Well oiled

 There are more than enough jerks and assholes in the world. And there are plenty of leaders who are inept and focused on their own power and self-importance. And still the world hasn’t fallen apart.

That’s because sandwiched in between them are all the decent folks, who go to work, work hard, do their jobs well and care about the people around them.

Of course, I’m talking about those of us who are not influencers, tiktok celebrities or the fodder of “Entertainment Tonight.” We just keep the wheels of society well oiled.

Why?

 If you hate, you lose. If you love, you gain. Why is that so hard to understand?

Fear builds walls. Love opens up the world.

Survive

 I heard a news commentator remark with discouragement that all this time after Martin Luther King, Jr. death, we were still dealing with the same problems. It occurred to me that two millennia after the death of Jesus we were dealing with the same problems.

Evolution gave us two tasks: reproduce and survive. Human culture gave us myriad strategies to reproduce and survive. Sadly, one of those strategies was fear. When we fear, we hate. When we hate, we believe we can survive through the death of others.

We are sadly still in this place. How can we come to live as if we believe that our only true means of survival is through love.

Easter

 Across the world Christians are celebrating the solemnity and joy of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. Services. Rituals. Beautiful worship spaces. This, at a time when church attendance is waning, more people identify as non-religious, Christian belief has taken some strange turns and Jesus must still compete with the Easter Bunny.

The truth is that the message of Jesus doesn’t really require any of the elaboration we create. It is a message about the human condition as we struggle to understand suffering, love, forgiveness and redemption.

We may hear it in church, but it lives in the individual, in the sunlight, in the action.

Fuck

 We have done a great disservice to the word “fuck.” It used to be a powerful word, used by the select and rebellious few who knew how to put it to greatest effect. It was saved and savored for occasions when it was really necessary. It could identify the common ground of the low and the mighty. It was a word among words.

Now it’s lost its authenticity and impact. It’s the go-to word for any adjective. It’s the word of choice for those of limited vocabulary. It’s the easy spice for movie scripts and pop music. For both men and women, it gives oomph when being articulate is not an option.

I don’t think it’s possible to restore “fuck” to its past glory. We need a new “fuck.” Maybe a contest to find one. What do you think? (And please, don’t tell me, “Fuck you.”) 

Science/art

 

In the universe