Memory

When I was a pre-schooler, I achieved fame for my ability to identify 1950's cars and their models.  I made it into Jim Kinney's Beachcomber column in the Pope County Tribune. I have absolutely no recollection of this. It's a case of "infused memory", thinking you remember something but it's really something people have told you about yourself. 

Cognitive psychologists have termed this "childhood amnesia" and is the case for almost all of us, attributed most probably to immature brains. Early childhood is lost to us. What is your earliest "non-infused" memory? Often it is something dramatic etched into your hippocampus. I can vividly remember wandering off and the thrilling ride up an escalator in Powers Department Store and the panic when I could not figure out how to get back down. I remember the 1954 total eclipse when my parents awakened me at 6:00 AM to cross the street in my pajamas to my grandparents' back yard to look up at the sky - maybe with sunglasses, no eclipse glasses back then. I know that my first home was an apartment above the Dahl House but I have no recollection of its interior, while I can visualize every nook and cranny of my second childhood home on Drury Avenue.

If we could remember what we can’t remember, we might live our lives entirely differently.  But, then again, perhaps our subconscious knows best. I don’t think a life of perfect recall would be all that pleasant. Some things are best left unremembered.  And the memories we do have may be suspect.  It is human nature to color our memories to be more favorable to our role in them than what was true in reality. No two people remember the same event in the same way.  Makes jury duty challenging. Memory as we'd like it to be becomes the reel we play in our head. Fodder for your therapist. Collective memory is even more corrupt. What passes for fact in the minds of vast numbers is astounding.  But that for another day. 

As I age I spend more time remembering the past.  After all, there's much more of that than my future. We accumulate a lot of memories.  But why do we remember what we remember and why does our memory have such yawning gaps?  (If you could answer that question, you would undoubtedly be famous and have uncovered something new about the workings of the human mind.)  

Memories intrude for no understandable reason.  What dictates what thoughts, images or stories come to the fore?  Most people recognize that smell triggers memory.  Doughnuts deep frying puts me immediately in my grandmother's kitchen.  New mown alfalfa puts me on a hayrack on Tim's farm.  Someone’s “Do you remember …” can fire some dormant synapses.  Photographs! Too bad most of my life was constrained by 24 shot Kodachrome. Fill up your phone with memories - and do a backup occasionally.

But memory’s dominant characteristic is randomness.  Aunt Myrt pops in for a visit.  Some bit of music floats by and decides to overstay its welcome.  My strikeout to end the game - as batter, not pitcher - reliving the pain.  A young lady sits down next to me at a school choir concert.  Flying over the handlebars - not the flight, the landing.  Twin grands in NICU. A visit to the USS New Jersey with son Matt.  None of these memories are sought - they just pop up arbitrarily.  And one thought leads to a tangent thought until you've got a messy neural network competing.  And then - poof, gone. And more often than I care to admit, a thought is present only until I enter a different room. What was that again?

Which leads to the realization that memory portends something ominous - its disappearance.  Names in particular often reach the end of my tongue but go no further.  Is this how it starts?  I take heart over a brilliant thinker flogging himself because he couldn't remember the person he met last week.  But I am still waiting for the explanation why names are so vulnerable.  This is one of the reasons I dive into genealogy.  I enjoy preserving family history online.  (Bonus. I can do lookups to defeat my memory lapses!)  It's unlikely that any of my family or my descendants will give a hoot about this tree of knowledge, but at least I satisfy my desire to remember those in the past.

Memories are a comfort but of course they also evoke regrets.  You wish you had not done certain things or done things you did not.  But to leave the past behind would eliminate the great joys.  Savor your memories wherever they come from.

Hoplin-Pearson-Rosten-Blair tree.  The tree is public, but those in it still living are privatized

Copyright ©  2024  Dave Hoplin

Mansplaining 4th Edition

Pete from Cincinnati writes:  Hey Dave. What's your take on the Ohtani business?

