If you're dying in June 2022

 OK, here is another emotional post!

I have been seeing my physical therapist off and on for two years now, my body has been through so much, parts of me stop working. She sees me go through good and really bad days. On Monday she asked me "So, if you have stage four cancer, and there is no cure, why are you doing chemotherapy?" I had to come up with an answer fast.... because she asked me a question. I said "I didn't want to die."

Nothing can prepare you for a question like that. And three days later it is taking up a lot of real estate in my mind. Why am I trying to stay alive? Why don't I just quit chemotherapy and live what life I have left? Some one asked if I knew what the difference is between palliative care and hospice. Yes, I do. Palliative care manages my disease. Hospice care manages my death. I don't feel like dying most days. Is that enough? 

I want to see my granddaughter graduate from high school and maybe from college. I want to be with my son and my husband as long as I can. I would like to enjoy what life I have left with my friends and family.

I can hope for a cure, if I buy some more time.

I belong to a closed Facebook group for metastatic cancer and I poster that on line and I got some wonderful responses.

Thoughts on procrastination: Remind yourself that it’s better to try and fail than not to try at all. “At the end of life, during the final days, people do not regret what they did but what they didn’t,” says Ludwig. “Trying but not focusing on the results can help you decrease the emotions around risk of failure. The result isn’t important. What’s important is to try something new.”

Overwhelmed and Emotional 2021

 I have been working on self improvement for probably 30 years now. I like integrating new ideas and information with my current schemas. For those of you who don't know about your schemas, here is a simple explanation.

A schema is a cognitive framework or concept that helps organize and interpret information. Schemas can be useful because they allow us to take shortcuts in interpreting the vast amount of information that is available in our environment.

However, these mental frameworks also cause us to exclude pertinent information to focus instead only on things that confirm our pre-existing beliefs and ideas. Schemas can contribute to stereotypes and make it difficult to retain new information that does not conform to our established ideas about the world. 

 

From: www.verywellmind.com

I learned quite a few years ago that "I" am a figment of my own imagination. I really enjoyed watching the National Geographic television show called "Brain Games". This show really explores how your brain plays tricks on a person. 

I recently found an article that supports the idea that I am a figment of my own imagination, "it turns out that identity is often not a truthful representation of who we are anyway – even if we have an intact memory. Research shows that we don't access and use all available memories when creating personal narratives. It is becoming increasingly clear that, at any given moment, we unawarely tend to choose and pick what to remember. When we create personal narratives, we rely on a psychological screening mechanism, dubbed the monitoring system, which labels certain mental concepts as memories, but not others. Concepts that are rather vivid and rich in detail and emotion – episodes we can re-experience – are more likely to be marked as memories. These then pass a “plausibility test” carried out by a similar monitoring system which tells whether the events fit within the general personal history. For example, if we remember flying unaided in vivid detail, we know straight away that it cannot be real". From: theconversation.com

Another interesting article was about trauma and transformation. This article talks about "people who go through intense trauma and become deeper and stronger than they were before. They may even undergo a sudden and radical transformation that makes life more meaningful and  fulfilling". Intense traumatic events,...include bereavement, serious illness, accidents or divorce. Over time, they may feel a new sense of inner strength and confidence and gratitude for life and other people". I would also include disenfranchised grief under traumatic events, any loss that impacts your life should be classified as a traumatic event.

From: theconversation.com

I found another noteworthy article about feeling overwhelmed by current events. "Ever had the feeling that you can’t make sense of what’s happening? One moment everything seems normal, then suddenly the frame shifts to reveal a world on fire, struggling with a pandemic, recession, climate change, and political upheaval. That is called “zozobra,” the peculiar form of anxiety that comes from being unable to settle into a single point of view, leaving you with questions like: Is it a lovely autumn day, or an alarming moment of converging historical catastrophes?...As scholars of this phenomenon, we have noted how zozobra has spread in U.S. society in recent years, and we believe the insight of Mexican philosophers can be helpful to Americans during these tumultuous times." I have been feeling this way for the last ten years or so. I was very glad that someone put this in perspective for me. This allowed me to build a new schema for the anxiety of being overwhelmed! In philosopher Jorge Portilla's (1919−1963) book, The Disintegration of Community, he makes a point that this state of mind has spiritual components.

From: theconversation.com

 

 

 

 

Mindfulness Body Scan

 Richard Sears Insight Website

Queen Elizabeth Quay Bridge

 This is just an amazing bridge!

