I wrote a similar piece, Sarah. I'm really exhausted by how badly the humans in America are behaving...the illiterate, greedy, and angry people who can find a way to support a career criminal. UGH. I havent been to Piedmont...I have a farm in the NE corner of Missouri. I moved back after 6+ years in Philadelphia. In fact, I'm in Philly right now... I missed a wider segment of reasonable people. 😂 I'm tired of being tired of all this... trying to stay cautiously optimistic. Hang in there! ✌️
And what is 'mental health' in a world where there is no center to hold; where everything has become unstuck; where a desperately passionate plea to an indifferent universe is as close to a sacrament as we can get?
At least it's like autumn in Tennessee, so I can sit on my porch in a hoodie, reading these words because they are as close to an openly acknowledging conversation as I can get — all while watching a flood-swollen muddy river flow by to remind me this isn't a regular season.
Jesus wept. Today, Lazarus might prefer death? I typed it and now I am sitting here crying. Thank you. Your words finally broke through my anger to the grief it was masking.
I figure, a time or two down the road, maybe you’ll be the person that rolls out of bed first, or can’t sleep, and it will be your words that speak for me. Bless you.
My husband’s uncle was a businessman in Beirut- way back when it was the glamorous “Paris” of the Middle East - (couldn’t it just be the glamorous Beirut unto itself?).
During the thick of the pandemic we sat around our outdoor Brooklyn fire pit as we were quarantining with family on Thanksgiving and Christmas. So heard more stories around the campfire that I might not have heard otherwise. My husband was digging down deep for story material if he was reaching to tell us about a long dead uncle in a long dead city. Anything to bat away the fright and boredom.
Thanks so much Sarah for your documentation, and personal reflections and photos. It inspires me to remember and jot in my journals.
Write everything down, everyone! Turn off the devices and tell stories. Prompt your elders to share their memories - take photos! It’s the only way we can stretch the world bigger than the shrinking one we’re being force fed- gather round the campfire or a candle to learn and remember and imagine. Before we forget how to do all that.
Thank you for this. I’ve always loved to write—I kept journals, wrote stories and snail mail. When e-mail became a thing, I wrote those to my family and friends letter-style. People have told me “you should write,” but for some odd reason I am not compelled to do so any longer. My lack of enthusiasm for something I used to love to do really annoys me. I can’t remember when or why I stopped writing.
You’ve reminded me how crucial it is to just freakin’ DO it.
Noooo kidding. I think some of the reason for election obsessions is the loss of an American pop monoculture. We used to be distracted by watching the same movies and TV at the same time and arguing about music. We had a silly but vibrant cultural life. Now there's just sports and politics holding the nation together, with the latter treated by pundits like the former. That and war and weather disasters...
I kinda miss the monoculture. A lot of it was silly for sure but I always think back to watching Lee Harvey Oswald being murdered LIVE on network TV by Jack Ruby. What times those were!
See, you and my mom both got to experience that together! (She was 13.) Ugh. I remember in high school watching OJ Simpson on the run and saying that this was my generation's "where were you when" JFK moment. Little did I know...
Yes I was in grammar school when the principal spoke over the loudspeaker that JFK had been killed. A girl in class burst into tears hysterically crying that she had killed President Kennedy. Apparently the day before she had hoped that something would happen so that she would not have to take some test the next day. I felt so bad for her!
I was a child, watching the black and white TV. I knew even then, and told my parents, something was wrong about how it happened with cameras there, so handily aimed at the killing.
I'm 73 now and I still know it was staged. I'm not a conspiracy theorist. But I've spent a lifetime thinking about this and reading about the players.
We were being manipulated by the government back then.
OK so these horses roam free in a region that folks in Missouri know but I don't want to publicize too much, so I will be vague. This region is also known for its bluffs. I have a favorite bluff, one I've long been drawn to for reasons I cannot explain. Whenever I'm there, something miraculous happens -- for example, this bluff is where I was when the northern lights suddenly appeared in May.