Dave writes: Well Pete.  I'm going to take the rosy path and give him the benefit of the doubt. It's understandable. I often neglect to keep my bank account balanced and can easily overlook those $4.5 million withdrawals.

Warren from Omaha writes: Dave, here's an exclusive insider tip. Put your excess cash into War Bonds.

Dave writes: Warren. No can do. For regular folk, excess cash is an oxymoron and I never really liked him in Wagon Train anyway.

Carl from Blue Dot writes:  Are you bound for Ohio on April 8 for the viewing?

Dave writes: Carl. Who died? (Just kidding). But no, it's unlikely.  I look funny in those glasses and there's no good way to get there without crossing through Indiana. Besides that's my tax week. Send me a video.

Caitlin from Iowa City writes: Dave. You're kind of late jumping on the bandwagon.

Dave writes: Ms. Clark. Deepest respects. I have always admired the finesse and passing skills of your sport in contrast to the men. I can only stomach so many clearouts, lob/dunk and charging called blocking plays. Also my daughter's a Hawkeye. Can I get an autograph?

Lion King from Orange County writes: I say you're a terrible reporter.

Dave writes:  Lion. I join a large club. I do admit to struggle to find a word or a name now and then.  However, it usually arrives a few minutes after I needed it.  I no longer do much public speaking. But in my defense, I am approaching your age.

Kellogg from Post, TX  writes: Hey Dave. I just paid 7 bucks for a box of cereal. I'm mad as H and I'm not going to take it anymore.

Dave writes: Kell. Yup, food companies are gouging, but you need to stick to a budget. Rent $1500. Car Payment: $500. Groceries: $400. Apparel: $200.  Student loan: $300. Entertainment: $200.  Coffee: $200. ...  Some expenses you can't avoid. Others you can. Your cereal is still cheaper than that pack of cigarettes.

Brigham from Provo writes: I've heard that The Great Salt Lake will be a dry salt flats within 5 years. What can I do?

Dave writes: Brig, climate change is a big problem, an existential problem.  And your best option is the old saw: think globally, act locally. Start by not irrigating a desert. The only upside I see in this is perhaps we'll see a new land speed record.

Janis from Mankato writes: How about those Mavericks?

Dave writes: CJ. I am ashamed to admit that I mocked the rename of State Teachers' College to Minnesota State. Now, National BB titles for both Men & Women!  I'm thinking the Mav’s should replace the Gophers in the Big Ten. Or twelve or fourteen or however many there are these days.

Jesse from Portland writes: Hey, Dave.  I've missed you out on the trails?

Dave writes: Jesse, I think I saw you whiz by the other day but the cloud of dust obscured. You need to slow down.  Look for me on the 10 mph trails in a Michelin Man outfit.

Liz from the Heights writes:  Try that cauliflower crust pizza. It's good.

Dave writes: Doc, I appreciate you looking out for my glucose levels.  I will indulge in a veggie pizza but a veggie crust? Really? Dave writes later: Another life lesson.  Don't leap to conclusions.  Doctor knows best. Tried it and it's great.

Casey from the Bronx writes: You know, baseball is marvelous. Managers wear the same uniforms as the players. Back in the day there were no names or numbers on the back. In the 20’s, the Yankees put the position in the batting order on the uniform. That’s why Babe is 3 and Gehrig is 4. Nothing like those pinstripes. With the Mets I suggested removing the names from the uniforms to avoid embarrassing their families. Baseball .. (tape recorder died)

Dave writes: Casey. A Stengelese masterpiece monologue, but is there a question in there? I’m guessing you’re wondering why other sports don’t require coaches to wear the team uniform? The simple answer is: do you really want to see Andy Reid in helmet & pads or Red Auerbach in shorts or Bruce Boudreau in breezers? There’s enough violence in the world.

Charles from Alabama writes: Dave. How much March Madness do you think people can tolerate?

Dave writes: Lots. As long as they’ve got a dollar left to bet. For me, after the round of 64, on the mens' side, it becomes boring. Busted bracket.