Here are the plans

 Pictures from © Nick Birmingham

August 2022 CT Scan

OK, fear is not my favorite emotion. I keep thinking during a panic attack that I'm as scared as I can ever be.... until I'm more afraid. Afraid to the point of screaming and not being able to breathe or control myself in any way. I'm am so scared, so afraid, I have a lot of support with me, I just don't have the technique down to unwind from a panic attack.

 

I remember now that a few months ago I couldn't lay down to get a CT scan and figured out I could use my cpap machine to successfully lay down in the CT bed. I had a really bad panic attack in the CT scanner on Wednesday night and I did not remember using the cpap before. I just can't seem to remember everything all the time, especially when I am so afraid.

 

 

 

• Toolbox:
• Talk to Brenda, Jim, Carolyn and Margaret (personal connections)
  
• Validate it, of course I'm afraid of dying when I can't breathe
  
• Don't fight it, breathe into it, be the water
  
• Deanna, Maribeth, Elaine, Vicky Rye, Dolly Keller, Val Phillips, Judith Inskip, Carl and Shaun. (church connections)
  
• Meditation rock, guided imagery

 

 

My Idea of "my" forest

 

My Fear

I had a bad night Tuesday night.  I felt the need to call my son to take me to the ER. On Thursday I was able to relate the fear that I felt and what it did to me. on the way home, pain was also in with the fear. I'm so confused... why am I scared to death (and I mean I'm scared out of my wits) when I can't breathe?

I am afraid ALL the time; that I won't be able to breathe, that I'm going to die right now (right this second),  that I won't be able to drive, that I won't be able to pay my bills with my non-existent pay check, or that I won't be able to tolerate my pain. My normal level of stress is "fear". I am hardly ever comfortable about my situation.

Now for the positive; I don't take my Christmas lights or tree down, they are up all year and I love them, my library is in the works finally, and I am SO grateful for that. I am grateful for my dedicated fur babies, especially Boots who cuddles with me ALL the time. There are times I don't move because she is sleeping next to me!

My therapist ask me what my fear looked like on Tuesday. I found a good picture for my fear.

More later...

Be Kind to Yourself

Learn to be non-judgemental with yourself. I do not judge other people, but my goodness do I ever lay down the letter of the law to myself. I feel like I'm being irresponsible by not getting important things done. And I only have three things on my "critical" to do list. My living will, both our wills, and my celebration of life. Of those three things that I feel like I must do, only my celebration of life has been roughly sketched out. However, I am doing more harm than good by being so unyielding with myself and my "to do list".

I am exhausted! How can thinking about what is going on in my brain be SO tiring?? I need a nap!! I am giving myself permission to take a nap!

NON-JUDGING
Learn to be an impartial witness to your experiences. Just observe it, and step back from it.

PATIENCE
Develop the patience to let things unfold in their own time. 

BEGINNERS MIND
Be receptive to new and unique possibilities.

TRUST
Honor your feelings and your intuition, and trust others to help you on your journey.

NON-STRIVING
Meditate. Be yourself. Do not introduce the idea that you are NOT OK right now, only express positive thoughts. Pay attention to what is happening right now.

ACCEPTANCE
See things as they are in the present moment. Do not waste energy in denying and resisting what is already a fact! Accept what is happening this moment.

LETTING-GO
Or letting things be. There are situations that our mind wants to hold on to, and situations that we want to protect ourselves from having. Learn to let things be without holding on or pushing away.

 

Broken Crayons

 Even broken crayons still color!

When I think back to kindergarten, there were entire boxes full of broken crayons. They would snap, break when pressed down too hard. They would be left on the floor, stepped on, and broken in two, yet not broken enough to throw away. We would scoop them up at the end of the day and place them back in the boxes along with the intact ones. They would be used to color, just the same as if they were whole.

But they weren’t.

Trying to color with broken crayons isn’t the same. They are often shorter than the others, with weird jagged edges that make it hard to color in small spaces. They flake and the wrapping paper has to be torn down the longer you use them.I can remember picking through the boxes to find the color of crayon that I needed, pushing aside the broken ones.

 

Even as a child I realized no one wanted to use the broken ones.

 

Trauma changes us, just like how a broken crayon doesn’t quite work the same way as an unbroken one, we are not the same person after we endure trauma. The person that we were before it happened is no longer there.

We were once whole and intact, like a crayon fresh from the box. But going through a trauma, any kind of trauma takes a toll on who we are as a person. It changes everything we know about others and ourselves. We are scare, scared of some trama happening again, scared that we can’t move past it. Remembering the trauma, reliving it, chips away at us. We become a shadow of who we once were, fractured and sometimes even broken.

