and present danger and those who joyfully fret themselves silly over whatever the trouble of the day is, will be happy to know their anguish will not subside anytime soon. For those who cavalierly proclaim, “it is my right not to wear a mask and if I die, it is my choice,” those rights do not include getting up a busload for the hereafter with Gramma and others not as steadfast to whatever the hell it is you’re devoted to.

Patients are actually arguing, “there is no covid,” as they take their last breath. I.C.U.s are bulging at the seams and people continue to attend ‘superspreaders.’ A degree of recklessness is an inherent trait of the young but willfully taking the chance of carrying a potential virus home to loved ones isn’t. My point being, the mesmerizing message emitted by the influencer(s) is accepted so easily because...my several hours spent in psychology 101, doesn’t allow me to theorize with any authority. My lifetime of interacting with fellow humans, allows me to guess, an ‘us vs them’ psychological need is being fulfilled.

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