take a deep breath.
because that's all we've gained here.
what happened this election was the expansion of a very disturbing trend, a trend of carelessness.
that so many could set aside so basic a set of values and behavior for the illusion of "policy" , wether used as a protective cover for conscience or actually believed, is troubling, and should disturb anyone willing to step outside themselves and away from what seems like the ultimate sin, yet very human quality, of being wrong.
we are a wounded animal, completely vulnerable to the next demagogue who harnesses the tide of dissatisfaction, dissatisfaction that is in reality rooted in the very structure of our society, the way we have accepted to manage human life itself, not the fault of some phantom enemy.
it's carelessness to fall so easily and willingly into the snares of flattery and affirmation, to aim so readily at enemy targets, never once considering those targets are kin.
it's carelessness that allows the disregard of clearly dangerous trends in favor of petty wants, to demand subservience and domination of these in a system of government that was designed to specifically prevent them.
it's carelessness that allows exaggeration, fabrication and distortion to weave endless circles in our minds.
it's carelessness that makes us wide open to anything and anyone who knows the button to push and the story to tell.
it's carelessness that eats at each word, degrading language and thought itself into dismissal and arrogance.
I saw a sign hanging in a cubicle the other day, it said simply:
"give a damn"
not just any damn, not just giving a damn about petty spite or some mythology that's been woven for us, but giving a damn that you are actually listening and aware, not just satiated or smug. far too many have put these in the place of real understanding, and replaced information with speculation, until they are indistinguishable.
there are far worse things than being wrong.
"to err is human" after all
but to continue in this error is foolishness.
give a damn.
a real one.