Trauma does not define us, but it does affect who we are.

It seeps into the core of our being the way water seeps into the sand when the waves crash into the shore. It molds our insides and sometimes even our outsides.

We Are Not Less, Only Different

I don’t know what kind of woman I would have become if I hadn’t been forced to endure the traumas this life has handed me. Perhaps my anxiety wouldn’t turn my world upside down on occasion.
It’s ignorant to think that the negative events imposed on us don’t affect who we are as people today. Whether we want to admit it or not, what happens to us changes certain aspects of our lives.

I don’t want to say that I’m worse off then I would have been. Of course, I would have never wanted to face any of these difficult things that I have, but in a way, they have made me into a different person than I used to be. Just like the broken crayons, we are still who we are, we are just different now. Maybe our confidence is shaken and we are more guarded. But that only makes us different, not less. We are still people. We are still human.

 

There is another quote that floats around the internet like the quote about broken crayons. It’s about an ancient Japanese art of fixing pottery with lacquer and gold called Kintsugi. The meaning is that what is broken can be repaired and it is a part of the object’s history. The Japanese don’t throw the bowl out, but instead repair it in a way that makes it more beautiful, seeing no reason to disguise that it was broken. Instead, the break is highlighted, with gorgeous metals that make it shine, embracing the imperfection.

I think of the art of Kintsugi as a part of the healing process. Like a bowl that is dropped and broken, we will never be exactly what we were before enduring trauma. The cracks are there, but they can be mended. Not only can they be mended but they can be made into something more beautiful than they were before.

We will never be exactly the same, but we do not have to let our trauma define who we are.

Finding a way to cope and heal, whether it be through therapy or journaling, reaching out to friends or turning inward and bettering ourselves, there are ways to heal. After Trauma, You Must Heal, not healing will hold you back.

medium.com

 

Be the water!

I was asked to think about "being like water" in my reaction to situations or circumstances in my life. I decided that water is powerful but not necessarily strong. 

I am often told how strong I am, or told to "keep being strong", and I think there is a difference between being strong and being powerful. People are often said to be strong; Rosie the Riveter is an example of strength. I relate people to being "strong", however I can think of water or other things in nature as being powerful and yet not necessarily strong. So, something can be powerful like water and air, movable and soft, yet powerful.

Water can turn stone into sand and a river carved out the Grand Canyon. Tree roots can turn mountains into gravel over time. The ocean is powerful, yet you can touch the soft water. Things that are powerful, exert power, while things that are strong hold fast and don't "move". Being strong, to me, means an unmovable object that is standing up against the circumstances of life coming at me like an unstoppable force. Cancer, health problems, family dramas, and death, to name a few. The goal is to be flexible, capable of being flexed, bent, bowed, twisted, or moved without breaking; to be pliable; not stiff or brittle. 

Don't try to be the unmovable object, be the water!!

A note from 2001:

 

I will persist until I succeed!

I will not admit defeat!

Rain drops can wash away entire mountain....

Ants can devour a tiger....

Slaves built the pyramids....

The ax fells the mighty oak.... 

I will build my castle one brick at a time!!!

 

Sometimes....

 Sometimes you just have to leave something undone....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I am no alone in thinking about things this way!

the-art-of-leaving-things-undone

This is why leaving things undone is an art, spiritual practice or a discipline. If we can accept that things unravel and break down; that projects may remain unfinished and unstarted; that we lose our jobs or our loves or our health, then we can better accept life itself and find inner peace and joy.

Pearls

 Unlike gemstones that are mined from the earth, a living organism produces a pearl and, in fact, their very existence is a freak of nature. A pearl is formed when an irritant, such as a parasite or piece of shell, becomes accidentally lodged in an oyster's soft inner body, causing it to secrete a crystalline substance called nacre, which builds up around the irritant in layers until a pearl is formed. Cultured pearls are formed through the same process, the only difference being that the irritant is implanted in the oyster rather than entering it by chance.