Axel writes: Hey Dave. Pick someone else for your wisdom finale.

Dave writes: oK, but here’s one that sounds like you. Birdie with the yellow bill ... “Light travels faster than sound. That’s why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. “

Copyright ©  2024  Dave Hoplin

Java Jive

Good health requires hydration.  The recommended daily water intake is 80 oz or eight 10 oz glasses. Seems a lot.  But ... it turns out cups of coffee count toward that target.  And the diuretic effect of coffee only minimally increases that target. Given that, it seems not so much. I do love a good coffee. 

However, the world’s most popular beverage is tea which has about 1/3 the caffeine of Folgers, but for me, the only reason to drink tea is a concoction infused with lemon, licorice or peppermint to fight off a head cold. The British are of the opinion that any problem is solvable over a cuppa tea. Maybe they have something.

Not too long ago, coffee was high on the list of things to avoid. But recent research shows that coffee "can improve cognitive performance, speed up reaction time, and boost logical reasoning, and it may even reduce the risk of Parkinson’s, diabetes, liver disease, and cancer. But for a substance so ubiquitous that it’s called the most widely used drug in the world, our grasp of how to maximize its benefits is feeble at best."

Remember, too much of a good thing is never a good thing. Caffeine is a drug after all. And there's a point when guzzling caffeine tips over into questionable, unhealthy territory. 

There are FDA guidelines on caffeine intake, a caffeine limit of 400 milligrams, the equivalent of about four or five cups of coffee. But we are clearly in an era of extreme "Red Bull caffeinating" with new products delivering high doses of caffeine popping up all the time. There are no product labeling or age warnings requirements on caffeine content. There are drinks on the market that contain 200 mg in a 12 oz can, 6x that of a Coke or 3x a cup of coffee. A 12-ounce Americano from McDonald’s contains 71 milligrams of caffeine, but the same drink at Starbucks contains 150 milligrams. And that 10 Hour Energy little 2 oz bottle has 422 mg of caffeine, exceeding that daily limit in one swallow.

So exercise some common sense. There have been several wrongful death lawsuits against extreme caffeine drink companies. Everyone reacts differently. I know someone where even a nibble of chocolate incites heart palpitations. If you've had 2 cups of coffee in the morning for 50 years it's probably not an issue, whereas if you're a novice, you might want to take it slow. Listen to your body.

Dehydration is dangerous. The USTA had a "pill" developed that players could swallow and have their internal body temperature measured during match breaks, using a red/yellow/green indication.  Red meaning stop the match.  However, players objected to swallowing a big horse-pill so the safety measure went by the boards - or rather the court. And the "pill" was cost effective as it was reusable. 

In any case, keep in mind that cold water absorbs into your system fastest, so if you're playing tennis (or pickleball) when it's 100°, you should hydrate with cold water not coffee. 

Be careful out there.

"The Java Jive" (Ink Spots, 1940)

 Copyright ©  2024  Dave Hoplin

Deep Thoughts Vol. 3

Once again, with apologies to Jack Handy, I give you Volume 3.

A trip to Costco is an existential experience. You have to decide if you are going to live long enough to use all that TP.

Most bikers tend to be a callused lot.

Forgiveness is accepting the apology you will never get. [Borrowed from an otherwise unremembered sermon]

Never trust someone who is rude to wait staff.

Do you really want to own a vehicle named “Ram”?

The leather cover I use on my truck tailgate to carry my bike and protect against scratches is marketed as a “Crash Pad”. Disconcerting. 

Who is Helmut Kohl?  Me neither. Some German guy probably.

Wet feet and cotton underwear are not a match made in heaven, unless you can hop on one foot much better than I.

Guess this location. "The ambience may be bad but the company might actually be pretty good."

Try to stay astonished - in a positive sense.  It will keep you young.

Compression socks, known to me as depression socks. I have several broken fingernails from trying to get them on.

Mental acuity test. Count backwards from 100 by 7's.

How did you do?

