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Running Out of Gas (in More Ways Than One)
In the corner of my kitchen, I have an Easter lily that always tells me when it’s thirsty: it droops. And when I get busy, I don’t always give it the attention it needs. But when its leaves touch the floor, I hurry for the fertilizer water and give it a good douse. Within an hour or two, it springs up and lives to see another day.
Lately, I’ve been wishing that I had a treatment that would benefit me in the same way as I provide to my lily. I feel beaten and beleaguered by the onslaught of bad news about the Biden administration and how it is mismanaging our country. I may be projecting my feelings on my friends here at Ricochet, but I don’t think I’m alone in my reactions. In one way or another, I think many of us are feeling bruised and discouraged by the news; that attitude shows up in posts and comments.
In the last 18 months, I’ve swung from the mindset of bitter and hopeless, to resting in the comfort of detachment. As a person who tries to be realistic and resilient with a sprinkling of optimism, I’ve experienced my usual equanimity to be slowly eroding.
So, I’ve taken a penetrating look at the circumstances that have brought me to this place, to try to move me from overwhelming frustration to a more objective viewpoint.
The evidence is overwhelming that this country is in dire straits: (1) We have an incompetent administration; (2) We are experiencing no less than an invasion at our southern border and it will become much worse if Title 42 is revoked; (3) The commitment to lies and obfuscation are ongoing; (4) the repeated attempts to cripple our energy supply continue; (5) the corruption of our education system from top to bottom are relentless; and the lack of taking responsibility of any kind for inflation persists. And these are just a fraction of the Biden administration’s efforts to tear down this country.
Even though there have been a few lights at the end of the tunnel (although I can’t think of any at the moment), they are quickly doused by the next deluge of darkness.
For those of us who have struggled through the last 18 months and worry about finding a way to push through the next 2.5 years, I think our concerns are valid. My usual stamina is weakening. The potential for winning seats in Congress in November provides little joy or optimism because I fear that nothing will change.
Venting and complaining will give us some relief, but it will only be temporary. Blaming Biden provides some satisfaction, but that becomes tiresome after a while.
I think we must figure out steps we can take before we hit rock-bottom.
Somehow, we must find a way to look at the truth of our predicament with honesty, and stay open to possibility. What opportunities are we missing?
Am I the only one running out of gas?
[photo by Caleb Martinez at unsplash.com]
Published in Domestic Policy
Our downward spiral has been underway for a time period at least a magnitude greater than the last 18 months. What you are lamenting looks more like a culmination of the destructive efforts. We got a recent 4-year period where we were able to observe the truth regarding the destruction of the American Republic that had already been in motion for all of this century. I’m grateful to no longer be living in ignorance.
Susan, I think I understand–and I think there is an information war to induce us to despair and hopelessness. I find , for myself, if I look micro rather than macro, hope takes root. I am surrounded with Americans who take their citizenship seriously and willingly sacrifice for their communities–I have little faith in American systems right now but I still have great faith in Americans. A favorite quote of mine I refresh from time to time because it emphasizes that hope is a weapon, that we should not allow ourselves to be disarmed or disarm ourselves. You, Susan, and many of the writers here water the seeds of hope in my life. And I am married to a tough, courageous woman who breaths hope in and out determinedly.
Here is the quote:
“As long as you have life and breath, believe. Believe for those who cannot. Believe even if you have stopped believing. Believe for the sake of the dead, for love, to keep your heart beating, believe. Never give up, never despair, let no mystery confound you into the conclusion that mystery cannot be yours.”
― Mark Helprin, A Soldier of the Great War
I have had spells where I have felt the same way. The good news is that there is a treatment, but it’s not necessarily easy.
The treatment is to stop exposing yourself to the things that make you feel that way. There is no point in making yourself unhappy by spending all of your time worrying about things you cannot affect. Pay enough attention so you know the things you need to know; decide how you feel about the issues so you can vote intelligently when the time comes. Otherwise, disengage from things you have no control over, and focus on what is close to home.
At any rate, that’s what has worked for me. I gave up almost all use of social media; I don’t watch the news; I almost never engage in political discussions, not even with people I agree with. I focus on my home, my job, my family, and the things that make me happy.
You’re right, Bob; it’s been going on much longer. And I, too, am grateful to have unearthed the truth. Now how can we capitalize on that fact?
I like your emphasis on the micro–those glimmers of hope and opportunity. The quote you included is outstanding, Jake! I’m inspired and definitely am grateful to read it today. I think I will enlarge it and put it on my bulletin board!