From:  http://www.thejewelleryeditor.com/jewellery/article/history-of-pearls-pearl-jewellery-rings-earrings-necklaces/

The Infinite Bridge

The Infinite Bridge in Aarhus, Denmark © Kosmaj/Shutterstoc A bridge comes full circle If residents of Aarhus, Denmark's second-largest city, feel like they're going around in circles, then it might have something to do with this wooden walkway. The Infinite Bridge, or 'Den Uendelige Bro' to locals, is about 200 feet in diameter. It forms a perfect circle overlapping the sand and sea, offering sweeping views across Aarhus Bay and along the tree-lined beach. Designed by Danish architects Niels Povlsgaard and Johan Gjødes, it was originally constructed as a temporary display in 2015 for the city's Sculpture by the Sea exhibition. But the never-ending pier proved so popular, the city now opens the bridge to circular meandering each spring and summer. From: peapix.com

Schrodinger's Cat

This is from 100 years ago.... are we really moving forward??
The physicist Pascual Jordan, who worked with quantum guru Niels Bohr in Copenhagen in the 1920s, put it like this: "observations not only disturb what has to be measured, they produce it… We compel [a quantum particle] to assume a definite position." In other words, Jordan said, "we ourselves produce the results of measurements."

Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment, sometimes described as a paradox, devised by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935, though the idea originated from Albert Einstein. It illustrates what he saw as the problem of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics applied to everyday objects.

The human mind and quantum physics

This is from an old post by Philip Ball, 16 February 2017. Almost three years.
But I think the article makes some valid points

Beginning of post:
The American physicist Richard Feynman said this about the notorious puzzles and paradoxes of quantum mechanics, the theory physicists use to describe the tiniest objects in the Universe. But he might as well have been talking about the equally knotty problem of consciousness.

Some scientists think we already understand what consciousness is, or that it is a mere illusion. But many others feel we have not grasped where consciousness comes from at all.

For one thing, the mind seemed, to the great discomfort of physicists, to force its way into early quantum theory. What's more, quantum computers are predicted to be capable of accomplishing things ordinary computers cannot, which reminds us of how our brains can achieve things that are still beyond artificial intelligence. "Quantum consciousness" is widely derided as mystical woo, but it just will not go away.

Quantum mechanics is the best theory we have for describing the world at the nuts-and-bolts level of atoms and subatomic particles. Perhaps the most renowned of its mysteries is the fact that the outcome of a quantum experiment can change depending on whether or not we choose to measure some property of the particles involved.

When this "observer effect" was first noticed by the early pioneers of quantum theory, they were deeply troubled. It seemed to undermine the basic assumption behind all science: that there is an objective world out there, irrespective of us. If the way the world behaves depends on how – or if – we look at it, what can "reality" really mean?

Today some physicists suspect that, whether or not consciousness influences quantum mechanics, it might in fact arise because of it. They think that quantum theory might be needed to fully understand how the brain works.

Might it be that, just as quantum objects can apparently be in two places at once, so a quantum brain can hold onto two mutually-exclusive ideas at the same time?

These ideas are speculative, and it may turn out that quantum physics has no fundamental role either for or in the workings of the mind. But if nothing else, these possibilities show just how strangely quantum theory forces us to think.

From: http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170215-the-strange-link-between-the-human-mind-and-quantum-physics

None of us get out of being human alive!

It looks like it's been a LONG time since I have added to my Blogger posts.
It has been a rough year!! I got sick in 2018 and sicker in 2019. I have been diagnosed with Metastatic Breast Cancer, they say I have two to five years. It has almost been a year already and I am no where nearer being ready to go than I was in February this year.
Any way, I am trying to sort through my papers and belongings so my kids and my husband don't have to when I am gone.
Peace be with you all!

THE MAN IN THE ARENA

Excerpt from the speech "Citizenship In A Republic
delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910
                                       

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. 

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.


http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/trsorbonnespeech.html

Pecha Kucha

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

•     What is PechaKucha 20x20?

    PechaKucha 20x20 is a simple presentation format where you show 20 images, each for 20 seconds. The images advance automatically and you talk along to the images.

•     Who invented the format?

    The presentation format was devised by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham of Klein Dytham architecture. The first PechaKucha Night was held in Tokyo in their gallery/lounge/bar/club/creative kitchen, SuperDeluxe, in February, 2003. Klein Dytham architecture still organize and support the global PechaKucha Night network and organize PechaKucha Night Tokyo.

•     Why invent this format?

    Because architects talk too much! Give a microphone and some images to an architect -- or most creative people for that matter -- and they'll go on forever! Give PowerPoint to anyone else and they have the same problem.

•     What are PechaKucha Nights?

    PechaKucha Nights are informal and fun gatherings where creative people get together and share their ideas, works, thoughts, holiday snaps -- just about anything, really -- in the PechaKucha 20x20 format. Every PechaKucha Night city is hosted by a local organiser, who has an annual Handshake Agreement with PechaKucha HQ to run their event series. This ensures that each PechaKucha Night is relevant to their city- and can create a unique platform to uncover that city's creativity.

