I’ve been in a funk since the election as my worst fears have been realized. Clearly at least 50% of the American population doesn’t know right from wrong or an understanding of history. Nor does the working class by and large understand the enemy isn’t Democrats or Republican, but the ultra-rich. I’ve lived through many historical events and saw this country change over the course of my lifetime to the point I no longer recognize it.
It used to be one could disagree over politics without considering the other side the enemy, that at least everyone had an understanding of right from wrong and truth from a lie, but ever since the Reagan era, that commonality has evaporated to the point where people have not only voted to make a criminal our President, but don’t even recognize his bad acts as such. Worse, they don’t see aligning with dictators as an issue even though Americans have died over more than a century in the cause of fighting dictators. It’s like the voters are spitting on their ancestors graves.
When I wrote my Sonic stories, there was always a clear sense of right from wrong. Kids needed to know there are some constants in this world, as they clearly weren’t seeing it from a lot of grown-ups around them. When I was growing up, I wasn’t taught to hate from the Catholic School I attended or the women in my family. The men, on the other hand, including my father, were another matter. But I learned to think for myself and know the difference because of the good people in my life.
I can’t relate to people who think life is unfair, too hard and unaffordable. Life was always those things when I was growing up. It was difficult at times living in the home I was growing up in. It’s why I joined the military at age 17. My parents couldn’t afford to send me to college and I had a difficult relationship with my father. No one handed me anything. I had to earn everything the hard way. I made choices every step of the way and had to accept the consequences of my actions. I’m where I am today because of decisions I made as far back as grade school.
I am now 66 years of age. I’m a father as well as a grandfather, in a relationship with the woman I love going on for almost 30 years, with family and close friends I enjoy. At this point in my life, I’m in the twilight of my life. I’ve been taking care to eat right, exercise and do all the right things that hopefully will allow me to enjoy more time on this planet. But life is short and it could all end tomorrow. And if it did, I don’t want to spend my time arguing with people whose values I don’t recognize.
And it’s not just people. Organized religion has become a main source of problems in our society. When religious figures can’t tell the difference between a criminal and someone who has spent her life serving the public good, that’s when I know religion has gone seriously off the rails. For my money, if a person has faith, true faith, what do they need with a Church or a priest in order to commune with the deity of their choice? That deity hears them and recognizes true faith. A middle man isn’t needed.
I wrestle with what I was taught growing up to what I have learned in the intervening years at this current stage of my life. Whether there’s a Deity or not is beside the point. I have buried numerous relatives, including both of my parents, and just recently, I had to journey over a 1000 miles to say goodbye to a very close friend of almost 50 years by scattering his ashes into the wind. That is how my life will end, as dust scattered in the wind. The life I know will have ended, and there’s no proof there’s anything beyond. And I’m at peace with that.
Thus, I’m taking the first steps to reshaping my world. Dealing with angry, hateful people is not on my agenda. If you believe immigrants are a problem in this country, I can’t deal with you, as I know they’re not. If you believe schools are encouraging kids to change their sex, I know you’re not dealing with reality. If you believe the criminal lost in 2020, I know you have no cognitive reasoning skills. And if you think a President can make the cost of housing or the goods you buy more affordable, I have a bridge to sell.
I’m focused on the projects I’ve developed and seeing through to their completion. THE LARA-SU CHRONICLES is my priority, both as a digital app and graphic novel format. The KEN PENDERS KNUCKLES OMNIBUS Vol. 1 is also on my to-do list, of which I’ll have more news about soon. At some point I hope to revisit THE LOST ONES in whatever format I think will work best.
But most of all, the time I spend with my loved ones matters more than dealing with people who lack perspective and can’t truly appreciate what they have.
I don’t usually get that introspective in public, but I needed to get that off my chest. I couldn’t deal with discussing other matters until I did. If you’ve read this far, thanks for hearing me out. Take care until next time.