Anyway, on this particular bluff is a large marking shaped like the head of a black horse. I can always find it, even when it rains and the colors change, because the black horse has a white spot on its face. I would think of it as "the horse bluff."
A couple of years ago, I was wandering around when I saw the wild horses -- and there was a black horse with a white spot that looked just like the horse whose face I see in the bluff. It was real and it started following me.
I never see all the wild horses down there -- most are hard to find -- but I almost always see the black horse with the white spot on its face, and it always stares me straight in the eye, and afterwards, good things happen.
"The Trump administration was packed with Iran hawks like John Bolton and Mike Pompeo and Jared Kushner. Harris touts her alliances with the Cheney family and other Bush neocons along with her desire to have the world’s 'most lethal' military (not the smartest, not the bravest, only the most lethal). Both candidates have vowed unconditional support for Israel’s violence, which they call 'self-defense.'"
Ahh yes.. the "moral" military of Israel..
Thank you again, Sarah, for conveying what we feel and fear with exquisite humanity.
This article affected me in so many ways. First, I had a laugh (and am still chuckling) at this:
Come on down, Jesus. Get ready for folks to bitch you out too. (Laughed again as I typed it.)
I don't have children (by choice) but I fight depression when I think about my great-nieces and nephews whose parents have such high hopes for their happiness, health and prosperity. I started a stock fund for each one several years ago. It could almost put each of them through two years of college at this point. But what will the state of education be in America in 10-15 years? Will there be universities?
I can't wait for the election to be over, too. But it won't be, because as you've told us, even if Kamala Harris wins, she may not get to serve. My country is in a bloody battle with itself.
Maybe I'm more affected by this remarkable article than usual because my hometown is devastated after Helene. We have to rebuild...our city, our state, our country, ourselves. It's a heavy lift.
It really shouldn't be close at all, there is NO choice for reasonable people. An articulate, intelligent, conscientious, energetic, successful person with a vision for moving America forward in excellent ways vs. a convicted felon who instigated a lethal insurrection against the country/Constitution he took an oath to protect as well as defying the espionage act with the theft of top secret documents and who has nothing to offer America except cozying up to dictators, advancement of white supremacy, division and tax cuts for the very wealthy.
During Democrats, lower and middle class increase standard of living. During Republicans, billionaires become richer and lower and middle class Americans needs are ignored. That's a fact. Period.
Imagine wearing these kinds of t-shirts in a red state 👇 🤣
I know. But metaphorically, I'm wet, and cold, and catching sea spray in the Higgins boat - and we won't be able to re-take the high ground if we don't get on the beach. It's a shitty, ugly, fubar mess. Don't see any other path, and the Breitbart gang's already striving to 'burn it all down' in the name of THEIR utopian vision.
I do not think Trump would be a better choice for the situation in Gaza or what is going on in Lebanon. So, what/who do you suggest is a better choice? How do you see Hamas and Hezbollah?
I have several years of experience in voting for the 3rd party candidates, including Jill Stein. It just seemed to ensure that the candidate that I (most definitely) did not want in office won. And years later, it still is the same.
You made me giggle at the opening with, “'You should have voted the hurricane out,” they scold. “It’s your job to evacuate before fascism arrives!'”
"Maybe I got that backwards. It’s hard to keep messaging straight in Election Season, when authority holds no sincerity and time loses all meaning."
And this comment is sobering, "I don’t know if aliens care about legal standards, but I don’t think the government does either." (The Supreme Court has made this clear!)
Followed by lightening the mood with, "There was not a soul to be seen in Piedmont the day my husband and I arrived. Maybe they got lucky, and the UFOs took them. Maybe Jesus came early."
...but I'm waiting for the next thud of truth.
And here it comes:
•No one in power takes the sovereignty of the US seriously and now they don’t even bother pretending.
•The will of the people is no longer an important part of US elections.
•"There are no red lines other than blood.
•Do not be fooled by claims of self-defense: the only politics at play are necropolitics.
and (ouch) this:
"I worry most that Iranian civilians, people who did nothing wrong, will be murdered, like the Palestinians. I worry because when Israel is doing the murdering, the US does nothing but abet and obey...."
