I am a citizen first, hobbyist second, as mentioned in the Itinerant Air-Cooled mission statement.
Today, I am a distressed citizen. I am not interested in partisan pissing matches where increasing volume attempts to make up for weak arguments. I am interested in being well-informed.
I am a visiting mechanic/consultant whose credibility is on full display in a customer's driveway, no hiding behind behind a phone call dodge from the shop, "yeah we need to order a part, it'll be in next Tuesday" when I don't know what is wrong with the car. You never did pay me for my "answers". You paid me to journey with you through "I don't know, let's figure it out." Part of the recipe is to listen well to my customers. Return me the favor.
I am a mechanic across disciplines. I want to know how to fix things. We are so broken here in the U.S. as we take a body blow that we could have defended against. This society of ours is in real trouble, like an engine that is running poorly, with the risk of cascading failures coming our way. Don't push it to the next exit! Pull over! Investigate!
We have a pandemic in the midst of this pandemic, it is spreading through the body-politic, erupting in symptomatic hot spots, it is contagious, it is stealing our breath, and it is about to stop our hearts.
It is hatred. We all have our experience of it, both dishing it and receiving it. We know what hatred does to our empathy and well-being, it blows it out the window. Our hatred stems from fear, tangled through our own rage, often exacerbated by that which we do not understand. Hatred/fear divides us. Fear inspires the greedy (I am afraid I will not have enough), fear inspires ruthlessness (I must rule so that I am not ruled), fear inspires suspicion (I do not trust differences).
I am not in a political frame when I state that we just witnessed a psychopathic series of machinations in Wisconsin yesterday. Wisconsin was the only state that demanded a primary election in the midst of this pandemic! Their citizens just *had to* vote yesterday, no delay (why not?). The legislature and the courts got involved to make sure that Wisconsinites had to *defy public health orders*. The very court that made this decision would not allow visitors yesterday. Why? Because the risk to their own health was too great. Yet, voters had to brave long lines outside? Why was the vote not delayed? Real reasons ...
People (some of whom I know) had to choose between two serious interests, the fundamental right to vote and the right to stay alive. This choice was wreaked upon them by psychopathic self-centered political partisans who have lost all decency in the pursuit of their selfish goals unfettered by checks and balances. Their explanations ring hollow, their words were crafty and shifty, their prior machinations have a well-documented history, and real lives were put at real risk. That is untenable for a civilized society. It is utterly unacceptable to me as a human being.
What has happened to my country? How did we lose our hearts? What can I do to help my country? Please. As a mechanic with a vested interest in a smooth-running engine that can get us where we have to go, please consider for yourself a solution to our poorly running country that escapes the ignorant polarizing petty simplistic tribal partisan shrill mendacious arguing. We all yet have the right to vote (careful! not a given!). Make your coming choices of leaders/ administrators/ executives, include representives possessed not only of well-informed intelligence, but also heart and true empathy. Help sequester this infection of our body politic. Please!
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