On this Presidents’ Day, I’m taking a moment to state the obvious. The older I get the more overwhelming I find societal/global problems to be. Outrage fatigue is real. The airline seat recliner controversy is only the most recent, along with everything surrounding the upcoming election. It’s all exhausting. Though the solutions seem so apparent. Most problems can be traced directly to the rich staying in power and pulling the strings for all of our overarching systems. When I was younger and somewhat idealistic I was convinced people just needed to step back to see the big picture. Then there would be a collective societal epiphany before everyone got to work. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized these shitty systems are in place, by design. And those benefiting from them are adept at pushing the buttons of those below them, to keep us at each other’s throats rather than working together out of mutual self-interest. It is disheartening. Dismantle all of it. Start over.
Five things that have gotten my attention recently:
- Per the above, I highly recommend following David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH) on twitter and Medium. He’s far more eloquent and insightful than I could ever be.
- As usual, 99% Invisible brings us the best content. Don’t miss this Missing the Bus episode. And now I want to read Better Buses, Better Cities: How to Plan, Run, and Win the Fight for Effective Transit by Steven Higashide. There are people out there coming up with brilliant, simple solutions to collectively improving our quality of life.
- Portraits on campus lacked diversity, so this artist painted the blue-collar workers who ‘really run things’. Wonderful.
- LeVar Burton releases YouTube video series on what it’s like to be Black in America.
‘The Reading Rainbow’ star wants to educate the masses about the daily racism that still exists. (I love LeVar so much.) - Jehnny Beth of Savages: ‘Sex is a wonderful way to test yourself‘ and her video for I’m the Man. That video had me feeling some feelings.
Over the weekend I managed to get quite a bit of walking in. Outdoors, which was a literal breath of fresh air after being cooped up inside because of the arctic freeze. I adore our neighborhood and am so happy with the decision I made, to purchase a condo within walking distance of so many wonderful places. But while out and about I managed to spend a little too much money at various restaurants. And I’m doing it again later today, finally meeting up with a friend for happy hour halfway between our homes. After this, I need to have a come-to-Jeebus moment with my finances.
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