•     Why have PechaKucha Nights gone viral globally?

    With PechaKucha Nights now happening in over 900 cities around the world, we have discovered that most cities -- not just Tokyo -- have virtually no public spaces where people can show and share their work in a relaxed way. If you have just graduated from college and finished your first project in the real world, where can you show it? It probably won't get into a magazine, and you don't have enough photos for a gallery show or a lecture, but PechaKucha is the perfect platform to show and share your work.

•     Where are PechaKucha Nights held?

    PechaKucha Nights are mostly held in fun spaces with a bar, similar to the home of PechaKucha Night, SuperDeluxe, which is a space for “thinking and drinking.” To date, PechaKucha Nights have been held in bars, restaurants, clubs, beer gardens, homes, studios, universities, churches, prisons (disused), beaches, swimming pools, even a quarry!

•     Who can present?

    Anyone can present -- this is the beauty of PechaKucha Nights. Astrid's daughter presented when she was 5 (about her artwork) and Mark's mother presented when she was 69 (about her elaborate wedding cake creations).

•     What can people present?

    The key to a great presentation is to present something you love. Most people use PechaKucha Night to present their latest creative projects or work. Some people share their passion and show their prized collection of Nana Mouskouri records, while others share photos of their latest visit to a construction site or their recent holiday snaps. We always recommend people go and see a PechaKucha Night before they ask to present to get a good feel for what it's all about.

•     What makes a good PechaKucha?

    Good PechaKucha presentations are the ones that uncover the unexpected -- unexpected talent, unexpected ideas. Some PechaKuchas tell great stories about a project or a trip. Some are incredibly personal, some are incredibly funny, but all are very different, and they turn each PechaKucha Night into “a box of chocolates.”

•     What if I'm not able to attend a PechaKucha Night?

    If you're in an area with no regular PechaKucha Night series, or if you’d just like to get a feel for what people are presenting around the world, then you can go to the Presentations section of this site, and watch presentation from PKNs worldwide.

•     Who runs PechaKucha Nights?

    Each PechaKucha Night is run by a city organizer. They are more like stewards, who look after the PechaKucha spirit in each city. All PKN organizers must have a regular day job and they run PechaKucha Nights only for the inspiration, love, and fun of it. They mostly come from the creative fields. The PKN organizer is usually supported by a big team of volunteers -- when it comes to putting on a PechaKucha Night, the more helping hands the better. The global PechaKucha network is organized and supported by Klein Dytham architecture.

•     How can I run a PechaKucha Night?

    We have never asked anyone to run a PechaKucha Night, people ask us. We only planned this as a one-off event, but then people asked us to run it again -- and again - and we were 3 years and 30 events into it, just in Tokyo, before people started thinking it would be cool to have one in their city. Check to see if there is one in your city first. If not, and you think you have what it takes to run one in your city, you can get in touch for more details.

•     What’s a PechaKucha Night handshake agreement?

    We have a very simple “handshake” agreement with each city, mostly to ensure there is only one event series per city and that people are not treading on one another's toes or pulling the rug out from under their feet. PechaKucha Nights take quite a bit of organizing, and the more networks the better so we think it is better for cities to focus on one event. We run an event every month in Tokyo, and believe us, it is quite an undertaking! The “handshake” agreements are free, and renewed each year. Cities must organize a minimum of 4 events a year to qualify as an active city.

•     Why is PechaKucha Night trademarked?

    PechaKucha Night is trademarked to protect all the effort and hard work of our PKN city organizers and network. PechaKucha Night is for CONTENT and not profit.

•     Who pays to support the network?

    PechaKucha was devised and shared by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham, and their office Klein Dytham architecture has supported the movement and global network for the past 9 years, covering all costs for staff and web development. We are currently looking at different ways to keep the project sustainable and viable going forward as the network expands.

•     Can I use the PechaKucha 20x20 format at school or in the office?

    Yes, it is a great format for project reviews and presentations in the classroom or for internal meetings in offices. In these private situations, you are free to use the format. However, if you want to use the PechaKucha 20x20 name or format in the context of something that is open to the public or publicized, we ask that you get in touch for more details.

•     Is PechaKucha Night like TED?

    Many people have said, “Oh, so you're like a local TED!” This is a very nice compliment, but not quite right. TED is brilliant, but very different from PechaKucha. TED is top down, PechaKucha is bottom up! Deanne the hooper, Astrid’s husband, or Mark’s young son might have had a tough time getting into the presentation lineup at TED, but they had some wonderful stories to share at PechaKucha Night.

