All the Light We Cannot See
It was just the inspiration I needed to rant, I mean write, again. Thanks Anthony Doerr.
The mid term elections of 2022 sucked the wind out of my flimsy optimism-dependent sails.
I couldn’t imagine calmer heads would not prevail. Maybe not by much, but I held out hope we would not see our representative government held hostage by dimwitted, rhetorical bomb throwers whose sole concern — on a daily basis — was whether or not they could create enough of a spectacle to go viral.
Following those mid-term elections, reactionaries regained control of the House of Representatives and the only consolation prize for those of us who wish to leave the planet a tad bit better than the way we found it was — ‘it could have been worse’.
Historically, it should have been worse.
From an historical perspective, we dodged a goddamn bullet. The party of the incumbent president usually get shellacked in mid-term elections.
Yet the result plunged me into existential crisis. The word “hopeless” crossed my mind more than once.
I know I’ve written this before but it bears repeating — the internet, with all of its wonder, has also proved, beyond a reasonable doubt, that an enormous swath of humanity is callous, vapid, ignorant and without empathy. The promised Age of Information morphed into the Age of Misinformation, Disinformation and Propaganda.
You see, reactionaries oppose change. Reactionaries eye any kind of progress as suspect. Reactionaries yearn for the good old days which has always been a tantalizing fiction, and were only good old days for select groups.
Reactionaries believe children should be seen and not heard, and they certainly shouldn’t be questioning their gender. Black people should be happy with whatever station in life they occupy, and they surely shouldn’t be wanting a legitimate seat at the table. Meanwhile, in the mind of someone who’s a reactionary, women should remain shoeless and sequestered in the kitchen, and should never have been given their very own credit cards.
Ever heard of ‘tradwives’? No? You must not live on TikTok.
Reactionaries love the idea of tradwives. Because tradwives are women who can be tread upon.
In the fall of 2022 — post election — my ‘let’s look on the bright side attitude’ sails luffed even more realizing it wasn’t only pasty white, Neanderthal-like, deity-worshipping reactionaries but pro-insurrectionists running one branch of our government. Of course, one party consists of nothing other than pro-insurrectionists. There are exceptions but those exceptions — Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney, Adam Kinzinger, along with a hand full of others — have retired, will soon be retired or are so tired they can no longer be bothered to protest.
And just to be clear, anyone supporting the former dictator-in-waiting, in any fashion, should be considered a pro-insurrectionist that favors a reactionary agenda.
Reactionaries want your daughters to provide cannon fodder for future wars and consumers to buy our oligarchs and plutocrats’ latest, newest, shiniest gizmos. Reactionaries — like Samuel Alito, Supreme Court Justice and author of the Dobbs decision which eviscerated Roe v Wade — have real concerns for the “domestic supply of infants”. Samuel Alito may not have written those very words but by inserting them into the document — even as a footnote — he was stamping his seal of approval for that very sentiment.
Reactionaries want their kids separated from dark-skinned kids — thus they clamor for school vouchers — and their only solution to mass shootings would be to have ministers, teachers, doctors, nurses, pilots and store clerks (everybody, in other words) to carry firearms. There’s no longer a safe public space thanks to Americans’ obsession with guns and with our conservative lawmakers’ allegiance to graft and kickbacks instead of the safety of our country’s citizens.
Meanwhile, a significant portion of the media has let us down.
To be fair, it’s not entirely their fault. Only about a third of the population pay heed to the daily news. Everyone else can’t peel their eyeballs off TikTok.
I jest.
But, with so many of our fellow citizens checked out, the media has to cook up ways to generate clicks. So, the squeaky wheels of this world manufacture headlines and “breaking news” and never seem to pay for transgressing whatever societal mores still exist. The squeaky wheels in Congress waste everyone’s time concocting reasons to not act, or reasons to act badly. The squeaky wheels slapped with subpoenas squander the judicial system’s time and, when they are compelled to testify, they plead the Fifth. The squeaky wheels strewn across America that can be found in malls, WalMarts, Olive Gardens — well, virtually everywhere — make all of us embarrassed to be human. The louder they squeak the more likely they’ll earn the chance to be quoted, mentioned and followed as the least of their rewards.
It’s as if everyone tries to go over the top in order to win their 15 minutes of ephemeral fame. Nothing’s too shameful in the age of the internet.
Like the people I admire that have kept me going and spurred me to write through the last administration and then the COVID years, and like the character in All the Light We Cannot See who felt compelled to beat back the horrors of World War I by sending his voice out into the ether even though he had no reasonable expectation anyone was listening, I’m going to speak out again on the run up to the next election. I have no idea if anyone will read my words, but I hope my voice will reach someone, somewhere who would have otherwise acted differently.
Or — more likely — not acted at all.
Those writers and podcasters who have kept me sane over the last few years:
Jeff Tiedrich everyone is entitled to my own opinion
Jeff’s typically brief columns — about ALL of the dipshittery surrounding the Angry Yam and his legion of dipshits (ordinarily known as conservative Republicans) — are hysterical and he manages to generate something every day.
Heather Cox Richardson Letters From an American
A history professor who decided the day Benedict Donald took office that she would document everything meaningful politically that took place each day. It is not dry reading and she often provides historical perspective.
Allison Gill The Daily Beans — News. With Swearing
Allison worked in the former administration and was drummed out due to her skepticism about that administration’s true intentions. She brings analysis to the latest goings on around all the various court proceedings involving our tantrum-throwing former president — along with other newsworthy content — and she isn’t afraid to drop a few f-bombs when warranted.
Greatest PSA I’ve ever watched. Enjoy!
Didn’t read the book ‘all the light we cannot see’ but will turn the series into yrly., tradition for December ‘reflecting’ on the title as ‘all the light we didn’t see’ inspiring performances, I’ll also recommend the Atlantic article “why the last 10years of American life have been uniquely stupid’ by J Haite he uses the parable of ‘the Tower of Babel’ to highlight the dystopia of social media which will be with us for ‘awhile’
James, you make sense when so many others don't. Thanks for writing.