Budgets are moral documents.

If 7 is a lucky number, why are there 7 deadly sins?

Why in the world do "awfully" and "nice" get paired?

The internet is an unreliable narrator.

Try spending a day or two bound to a wheelchair.  It will make you humble and curse stairways.

Believe it or not. I live in Minnesota and have a February tan. Pretty sure the earth is screwed. We need an exit strategy.

Bowling and tennis seem to have succumbed to pickleball.

Does anyone whistle (or hum) any more? I miss those distant echos of cheerfulness.

The James Webb Telescope is searching for life in outer space. I think ET might be purposely hiding from us.

Bad things can happen fast, but most good things happen slowly. (borrowed from somewhere)

I inherited any number of traits from my father, but arthritic hands is not one I'm thankful for.

Bashing things you hate will give you ulcers.  Focus on the good stuff.

The Great Salt Lake is expected to be dry within 5 years.  But, it's salty. It's not as if Lake Mead is drying up. Oh, wait.

Copyright ©  2024  Dave Hoplin

Compassion Awakened

In my little home town, there dwelled a renowned storyteller.  He would weave fantastic tales that always ended with ... "never would have believed it if it hadn't happened to me".  Like .. "one day down by the lake, I was swarmed with monster mosquitos so I took cover under my overturned rowboat.  The attackers' stingers came right through the boat bottom so I took out my hammer and bent them over.  Suddenly, the boat was off flying and I was crouched under blue sky.  Never would have believed it if it hadn't happened to me."

Such is life.  We have a vague appreciation of things that affect others, but we go along our way without true awareness. It hasn't happened to me so .. I can ignore it.  I'm sure you can make a list of any number of things like this. 

About a month ago my wife fell while out walking.  She was on a paved trail but at the bottom of a hill there was a mud hole (this in February in Minnesota, no less). She skirted off the trail to avoid the mud and caught her foot on a tree root and went down hard on her knee causing a compression fracture of her tibia. Hard to treat. She was placed in a lock-in-place knee brace and told she could not put any weight on that leg for 8 weeks. Uffda. Hard to get around with a walker hopping on one leg. So, pretty much homebound, confined to a wheel-chair + walker. Luckily she's a tough farm girl, determined to get through this.

Through this, we have come to really appreciate the difficulties facing the disabled. Of course we had some understanding of the trials of getting around while disabled: the lack of handicapped access to buildings; getting through doors - and their irritating  narrowness; negotiating curbs; absence of handrails and the struggle to do just the basic things of life - you know what I mean. 

We have a 2-story home with bedrooms upstairs so we moved a bed downstairs as climbing stairs was out of the question. The cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping, pet care duties have fallen on the barely competent spouse. Stairs are daunting. To transfer up/down 2 steps from the house to our vehicle was nigh unto impossible until we purchased a short ramp. Now it is just difficult. We recently had a medical appointment at a hospital that will remain unnamed. The hospital presents a challenge. Its main entrance is below street-level with a long stairs from the street downward. There is a short drive-by patient drop-off accommodating only a half dozen cars so there's always a backup into the street. Just another example of a building not designed for the able challenged. 

The thing is, for us, this will soon be over and we will be back to living (hopefully) our normal life.  But for millions, disability is a permanent day-after-day struggle. I will never take mobility for granted again and I urge one and all to advocate for these folks.

“Compassion is the basis of morality”  Scopenhauer

Copyright ©  2024  Dave Hoplin

Without Comment

Holding your tongue requires discipline

A new report claims “resounding evidence” shows that high corporate profits are a main driver of ongoing inflation, and companies continue to keep prices high even as their inflationary costs drop.  Groundwork Collaborative

 “I have but one human body. I can only wear so many sweaters.” Unknown

Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira is accused of leaking highly classified military intelligence from the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts where he worked. Teixeira, who’s 21, has been behind bars since his April arrest on charges stemming from the most consequential intelligence leak in years.  Dec 2023