And thanks for this lighter note:
"So yes, Jesus, come on down, the price is right, and I know because I’ve paid it. You too, UFOs. I will meet you in Piedmont or wherever you want to go. I know an underwater boulder that flips canoes, but we can wink and call it a baptism."
I was going to promise to be good, but I don't have to now, because I read the comments before posting this and you told the story about the black horse. (Spirit Animals are real and so is magic; you just have to believe.)
I wrote a similar piece, Sarah. I'm really exhausted by how badly the humans in America are behaving...the illiterate, greedy, and angry people who can find a way to support a career criminal. UGH. I havent been to Piedmont...I have a farm in the NE corner of Missouri. I moved back after 6+ years in Philadelphia. In fact, I'm in Philly right now... I missed a wider segment of reasonable people. 😂 I'm tired of being tired of all this... trying to stay cautiously optimistic. Hang in there! ✌️
I'm tired of being tired too. My best to you!
Yes today was World Mental Health Day and all we do is get dragged though another election where they beg for money and lie
And what is 'mental health' in a world where there is no center to hold; where everything has become unstuck; where a desperately passionate plea to an indifferent universe is as close to a sacrament as we can get?
At least it's like autumn in Tennessee, so I can sit on my porch in a hoodie, reading these words because they are as close to an openly acknowledging conversation as I can get — all while watching a flood-swollen muddy river flow by to remind me this isn't a regular season.
Thanks.
They must have thought the alien said “take me to your liter” Who can understand those thick alien accents?
Oh man I wish I'd thought of that for the caption! lol
Thank you for making me laugh out loud. How I need to laugh more!
Jesus wept. Today, Lazarus might prefer death? I typed it and now I am sitting here crying. Thank you. Your words finally broke through my anger to the grief it was masking.
I'm glad if it helps. Sometimes you gotta cry it out. You're not alone in that.
It’s good. I’m re-connected to a better part of me. Thank you.
You took my comment:)
I figure, a time or two down the road, maybe you’ll be the person that rolls out of bed first, or can’t sleep, and it will be your words that speak for me. Bless you.
My husband’s uncle was a businessman in Beirut- way back when it was the glamorous “Paris” of the Middle East - (couldn’t it just be the glamorous Beirut unto itself?).
During the thick of the pandemic we sat around our outdoor Brooklyn fire pit as we were quarantining with family on Thanksgiving and Christmas. So heard more stories around the campfire that I might not have heard otherwise. My husband was digging down deep for story material if he was reaching to tell us about a long dead uncle in a long dead city. Anything to bat away the fright and boredom.
Thanks so much Sarah for your documentation, and personal reflections and photos. It inspires me to remember and jot in my journals.
Write everything down, everyone! Turn off the devices and tell stories. Prompt your elders to share their memories - take photos! It’s the only way we can stretch the world bigger than the shrinking one we’re being force fed- gather round the campfire or a candle to learn and remember and imagine. Before we forget how to do all that.
Thank you for this. I’ve always loved to write—I kept journals, wrote stories and snail mail. When e-mail became a thing, I wrote those to my family and friends letter-style. People have told me “you should write,” but for some odd reason I am not compelled to do so any longer. My lack of enthusiasm for something I used to love to do really annoys me. I can’t remember when or why I stopped writing.
You’ve reminded me how crucial it is to just freakin’ DO it.
Within a matter of weeks, we’ll be talking about the 2028 election too. So tiring, to say the least! It would be nice to just live for once.
Noooo kidding. I think some of the reason for election obsessions is the loss of an American pop monoculture. We used to be distracted by watching the same movies and TV at the same time and arguing about music. We had a silly but vibrant cultural life. Now there's just sports and politics holding the nation together, with the latter treated by pundits like the former. That and war and weather disasters...
I kinda miss the monoculture. A lot of it was silly for sure but I always think back to watching Lee Harvey Oswald being murdered LIVE on network TV by Jack Ruby. What times those were!
