Now

Updated November 6, 2024

Most of my thoughts, and those of most Americans, are about the election results and what they mean for the next four years. I’ve spent long enough trying to to understand the rationale and motivations of those who yearn to hit the national self-destruct button every chance they get. But I don’t think there’s any deeper understanding: the carelessness, bigotry, hatred, and stupidity is what it is. It exists regardless of who is in office, but it’ll be bad for the next four years. It’s going to be bad.

This isn’t my reasoned diagnosis, and it doesn’t create room for any prescription or antidote to get us out of here. It’s the result of giving up on narrative after trying so many different narratives. It’s exhaustion from trying to empathize and understand and finding that one of the things this movement has in common is a lack of empathy and understanding.

Personally my instincts are telling me to stay off of social media, listen to classical music and old audiobooks, and try to cope healthily.