Not from me; I say it’s spinach, and to hell with it. But others find it a good election message:

Over the weekend, I wrote about a massive fissure in a parenting group I am (was?) a part of. The group has a national arm and then nationwide “chapters” organizing nature hikes for parents and their young children. I wrote about my frustration that the group had become so hyper-politicized about Black Lives Matter (BLM) and shared the thoughts of other mothers who contacted me feeling the same.

Since I wrote that post, one of the national board members, the Director of Communications, has resigned. It’s not because the group has gone woke… no, it’s because the group isn’t woke enough. I am about to share screenshots of the resignation letter she circulated, and as you read I would like you to continually remind yourself that this woman is resigning from a volunteer position posting on social media about a nature group that has not, in her mind, gone far enough endorsing BLM.

I recently shared a brief snippet about the “townhall” discussion about racism and BLM. In truth, it was more a like a struggle session. As I mentioned, all opinions were welcome as long as they were the correct opinions. I don’t need the hassle of HR harassing me about missing the “discussion” so I logged onto the zoom meeting (thankfully, it was all remote), shifted to a different browser window, lowered the volume, and proceeded to do actual work. At several points during the hour-long conversation, curiosity got the best of me and I listened in (a decision I now greatly regret). Here are a few of the highlights (again, remember this a sampling of snippets from when I was actually listening):

“Slavery is alive and well in America today – it has just changed forms. Now it’s the pipeline from the projects to the prison cell.”

This past week, Phillipa Soo, who played Eliza in “Hamilton,” tweeted:

Cancel culture: If you are ‘cancelled’ but do not wish to be, you must WORK to EARN back people’s respect by owning up to the thing that cancelled you in the first place, LISTENING to others, EDUCATING yourself, and ADVOCATING on behalf of the people that you have offended/harmed.
[The CAPITAL LETTERS FOR EMPHASIS are all hers.]

When I read commentary in local matters associated with the COVID-19 epidemic, I am struck by the total breakdown in trust of authority. Our county was doing a pretty good job of communicating information about the local epidemic but lately, as cases rise again, they have failed in basic communication of relevant information. Or, when they provide relevant information, the actions of authorities seem to ignore the fundamental realities to which such information points. This is a breach of trust, and the consequences flowing forward are unclear.

My county is imposing greater restrictions than previously: in-person church is being banned again; masks are supposed to be worn in outdoor restaurants except when consuming food, masks are to be worn in extended-family gatherings. Mind you, I don’t think masks have become more effective than before. People who were exempt from wearing masks are now asked to weak face shields with cloth lining.

Once upon a time on Ricochet, I argued, repeatedly, in the words of Heinlein, “Man is not a rational animal. Man is a rationalizing animal.” I have pointed out countless times that people are governed more by their fears and insecurities than by their hopes and ambitions. Every time, I ran into staunch opposition, especially from self-described rational people.

This post is just to jump and down and scream, “See! I Wuz Right!” I think the events of the past few months have illustrated both of these primary points better than a thousand articles could have done. There are now countless posts and comments on this site (and everywhere, really), arguing that while precaution X, Y and Z may not make sense, we have to accept that the terrifying unknown trumps all logical argument.