See, you and my mom both got to experience that together! (She was 13.) Ugh. I remember in high school watching OJ Simpson on the run and saying that this was my generation's "where were you when" JFK moment. Little did I know...
Yes I was in grammar school when the principal spoke over the loudspeaker that JFK had been killed. A girl in class burst into tears hysterically crying that she had killed President Kennedy. Apparently the day before she had hoped that something would happen so that she would not have to take some test the next day. I felt so bad for her!
It was traumatic.
I was in 2nd grade. School was dismissed early.
Later on I watched in black and white Ruby shoot Oswald. My father leapt off the couch!
I was a child, watching the black and white TV. I knew even then, and told my parents, something was wrong about how it happened with cameras there, so handily aimed at the killing.
I'm 73 now and I still know it was staged. I'm not a conspiracy theorist. But I've spent a lifetime thinking about this and reading about the players.
We were being manipulated by the government back then.
And JFK, Bobby, and MLK, Jr.
We all have PTSD and it wasn’t discussed with children!
The adults certainly did! My father was a politician and I do believe he was very conflicted and probably scared.
Don’t remember in depth discussions as I grew.
🥲
And the former being treated like the latter. See anything about Caitlin Clark on YouTube.
We don't even have good music anymore or dancing
Please tell us the story about the black horse. I promise to be good, hopefully before the election!
OK so these horses roam free in a region that folks in Missouri know but I don't want to publicize too much, so I will be vague. This region is also known for its bluffs. I have a favorite bluff, one I've long been drawn to for reasons I cannot explain. Whenever I'm there, something miraculous happens -- for example, this bluff is where I was when the northern lights suddenly appeared in May.
Anyway, on this particular bluff is a large marking shaped like the head of a black horse. I can always find it, even when it rains and the colors change, because the black horse has a white spot on its face. I would think of it as "the horse bluff."
A couple of years ago, I was wandering around when I saw the wild horses -- and there was a black horse with a white spot that looked just like the horse whose face I see in the bluff. It was real and it started following me.
I never see all the wild horses down there -- most are hard to find -- but I almost always see the black horse with the white spot on its face, and it always stares me straight in the eye, and afterwards, good things happen.
Part of me yearns to believe in spirit animals. Thanks.
(just do it)
Magic.
Can’t fool children and animals!
They trust who they love!
Fabulous writing.
Thank you!
Hell follows you on social media!!! That should be on a T-shirt!
That just became my raised-eyebrow, glowering old grouch retort to make sure no one ever asks me more than once if I'd "seen that on Facebook".
So beautiful, and yet so heartbreaking. I fear you speak the truth.
"The Trump administration was packed with Iran hawks like John Bolton and Mike Pompeo and Jared Kushner. Harris touts her alliances with the Cheney family and other Bush neocons along with her desire to have the world’s 'most lethal' military (not the smartest, not the bravest, only the most lethal). Both candidates have vowed unconditional support for Israel’s violence, which they call 'self-defense.'"
Ahh yes.. the "moral" military of Israel..
Thank you again, Sarah, for conveying what we feel and fear with exquisite humanity.
Thanks for reading!
This article affected me in so many ways. First, I had a laugh (and am still chuckling) at this:
Come on down, Jesus. Get ready for folks to bitch you out too. (Laughed again as I typed it.)
I don't have children (by choice) but I fight depression when I think about my great-nieces and nephews whose parents have such high hopes for their happiness, health and prosperity. I started a stock fund for each one several years ago. It could almost put each of them through two years of college at this point. But what will the state of education be in America in 10-15 years? Will there be universities?
I can't wait for the election to be over, too. But it won't be, because as you've told us, even if Kamala Harris wins, she may not get to serve. My country is in a bloody battle with itself.
Maybe I'm more affected by this remarkable article than usual because my hometown is devastated after Helene. We have to rebuild...our city, our state, our country, ourselves. It's a heavy lift.
I’m so sorry to hear about your hometown getting hit by Helene. My best to you. And thank you for reading!