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.  Franklin D. Roosevelt

Only the Protestants think that every day in every way, life is getting better and better. What do they know?"  Mary Gordon

Without data, you're just another person with an opinion.  W. Demming

"There are really only two reasons to write: desperation or revenge."  Elizabeth Hardwick

The most important factor in determining a person’s future is when and where they are born. Each of us, born into any other situation, would experience a different outcome. .. I likely would not be an entrepreneur or an academic had I been born in South Sudan. If I’d been born in 1920s Germany, I’d likely have been a Nazi who perished on a Russian field.  Being born one year earlier or later can make a big difference. People who graduate into a recession earn less for 10 to 15 years than those who graduate amid prosperity. Fate also changes block to block: One of the strongest signals of life expectancy (and much else) is the ZIP code where you’re born. Within the same city, life expectancy can vary by 30 years based on ZIP code.    Scott Galloway

“No two persons ever read the same book.”  Edmund Wilson

When Einstein was asked what he would have done if his theory of general relativity had not held up, he replied, “Then I would have been sorry for the dear Lord. The theory is correct.”

“A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.”  B F Skinner

Think before you act and, once you’ve acted, think about what you did. Try to be thoughtful. Don’t overreact. Focus on what you can control and remain indifferent to what you can’t. Keep in mind, too, that you’ll die eventually, so don’t waste time. These modest predicates make up the cool white heart of classical Stoicism.

Display those virtues which are wholly in your own power—integrity, dignity, hard work, self-denial, contentment, frugality, kindness, independence, simplicity, discretion, magnanimity. Do you not see how many virtues you can already display without any excuse of lack of talent or aptitude?  Marcus Aurelius

Once, asked about his writing routine, Doctorow said: "Here's how it goes: I'm up at the stroke of 10 or 10:30. I have breakfast and read the papers, and then it's lunchtime. Then maybe a little nap after lunch and out to the gym, and before I know it, it's time to have a drink."  

“To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.”  Somerset Maugham

And after I have gone someone will say, "Oh, him. I thought he was still around. I used to see him everywhere, only, all this time, I thought he was someone else."  Louis Jenkins

"No matter how bad things get, you got to go on living, even if it kills you" Aleichem

“But ultimately, <life> is a lesson in humility. The very best thing about your life is a short stage in someone else’s story. And it is enough.”  Michael Gerson, eloquent columnist for the Washington Post, recently passed away. 

"Go to the edge of the cliff and jump off. Build your wings on the way down.”  Ray Bradbury

"More and more, online news sources will give them only what they wanted in advance. [...] Custom filters are going to make Americans even more ignorant than they already are, which is plenty.”  Anne Fadiman

"Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was listening, everything must be said again."  Andre Gide

"Truth is mighty and will prevail. There is nothing the matter with this, except that it ain't so." Mark Twain

"Politics is like dice: the better the player, the worse the man." C.J. Sansom

“A human being whose life is nurtured in an advantage which has accrued from the disadvantage of other human beings, and who prefers that this should remain as it is, is a human being by definition only, having much more in common with the bedbug, the tapeworm, the cancer, and the scavengers of the deep sea.”
James Agee

“Just try to be decent. Whether you were decent—that’s what will be remembered."  
Wladyslaw Bartoszewski

And Wendell Berry is a wealth of wisdom

"Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you."

"You can best serve civilization by being against what usually passes for it."

"Better than any argument is to rise at dawn and pick dew-wet red berries in a cup."

Copyright ©  2024  Dave Hoplin

Some Knots in the Family Tree

I enjoy researching family history and genealogy.  So when our 12 year old son was given a school assignment to trace his family tree, I thought he might catch the bug. Not to be. He was fine tracing back to the grandparents on each side and we helped him identify his great-grandparents. It was a well designed exercise in writing a research paper, including making an outline and doing research and conducting interviews. He did a great job. 

Part of the assignment was to include a description of his parents and grandparents. We generally view ourselves more favorably than might be warranted and take little care over others’ opinions of us. But when it comes from your own child, well ... revealing.   Here's the story - unredacted.

