I was going to link to the Taoist parable of the Chinese farmer. I thought I'd written about it here, but I guess that was in Groundhog Day.
In any event, if you Google it, it comes up a lot, and in many places I wouldn't wish to send anyone just now. It is interesting, though, how many different kinds of people see something in that little story to validate whatever their point of view may be.
Yesterday I wrote that one of the results of the binary choice we faced would be a catastrophe, and it appears that is what we're confronting this morning.
The collapse of this civilization has accelerated.
There would be suffering, as there is always suffering, whoever won. Now it will be different people, different times. Ultimately more people, sooner. I would not want to be in Ukraine today. Or Gaza. Or a Haitian in Springfield, Ohio.
One of the elder sages of the internet, a triumphalist who prides himself on the monetization of our social interactions through the pernicious construction that "markets are conversations," is blaming Democrats and the stories they tell, while holding himself as "above the fray." I have nothing but contempt for that guy. Textbook example of the power of self-delusion.
But even feeling and writing that is a waste of time and energy.
I think it's likely that our timetable for leaving Florida has also accelerated. Both the marijuana and abortion amendments failed and we are clearly redder than I expected.
For most of us, by which I mean the folks who hoped for a different outcome, I'd say it's time to kind of take stock and consider our immediate circumstances. Much of this has been outside of our power to control. "Do your best, the rest is not up to you." If you did your best, you have nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to regret.
The world is about to get more chaotic. Our capacity for collective action at the international level has been significantly diminished, if not destroyed. This has implications for public health and climate change. And the role of the federal government in mitigating adverse events in those areas has also been significantly diminished.
More than ever, we are on our own.
A lot of "self-sorting" has taken place with people moving to regions more sympathetic to their political perspective, though most of that seems to have been people on the right moving to red states. It's probably time for people on the left to consider moving to regions where they're more likely to encounter people whose views align more closely with their own.
We will have to work together at the very local level to establish resilient networks. I think that effort looks different depending on where you are on the political spectrum, and it will be easier and more effective if you're among like-minded people. If you feel like joining a local militia and carrying a weapon, then a red state will welcome you.
If you feel like working in a community garden, maybe you should think about moving to a blue state.
That's not to say that both of those things won't happen in either state, just that the emphasis and effort into each will differ by temperament.
You're less likely to encounter friction, and the chances for unfortunate and regrettable misunderstandings are less.
I am profoundly disappointed with my country this morning. But there is nothing to be gained by indulging those feelings. We need to figure out how to come together and work with one another, because things are going to get worse, faster now. It'll be easier and more effective, if we share something of a common perspective with our neighbors. So a change of venue may be appropriate for many of us.
Rural New York is pretty red, but it's not the deep scarlet that exists in Florida. I think we can do ok in New York, even with winter.
I worry about my kids, but they're all adults and must make their own choices for their families.
I wanted to get out of here by 2026, 2027 at the latest. I think we'll make it by 2026. We need to take advantage of the opportunities we have here to get fit. The 2025 hurricane season is a risk, but I don't see us being ready to launch in six months. But we'll see. If we had to, I think we could.
Though we don't all see eye-to-eye, we are all in this together.
It's a shame that fear won.
Originally posted at Nice Marmot 04:37 Wednesday, 6 November 2024