Life on a Pendulum
Mind Control — an RfRx talk with Janice Selby
Submitted by Jenna Chiles
Sometimes being a human can feel like riding on a pendulum. I start at one end of the arch, and I swing far to the other with equal force. I get to experience both peaks of the arch, and I also get to be in the middle for just a moment. It’s exciting to ride the pendulum and feel the ups and downs, but it’s also a little unstable.
My pendulum was my politics. I started on one end as a kid because that was the Team my parents rooted for. I participated in the marches that Our Side put on to protest what the Other Side was doing. I watched the elections rooting for Our Side to win. I even asked for a book by Our Guy for my thirteenth birthday. Could I tell you what Our Side believed in? Absolutely not. I couldn’t even vote yet, but I knew Our Side was clearly the right and correct one.
In adulthood, I went completely the other way. I supported the Other Side. I went to their marches that protested what Other Side (my old side) was doing. I could vote, so I always voted for my new Side. I never even researched the Other Side, because they were clearly so completely wrong. I supported this new team with all the vehemence and energy I used to despise them with. I spent no time at all in the middle, and lots of time on both ends.
