After Rosie left yesterday, I went back to my routine of getting caught up on the news and thinking about American politics and recent history. It left me reeling with despair and depression over our state of affairs. Our world has gone mad.
Simply dropping out for a few days without reading newspapers, watching the evening news or not opening the computer provokes a shock upon resumption. The week spent laughing with Rosie and showing her the local sights seems fictional compared to the hate, anger and dysfunction reflected in current events. It feels as if after only a few short days, we have drifted further into chaos and insanity.
The insanity surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic continues. Anger about wearing face masks, mandating vaccinations, or heated arguments about the science itself have not abated even in face of incontrovertible evidence as to their effectiveness.
The question of abortion continues to threaten the sanctity of the law and even civil society. No other issue has generated such emotion and activism; for many it is the single driving force in politics without regard for consequences. Texas continues to violate the law of the land without rebuke.
Congress goes on talking and disparaging itself into dysfunction; the Democrats agree but can’t escape individual ideologies to compromise and the Republicans are against everything. It is 1789 France without the Jacobins and the guillotine.
There is virtually no end to the bad news about human frailty and perfidy. My few days off helps me better understand those who eschew politics and simply go on with their lives.