A very practical and constructive approach, BXO. I don’t go on any sites except Ricochet. I think the big choice I have to make is to avoid the TV news. I don’t watch much, but it certainly doesn’t help. And fortunately I haven’t lost sight of those things that do make me happy. Thanks!
There is real value in this perspective because it reflects a reality of what we have come to know as the American way. Much of what is pandered to the public at the macro level today is of no value whatever. The Left has worked very diligently, first, to incorporate as much influential behavior in the federal government and grow other traditional institutions in the same way and, then, to essentially destroy the traditional values that had been developed and retained in those institutions. In no way has the objective of the Left ever been to build back better.
I wonder if your mood is partly a result of where you live in that Florida does not have such pronounced seasons as the northern states do. I love the Florida gardens and landscapes (I was just there a month ago and loved it), but it doesn’t change as much from season to season as happens in the northern states.
We are in the midst of a truly glorious spring. It is really something to see the world transform from brown drab grayness to the colorful floriferous scenery all around us. The birds and butterflies and chipmunks are filling the air with varied and playful sounds after a too-quiet winter.
Nothing is more exciting to me than to watch an ugly tuber grow into a gorgeous flower. Hope abounds! :-)
There are good suggestions here, already. Not surprising. Like BXO, we don’t watch the news anymore. I scan the local news headlines so I don’t miss something I need to be aware of, but that’s it. We ditched cable years ago. Now, when we go to visit other people and they have on the news (usually Fox), we realize how little we miss it. It just gets our friend all rilled up. What’s the point? Change what you can. I went to the county commissioners meeting the other night. I’m voting in the primary tomorrow.
I don’t know if you watch/listen to Andrew Klavan, but he is great. I really miss Rush. He was always an optimist. Klavan tends to be, too. He interviewed NC Lt. Governor Mark Robinson on Friday. Maybe it will give you some hope.
Recently met two ‘kids’ at my local airport, both very positive people. One was a guy that had just turned 18, just got his private pilots license, planning on becoming a flight instructor and then flying for the airlines. The other was a young woman, I’d guess about 21, from Mexico, now working at the flight school front desk while attending community college, has also started flying lessons. She plans to go into aerospace engineering.
Also on Problems and Positive Thinking on overcoming them, here’s a new focus area launched by the VC fund Andreessen Horowitz: Building American Dynamism.
One of their initial investments is Hadrian, an advanced US-based manufacturing company. This excerpt from the link is interesting:
One theory of American innovation over the last fifty years is that it’s largely a battle between atoms and bits, with bits winning the war and monopolizing progress. This framing is too simple though, because cooperation between atoms and bits has given us Tesla, SpaceX, Samsara, Flexport, Anduril and a host of incredible companies that transform the physical world with software. The better critique of innovation is that financialization causes abstraction from the real problems, as the movement of atoms is often diametrically opposed to a spreadsheet economy that shifts numbers around cells but can’t actually ship a rocket. That we’ve convinced ourselves that creative finance can be a cure-all for real-world problems is a dangerous myth. By now, we should know that you cannot solve real problems without building new things.
This is why the origin story of Hadrian is so powerful, as it is an outright rejection of abstraction in favor of the harder, physical path. Founder Chris Power arrived to this country a few years ago focused on solving advanced manufacturing challenges in America. A student of both history and finance, he saw the opportunity and need that many private equity shops have identified in rolling up machine shops to create greater supply chain efficiencies, particularly in critical infrastructure such as aerospace. The defense industrial base is served by a network of thousands of small machine shops across the country, often run by very talented machinists who have spent a lifetime honing their craft. The average age of a lead machinist in America is now hovering around the mid 50s, and like other skilled trades, the coming retirement of the Boomers is leading to a dangerous labor shortage in an important industry. Beyond even the lack of skilled labor to make critical parts, there’s the thorny question of security and supply chain transparency, which our commercial aerospace industry is desperate to see fixed as it grows in scale and importance.
RTWT
Not necessarily disagreeing Susan but here’s where I think this is overly pessimistic.
SO…..everything political and social isn’t great but it also isn’t dire and terrible in my opinion. It’s still an amazing stroke of luck to have been born here in the USA and to me happiness is a choice. I don’t believe in sticking my head in the sand but some people’s negativity makes me wonder what their daily lives are like. I have good friends, nice neighbors, lots of work and generally a good life no matter if W, Clinton, DJT, or Biden are president. :)
Over the weekend I was with some family and there is a common despair amongst us like-minded folk. One family member indicated that she could only stand a couple of her liberal friends anymore — the rancor and idiocy of the left has gotten so bad. Your OP and family discussions have put me in mind of a story told about Winston Churchill: When the Japanese Ambassador called on him to deliver the Declaration of War, Churchill received him with great courtesy. His cabinet members could hardly believe it. They asked him, “Why?” Churchill responded, “It is little enough to be courteous to a man when you know you have to kill him.”
