First the Dems, Now the Repubs

We're between conventions. Did you watch any of the Dem broadcasts? I skipped 'em. Just as well. One of our sons told me all I need to know: Looks like the Dems have pulled back from a radical left to a more centrist stance. But what's new about that? They want to win. Most Americans aren't members of Antifa.

Now it's the Repubs turn. I'll likely skip that one too, including those end of day summaries you get from the media. It'll call for vigilance. I usually check in with the TV news first thing for about a minute or so. I'm typically looking for my favorite weather guy to blab about what to expect in front of some fancy map. In the course of it, unless I hit the jackpot, there's some story being touted. Last week that was one of those summaries one morning. Before I knew it, the "political" reporter was telling me what the Dems were spilling out the night before. Since I knew the weather was due, I left him on. What a waste of time!

So this week, I'll remember my old friend: the mute button. Weather only, thanks.

I could just go with the weather app on my phone, of course. But the morning TV news habit began decades ago and it's hard to break habits. The two minute drill these days isn't just the symptom of the inability to break that old habit. It's also - at least my fevered brain thinks of it this way - a way to make sure the world didn't end during the night. So far so good.

As for the world ending anytime soon, it depends what you mean by "end." Do you mean our lives as we currently live them? For that, we may have seen the end of the world, at least to some degree. How we all lived changed in March. Despite the "re-openings," things remain estranged from that former life - at least they do for our family. What about you? Are you back to doing everything you did before March, as you did everything before March?

If so, please let us know. We'd love to hear about it.

Meanwhile, fumbling through the mess created by our C-Virus World, we face a new week of same-old/same-old. It goes like this:

Market remain relatively subdued, even as so many await some sort of rupture. 

The economy remains beyond sluggish, although not dead in its tracks as it was for about 3 or 4 months after the lock-downs were imposed.

The invisible remain unseen. What's that? Well, there's just so much that's happening below the radar. Even much of the dislocation of our lives is kind of hidden. Some examples:

Look around. Wherever you live, look around. Maybe you know your neighbors - at least some of them - maybe you don't. What sort of state are they in now? Are they working? If you don't know them, how would you know. When someone works from home - as so many have been doing - you have no idea whether they're currently employed or not. Are they making their mortgage or rent payments? Same deal. 

What about their health, the health of their families? A quick example: One of our neighbors, who was particularly, visibly sociable, virtually disappeared for weeks on end when the lock-downs began. Was he playing it safe to avoid getting the virus. Was he quarantining because he had it? Is he in a hospital? I saw his wife a few times. But before I could ask her, he suddenly appeared, looking fit as a fiddle. There've been other examples of this as well.

In normal times (and will these ever return?), we might wonder what's up with this or that neighbor from time to time, but it typically takes some obvious trigger to cause real concern.  But now any little change in pattern or behavior could cause us to wonder what's up.

Another anecdote: Speaking with the owner of a local deli we patronize, I learned that the folks with food stamp cards (EBT) - which the store accepts - have been given what the owner described as "huge" balances to spend. She's not begrudging anyone who needs money for food. But having served some of these folks for years, she's wondering why they need so much money now. She also noted that "we" (she, and the rest of us who pay taxes from our earned money) are paying for all this. She then opined about a neighbor's kid who's collecting that $600 federal unemployment check (expired but soon to be renewed?). He had a menial job in a nursing home that paid him maybe a third of his unemployment. He's got no reason to seek employment. Again "we're" paying for all this.

The tone of her comments wasn't resentful. Just incredulous. She knows our city, our state, and our federal government have no "surplus" money to pay for all this (and it's just the tip of the iceberg of government largess). So she figures our taxes (income, property, sales, etc.), even our utilities should begin rising. Water's already increased. She works hard for her money, and she's concerned that more of it will be taken from her, maybe more than she'll be able to afford. (BTW, I'd hardly spoken more than three words to her before this.)

The point: Lots remains hidden. What's hidden may be masking potentially serious issues for family, neighbors, friends (Even if we're all communicating with family and friends, it doesn't mean troubles may not be lurking below the surface.). As the weeks and months unfold, we'll likely see what's hidden exposed. Kind of like that EBT issue. I had no idea of what's going on with that. Did you?

On a broader scale, using our city as an example, the place has been drowning in financial distress, with crime increasing steadily for a number of years. But COVID has masked this to a great degree. The mayor blames the disease for our financial mess. (Just as absurd, almost comical, the governor blames the cops for the increase in crime - saying they're not doing their jobs. Of course they can't do their jobs when the city and state have gelded them with ridiculous new rules about how they make arrests, in addition to courts that let just about every perp out as soon as they're arrested.)

All of this was in the works before COVID. Crime was rising before the ridiculous new rules, but has jumped noticeable after. I suspect a lot of "normal" citizens may be aware of this. But our politicians have hidden behind COVID and the lockdowns - convenient excuses for failure of leadership.

We could go on. But let's let it sit for now. 

For me, it's a matter of keeping eyes and ears in vigilant mode. I really do like to know what's happening around me. And knowing that more than the usual is suppressed as it is, I'm concerned that some of the stuff that's unseen may present a danger or threat of some sort. For example, if burgeoning crime explodes into another round of violence and looting, I don't want to be sitting back on my heels. I want to be prepared.

As for what that preparation might be, it's a rather big subject, not conducive to quick, simple bullet points. And I don't have all the things in place I'd like to have at the moment. But I've got some. 

Hope you do too.