Not much is happening, and there’s a lot going on.

 

Not much is happening, and there’s a lot going on. 

This summer, we’ve set records (well, if we kept records) for time at home, meals cooked, dishes washed, hours of exercise, fewest airline flights.  On the surface, we live a simple and pleasant life.  Allyson goes to the home office and works full days.  We try to distinguish workdays by doing things on weekends.   

Weekends have found us at the Oregon Coast a couple of times, in the forest a couple of times, wildlife refuges, and on country drives in wine country, (non-grape) fruit country, and elsewhere.  And now, we even have Blazer playoff basketball, at least for this weekend. 

Despite COVID-19, we are in good shape and would be pretty happy.  We even have a new great niece to celebrate! However, our spirits suffer from that heavy blanket of Trump working to destroy that which had separated the United States from the rabble for a century or two.  With trepidation, I scan the news for the outrage du jour.

This weekend, for the purpose of suppressing mail-in voting, he is removing mailboxes in violation of the law plus stoking race-baiting fires with attacks on Kamala Harris.  Polarizing people, whether a jury or the electorate, is a strategy.  Force people to choose sides.  Republicans have done it for years.  For a time, it was ballot measures against gays to bring out right-wing voters.  But that tide turned. 

So, Trump and his allies return to racism, a tried and true appeal for centuries.  I only hope that, like the anti-gay message, it will backfire this time around.  In the meantime, it is not surprising that people who do not have the bully pulpit of the Presidency do what they can to get attention to fight against racism, which, in turn Trump used as an excuse to deploy unidentified federal employees or mercenaries in full military gear to suppress protests.  Still other times, Trump offends and hurts us by directing millions to friends and supporters either in direct cash payments or by destroying our natural environmental heritage, and other ways too many to enumerate. 

I expect a constitutional crises this year. The question will be, are we modeling 1933 Germany or will enough people do what is necessary, will the judiciary do what is necessary, and will the military do what is necessary to maintain rule of law short of armed conflict. 

“Go Blazers!” seems a bit small with all that’s going on. 

Summer 2020.

Dinner guests feel seditious and perilous, despite the outdoor air, six feet of separation, assigned bathrooms, and individual, Cloroxed carafes.  Did I lean in too far?  I know I touched something he touched.  I hope they were not diseased.  If they were healthy, then all the precautions seem silly and superstitious.  Will today’s discussions and techniques go down in history alongside animal dung ointments, bloodletting, and trepanation?

Welcome to Summer 2020:  

BLM Protests continue

Race and revolution.  Economic uncertainty.  How will college footballers pursue their dreams?  Will sports steal eyeballs and momentum from the push to acknowledge and address racism?  Or do sports advance the cause of equality? Even after recent murders, why are white cops drawing guns on Black teenagers because teenagers act like teenagers?  I no longer want to make constructive use of lockdown time, which, for me, began in January when I returned home from surgery. The silver linings of the first couple months of pandemic lockdown now feel like lead. While I enjoy isolation in wilderness settings, I dislike thinking of people as disease vectors to avoid.  I’d rather slip into crowded restaurants and concerts and breathe the air of people living life.  But, I won’t. I'll keep trying to see this as an opportunity for society and myself. 

We live our altered lives.  The pleasures are more simple.  We grow and learn with the rest of our cohorts. Thankfully, we remain in the “doing well” category, with no loved ones stricken by Corona Virus Disease - 2019.

Almost Solstice - 6-19-2020