What lies behind that statement? It is a resolve– a self-knowledge of exactly what you will or will not do, what you will or will not say. We must know what we stand for, speak it, do it and not be cowed. Do it courteously, but persistently. This is who I am. This is the truth. Do with me what you will, it makes no difference — I will not change. Accept the consequences whether it is triumph or defeat.
Maybe you’re right, Marci, although I didn’t grow up around the seasons. (I’m a CA girl.) I do find myself looking for the modest signs of the changing seasons, but they are subtle rather than inspiring. Love your flowers, though!
Wise advice. I gave my TV to a grandson about three years ago and avoid the mainstream media. I get my news, unfiltered, via the internet. I find it leaves me more time for the important things in life.
Susan: Sometimes you can get inspiration from this site I belong to called Ricochet. Click here.
Gee, thanks, Illiniguy! What a great suggestion! ;-)
The Biden administration is doing what our enemies couldn’t . . .
And how much was our own indifference? I heard someone today speak to our shrugging our shoulders when the Dems foolishly talked about solar panels and electric cars. Did we play a role in their plans?
The average person (IMHO) doesn’t understand the energy systems we have in this country, be it electricity generation, diesel/gasoline production, or how energy prices affect everything. So yes, we played a role, but my guess is most of those playing did so unwittingly. The leadership of the left knows exactly what it’s doing . . .
When they came up with the Green New Deal, we laughed because we knew it was so implausible that they’d never be able to enact it.
They’re enacting it.
Build Back Better? Obviously way too costly for them to implement.
They’re implementing it.
When Jennifer Granholm says they’re deliberately putting us through this pain at the pump to force us all to renewables, we think “They’re just speaking to their base. There’s no way they’d be this foolish.”
They’re being that foolish.
We need to listen to what they say and take them at their word. Everything they’re doing is a deliberate act of destruction against America. They’ve told us for years what they’ve planned. We let it slide.
I am out of gas. I have replaced it with rage. Rage at our government, which has become the enemy of the people.
We need to start chanting “[REDACTED] Joe Biden” again. No more minced oaths. “Let’s Go Brandon” was a funny joke, but it also took the teeth out of it. Let’s get real. Let’s pray imprecatory Psalms. There should be demonstrations in Washington every damned day against this corrupt government of ours. Let’s make sure everyone in Washington understands the pain we’re feeling. Because they still don’t give a [REDACTED], and they’re selling our heritage down the river.
This is a good, related piece from the great Michael Anton.
“That’s Not Happening and It’s Good That It Is”
The last sentence here jumped out at me. So obvious, but so often ignored. And the two young people you met–so inspirational to me. Thanks!
I used to listen to Klavan, but drifted away. I’ll need to check him out again. Thanks, Blondie.
Thanks for your thoughtful and intriguing response, Concretevol. Worthy of a response in kind. So here goes–
All that said, however, I want desperately to agree with your points–so I will! I have to hold on to hope; the optimist in me demands it. Thanks for providing your alternate perspective, C.
Outstanding, Rodin. Thank you. Once again I am inspired.
Wow! Is that timely! Anton is always great. Thanks; people should check out his piece, Drew.
When it comes to running out of gas, I recall a local TV interview with an independent trucker. He pointed to his rig and said, “I’ gonna pull it over.”
The price of diesel has skyrocketed to the point that even raising their rates won’t cover fuel costs. In the above case, the trucker was going to work on the family farm (where fuel costs will still plague him).
The more truckers that do this, the worse the situation is going to be. One would think that at least one of those “economic advisors” in the White House would catch on to what’s happening but I suspect it’s not going to happen.
That’s the cost of electing idealogues to the highest positions of our government.
Given all the difficulties they’ve had to deal with, and the efforts they’ve made to keep things going, it’s a tragedy that will only get worse.
I guess it’s semantics but I’ve always viewed things like a plane crash as a tragedy; what the Biden Administration has done to this country is criminal.
Biden’s director of the National Economic Council is a guy named Brian Deese. During the Obama administration, he was one of those directing the bailout of the US auto industry. I wrote a little song in his honor (with some help from Gilbert & Sullivan)…Ruler of the Auto Industree.