An urgent issue and/or a cerebral one — your choice
To Be Or Not Be Scared? Start with a drill
It’s been said in many ways and places that the most powerful way to make a difference is to do something that scares you. But there are degrees and ways to accomplish that. For someone like me who wants to cut back on cleverness and sophistication (if only in my own mind), I could feel that effect by leaving the last two sentences as simple sentences separated by a blunt period. I needed to warm up to start this article by overcoming any dependency I had on dashes, semicolons, or sentences whose words numbered in the dozens.
Having done that I feel ready to risk the vulnerability of a more urgent message.
It would seem fun and convenient to ponder wanting to be scared as Halloween approaches. I don’t suppose this country’s founders placed Election Day in that vicinity with any thought that whatever courage resulted could be parlayed into that, as opposed to the idea that impending winter would be a suitable close for campaign season.
Proud as I was of my last article I was slow to realize, despite feedback, that it confused people — and bombarded as people are in the weeks before an election, they seem to prefer a clear message to a nuanced one calling for thought. I comfortably assumed that my readers would prefer a thought-provoking story to what might come across as a preachy one.
In other words, I was afraid of taking a bold stand.
Maybe one of the causes of fear is simultaneously carrying additional freight, such as legitimate concern for friendships bearing the weight of conflict along with due discretion in case of error. While I may appear strident at times, I’m ready to not trust anyone. Hopefully, I’ve displayed sufficient cordiality (and better) to come across as someone not blithely unburdening myself of panicked or alarmist pressure.
I’m struck with awe (in a decidedly negative way!) at the thought of a Harris/Walz administration.
See how that would have come across as a headline in a mailer or email — a result we seem to be stuck within this age, no matter how sincere we proclaim our worries to be — and in any case, my self-concept would much rather present myself with confidence than be linked to such a victimizing word. And to show I mean what I said about restraint and diplomacy, I’ll assume you’re interested enough to do your own research as needed.
This sounds like an easy innuendo, again without being willing to commit to certain words or what they mean. But as I referred to above, where does anyone draw whatever line separates actual or alleged news from fears we carry, for whatever reasons?
And that’s why my last article was about media and the audience for sensationalism. I saw little point in offering generalities or specifics I was convinced of, or resigning myself to the assumption that it was hopeless to reach others in (cliche alert!) today’s increasingly polarized and specialized offerings of (alleged) information. Being as intellectually devoted as I am, why would they believe me? Even if I fortified myself with the most exhaustive barriers?
Despite many superstitions, people have fear as a legitimate protection. Even if “they” are often wrong. The cerebral part of me is tempted to elaborate even when I lack the energy or articulation to continue — on that mystical or academic topic or even a blunt fear itself.
Not being so outgoing, I feel the need to offer extra clarity that I don’t wish to needlessly spark controversy with — to put it discreetly — a contrary leadership position to so many friends. My apologies to those who, despite agreeing with my political alarm, would be frustrated by the seeming muddling of this article with the alleged side issues of other fear. But really those are often the choices in this business of life — and such skeptics might be consoled by desperate measures. Don't you want to give up the Sisyphean task of that kind of mind-changing?
With all said above, part of me would like to offer more evidence — intuitive and cited — for feeling as I do. And as important as this election is, for many reasons I see no point in overwhelming busy people no matter how right I believe myself to be. I’ll readily admit I have my own logarithms for evaluating input that feel too accumulated to explain. Perhaps the easiest and most powerful and provocative way is to somehow let them feel the fear I expressed — and felt — when I warmed up by giving up my cover of intellect just as I wish Harris gave up the cover of sympathetic media.
One consolation of the electoral college regarding social discretion: since California (where most of my friends are) is a lost cause I’m free to focus elsewhere politically, but I hope the above fear topics affect all comers. Related to that, how many of us must ultimately face that we’ve chosen to be where — at least in some ways — our location may not be the best fit for our values? I offer the indecisiveness of “may” because the idea of blessings in disguise is too much of a rabbit hole for those of you who’ve followed some of these convolutions. Thanks for reading.
