On Fish
I cleaned my 10 gallon aquarium. I decided to change out the gravel, and decided to go ahead even though I didn’t yet have the new gravel. The fish would have the glass bottom until I went to the store the next day.
Something happened I didn’t anticipate. When I turned on the light, the reflection on the glass below the fish made it reflect like a mirror. Every time the fish saw his own reflection, he freaked out. He thought I had put another big fish in the tank with him. It made me want to run right out late in the night and get him some gravel but alas, it was late in the night. He settled down. I had to turn off the light to reduce the reflection.
Below is with gravel. Clean tank, happy fish!
On Changing Jobs
I start training for a new job within the same company this month. In three months, all the classes and clinicals will be finished and I will start reporting to a different department then for which I am currently working. I will have a higher scope of practice and, if all goes as planned I will be working 10 hour days Sunday through Wednesday.
On Politics
Those I most identify with call themselves democratic socialists but I haven’t adopted that label for myself. I am politically agnostic at the moment, seeking to read and learn different points of view more than express opinions or take on an ideological label, but am definitely left-leaning in the US ecosystem.
I like mainstream media but don’t rely solely on it. I identify with the left leaning more than the right leaning, but try to find sources that try not to lean in either direction, but still engage in the hard work of real journalism. To me, this means reporting on the sometimes hard to report uncharted territory that we all need to know rather than stay in accepted safe sponsor, or customer approved bubbles.
I like watching interviews and then getting the books of the people who have an expertise or perspective that interests me. College professors and professionals with genuine experience and expertise interest me more than pundits for actual learning. Reading helps me more than media videos, but the media can steer me toward new authors I did not previously know.
I admit I fell into the trap of believing those important people ‘out there’ (corporate leaders, government leaders, and other “smart” people) would never do anything but help ordinary middle and lower class folks. They would never do anything that would be against the interest of the population of the country they served. I didn’t realize many of them don’t have the loyalties I assumed they would have. The ordinary citizen plays an essential role, which is why repairing the educational system is high priority. I am ok with teaching about the Declaration of Independence AND all the people’s history of America.
I like Noam Chomsky and wish we had about 20 more just like him out there and I have a list of many of the authors he has spoken of or with. Many of them have become authors I now read. He cuts through the enormous propaganda that exists in this country. His wisdom counters the notion that enormous power of the military industrial complex is inevitable and always helpful.
The ordinary citizen is on the outside of the large industries and political decision making. I understand peaceful protests sometimes are necessary, and I am inspired by the plight of those who have achieved great things and made this country better through that avenue. That said, it takes a population that is not fighting itself and each other and has access to the information about what is happening to solve the problems effectively and peacefully. That is why I don’t just draw from one source. Seeds of truth –and seeds of propaganda– exist everywhere.
Currently some of my on-line sources aside from ordinary media outlets are: Amanpour and Company, PBS, Frontline, and Democracy Now. I like the Aspen Institute, and some political podcasts like Pod Save America. I like Chris Hedges in the same way I like Noam Chomsky, Robert Reich or Glen Greenwald. Their messages generally transcend –and annoy– mainstream media. I also realize I probably haven’t even discovered many of the books and sources that will catapult my understanding.
To drill down on the current moment in politics, even though I originally wanted Sanders, I am grateful to Biden. I think politics aside, he did a lot of great things. Past policies of all presidents can be debated, but even without the other accomplishments, I appreciate that he stepped in and lifted us out of a fascist direction four years ago. He was uniquely positioned at that time to do that and he chose to heed the call.
When Biden fell down in Colorado Springs on the Air Force Academy stage, he got back up again. I don’t see his recent stepping down from the race as falling down. Sometimes the “Almighty” speaks in the form of evenings that don’t go nearly as well as one hopes. In the Olympics one night determines whether a person get the gold. In politics, one night can have the same impact under very unusual circumstances. However, that doesn’t take away from the good things he has done. Stepping up to the moment and relinquishing power at the right time revealing his character again by doing something not everyone would have done. His legacy will be a good one.
My cousin’s son Jason Chafin ‘fell down’ in Colorado Springs many years ago, but he didn’t get up again. (August 31, 1997 to be exact.) He was murdered by my government’s army. I lost some faith in my country at that time. I realized just how right people like Chris Hedges were about problems I didn’t previously see, and the trauma of it caused me to ‘fall down’ in my spirit under my own grief. My eyes opened to the fact that I couldn’t protect my family. I couldn’t protect my friends. Ordinary people were swimming with sharks, or getting devoured by alligators but I didn’t understand why or how we had gotten to this point. My life before that moment, went better than what followed.
Biden taught one Colorado girl at long last that when she falls down to get back up again, He taught that there are good people in the system seeking to make it better rather than corrupt and exploit it. In addition to the other things he did, Biden will be remembered for saving a country from falling into fascism. That one thing seems an accomplishment that soars above all others and worthy of celebration.
Fast forward to now… Does the country have problems? yes. Does the Democratic Party have problems? yes. But it is still better than a party riddled with fascism, so I am voting for Kamala. Tim Walz looks like a good Vice President. I am an independent and political agnostic, but that does not mean I don’t have points of view. I recognize the Republicans have veered off into the weeds, but I give credit to those who came to their senses and stopped going along with the fascist craziness.
Both parties are guilty of abandoning the working classes in favor of big money donors. That was a problem long in the making that resulted in someone like Trump emerging. At first I was baffled. I knew very little about him, and like many others, did not expect him to get elected.
I don’t fault the people who like Trump and would vote for him again although I do not agree with them. Many of them are friends or family members. I understand wanting a wrecking ball to destroy what you perceive hurt your life if that is the reason. I also understand falling into fear or intimidation of a strongman and acquiescing to it. Heaven knows this world has seen enough of that in history. Many of us in modern times have had experiences of how that path can go very wrong. Intuitively we know.
Problem is, what Trump would be wrecking is the entire government, both the good stuff and the bad stuff, not just the bad stuff. What would fill that void is not something better. It would be much worse. I don’t know if my fellow Trump loving friends fully understand that.
I like Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. You may like them or not, but with them, at least in 4 years we will have a working government, complete with peaceful transfer of power with elections.