Thank you, Sarah. Thank you for writing! It's why I subscribe.
Another great analysis beautifully written. I love your writing!
Thank you!
It really shouldn't be close at all, there is NO choice for reasonable people. An articulate, intelligent, conscientious, energetic, successful person with a vision for moving America forward in excellent ways vs. a convicted felon who instigated a lethal insurrection against the country/Constitution he took an oath to protect as well as defying the espionage act with the theft of top secret documents and who has nothing to offer America except cozying up to dictators, advancement of white supremacy, division and tax cuts for the very wealthy.
During Democrats, lower and middle class increase standard of living. During Republicans, billionaires become richer and lower and middle class Americans needs are ignored. That's a fact. Period.
Imagine wearing these kinds of t-shirts in a red state 👇 🤣
teespring.com/stores/libtees-2
Kamala is the ONLY choice. She will preserve our Democracy.
Vote blue up and down the ballot!
You support the genocide.
I know. But metaphorically, I'm wet, and cold, and catching sea spray in the Higgins boat - and we won't be able to re-take the high ground if we don't get on the beach. It's a shitty, ugly, fubar mess. Don't see any other path, and the Breitbart gang's already striving to 'burn it all down' in the name of THEIR utopian vision.
Harris kills babies.
I do not think Trump would be a better choice for the situation in Gaza or what is going on in Lebanon. So, what/who do you suggest is a better choice? How do you see Hamas and Hezbollah?
I'm voting for Jill Stein. They're the resistance🇵🇸🇱🇧 ✊
Thom Hartmann today should be widely circulated:
Jill Stein: The Grifter Who May Hand Trump the White House Again
How one woman’s ego Is endangering Democracy and destroying the Green Party...https://hartmannreport.com/p/jill-stein-the-grifter-who-may-hand-06e
🤡
I have several years of experience in voting for the 3rd party candidates, including Jill Stein. It just seemed to ensure that the candidate that I (most definitely) did not want in office won. And years later, it still is the same.
So you're giving up? Good strategy 🙄
No, just being smarter in my choices. Third party candidates are not always what you want them to be. 🦉
Another poignant, on-point column that makes me ache, makes me angry, makes me sigh, sorrowfully. We're doing ourselves in.
I love your writing. Cuts to the bone. And we need that rawness, that felt sense, if we’re gonna make it through. A friend and I propose a day of global keening… you can read it about it here if you’d like… https://open.substack.com/pub/joshliveright/p/a-call-for-global-keening-caoineadh?r=5hemq&utm_medium=ios
You made me giggle at the opening with, “'You should have voted the hurricane out,” they scold. “It’s your job to evacuate before fascism arrives!'”
"Maybe I got that backwards. It’s hard to keep messaging straight in Election Season, when authority holds no sincerity and time loses all meaning."
And this comment is sobering, "I don’t know if aliens care about legal standards, but I don’t think the government does either." (The Supreme Court has made this clear!)
Followed by lightening the mood with, "There was not a soul to be seen in Piedmont the day my husband and I arrived. Maybe they got lucky, and the UFOs took them. Maybe Jesus came early."
...but I'm waiting for the next thud of truth.
And here it comes:
•No one in power takes the sovereignty of the US seriously and now they don’t even bother pretending.
•The will of the people is no longer an important part of US elections.
•"There are no red lines other than blood.
•Do not be fooled by claims of self-defense: the only politics at play are necropolitics.
and (ouch) this:
"I worry most that Iranian civilians, people who did nothing wrong, will be murdered, like the Palestinians. I worry because when Israel is doing the murdering, the US does nothing but abet and obey...."
And thanks for this lighter note:
"So yes, Jesus, come on down, the price is right, and I know because I’ve paid it. You too, UFOs. I will meet you in Piedmont or wherever you want to go. I know an underwater boulder that flips canoes, but we can wink and call it a baptism."
I was going to promise to be good, but I don't have to now, because I read the comments before posting this and you told the story about the black horse. (Spirit Animals are real and so is magic; you just have to believe.)