•     Was PechaKucha the first format like this?

    That's a good question. We have all heard of elevator pitches, a presentation so short you could pitch it to someone in an elevator. 20 seconds x 20 images is a bit longer than that, but the idea is the same: short, concise presentations. As far as we know, PechaKucha was the first to put a limit on the number of images and number of seconds -- and the all important auto-forward. There’s no “next slide” or “go back one, please” at PechaKucha Nights.

•     Is PechaKucha Night a social network?

    We believe there is nothing social about online social networks, so get out from behind your screen and get to a live event, with real people, real communication, real beer, and real creative fun. So in a sense, we are in fact a “real” social network.

DEVISED, SHARED & SUPPORTED by
KLEIN DYTHAM ARCHITECTURE
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

From: http://www.pechakucha.org/faq

What is Oath?

So Verizon owns AOL and now it bought Yahoo!

And now Verizon is selling it all to Apollo!

https://www.cnbc.com News

 

Verizon recently completed its $4.4 billion acquisition of Internet pioneer AOL. The deal comes 15 years after the company joined forces with Time Warner in 2000, which is widely considered one of the biggest business flops in U.S. corporate history.

According to Fortune, Verizon is a telecom giant.  It is at #15 on the Fortune 500.

Verizon has 108.6 billion mobile connections.

While AOL may be most known for its dial-up services and growing content empire —which includes The Huffington Post, Engadget and TechCrunch—it also has put together a sophisticated suite of advertising technologies for online and traditional media that no other company (aside from Google and Facebook) can match.

AOL’s platform is particularly strong in video advertising—which CommScore says reaches more than 50% of the U.S. population. The Internet company's successful digital platform will also coincidentally assist Verizon's plans to launch its own Internet TV service, which it announced this year after buying Intel’s media assets in 2014 and video delivery network EdgeCast in 2013.


 After Verizon scoops up Yahoo's Internet assets, what remains of Yahoo -- mostly investment holdings in Alibaba (BABA, Tech30) -- will be renamed Altaba. Mayer will step down from the board of that company once the sale is complete.

Yahoo as we know it may be done. But at least we'll always have Oath and Altaba. 

Alienation and Exclusion

     The campaign of 2016 was an education in the deep problems facing the country.  Angry voters made a few things abundantly clear: that modern democratic capitalism is not working for them; that basic institutions like the family and communities are falling apart; that we have a college educated elite that has found ingenious ways to make everybody else feel invisible, that has managed to transfer wealth upward to itself, that crashes the hammer of political correctness down on anybody who does not have faculty lounge views.
      Alienation breeds a hysterical public conversation.  Its public intellectuals are addicted to overstatement, sloppiness, pessimism, and despair.  They are self-indulgent and self-lionizing prophets of doom who use formulations like “the Flight 93 election” — who speak of every problem as if it were the apocalypse.  Alienation also breeds a zero-sum mind-set — it’s us or them — and with it a tribal clannishness and desire for exclusion.  As Levin notes, on the right alienation can foster a desire for purity — to exclude the foreign — and on the left it can foster a desire for conformity — to squelch differing speakers and faiths.
      But going forward we need a better establishment, one attuned to Trump voters, those whose alienation grows out of genuine suffering.   The first task for this better establishment is to not make the political chasm worse . As the impeachment investigation proceeds, it’ll be important for us Trump critics to not set our hair on fire every day, to evaluate the evidence as if it were against a president we ourselves voted for.  Would we really throw our own candidate out of office for this?
       Over the longer term, it will be necessary to fight alienation with participation, to reform and devolve the welfare state so that recipients are not treated like passive wards of the state, but take an active role in their own self-government.
       It’ll be necessary to revive a living elite patriotism.  That means conducting oneself in office as if nation is more important than party; not using executive orders, filibusters and the nuclear option to grab what you can while you happen to be in the majority.
       It means setting up weekly encounters to help you respect and understand the fellow Americans who reside across the social chasms.
       Finally, it’ll be necessary to fight alienation with moral realism, with a mature mind-set that says that, yes, people are always flawed, the country always faces problems, but that is no reason for lazy cynicism or self-righteous despair. If you start with an awareness of human foibles, then you can proceed with what Levin calls pessimistic hopefulness — grateful for the institutions our ancestors left us, and filled with cheerful confidence that they can be reformed to solve present needs.

From: https://www.nytimes.com/