"My dad has some pretty distinguishing features. He has thick glasses, a slender build [editor note: a long while ago] and dark hair.  He is good at tennis, volleyball and slo-pitch softball.  He's good at math and loves to read. He works for Control Data and develops computer programs. He doesn't like to work if he doesn't have to. He loves coffee in the morning but he makes me plug it in because he doesn't want to get up.

My mom has gray hair in the front.  She has bad teeth because she ate too much candy when she was a kid.  She makes real good meals when she's in the mood, otherwise we have toast and milk. She's good at pulling teeth.

But I still love them and they still love me.

My mom & dad met in high school.  They had a few dates and were good friends. They went to a couple plays at the University of Minnesota, Morris. My mom had other boy friends and my dad liked other girls too.  My my went to Seattle to work. My dad stayed in Minnesota to finish college.  My mom came back and worked at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.  She and my dad got married. Then they moved to Bozeman, MT where I was born.

My mom's parents live on a farm. She has two brothers and two sisters and they all had about the same amount of work to do - which was a lot. My grandma and grandpa were firm but loving. My mom had no allowance. They had a TV but the only stations were in the Twin Cities, 160 miles away, so they didn't get very good reception. They listened to the radio a lot. The farm has a 1/2 mile driveway and the school had a dress code so it was very cold walk for them in the winter. The bus ride was also very long. The thing mom hated the most was something that had to do with chickens.

My dad lived in a small town. He had about the same amount of work as his sister. He also did not get an allowance. When he wanted money he asked for it. His hobby was collecting baseball cards. He had a big drawer full. His school was a four room schoolhouse, with 2 grades in each room. The thing my dad hated worst was digging ditches. His grandfather said he didn't need machinery when he had kids to do the work.

My grandpa Glenn is very smart.  He uses a very large vocabulary. He loves his rose garden and concerts at Orchestra Hall. He is a hard worker and often takes a nap on the floor with no pillow at all.  Grandma H. is also very nice. She bakes good brownies and always bakes them when she knows we are coming to visit. She likes having us come.  She makes big meals even when it's not Thanksgiving. She is a nice grandma.

Grandpa Tim goes out of his way to help other people.  He loves to visit and he's funny. He gets a farmer tan every summer.  He has large strong hands. He has a fun farm to roam around in. Grandma R  has white hair and makes the best pie.  She has a soft voice and the only time I could imagine her mad would be at Lester the bull. She's a nice grandma.

The greatest thing about my grandparents is that they all love me a lot and I love them a lot."

The End

[Editor note: I apparently became more accomplished over the years - good at 3 sports.  When in first grade and asked what his father was good at, the only thing he could come up with was "being quiet in the library".]

Copyright ©  2024  Dave Hoplin

This Is Unfortunately True

We launch into the Christmas season, traditionally the time of Glad Tidings and Good Will.  We seem to be failing the Good Will part. I am dismayed.

I recently read Amor Towle's "Rules of Civility" set in 1930's Manhattan and from that reading it is clear that back then people were far more polite than we, even through The Great Depression.  

And if you go back farther to George Washington's Rules of Civility, there was a politeness rule book.

1. If you cough, sneeze, sigh, or yawn, do it not loudly but privately and put your handkerchief or hand before your face and turn aside.
2. Shift not yourself in the sight of others nor gnaw your nails.
3. Be no flatterer.
4. Show not yourself glad at the misfortune of another though he were your enemy.
5. If anyone come to speak to you while you are sitting stand up 
6. In walking the highest place in most countries seems to be on the right hand therefore place yourself on the left of him whom you desire to honor
7. Let your discourse with men of business be short and comprehensive.
8. Use no reproachful language against anyone, neither curse nor revile.
9. Be not hasty to believe flying reports to the disparagement of any.
10. Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for tis better to be alone than in bad company.
11. A man ought not to value himself of his achievements, or rare qualities of wit; much less of his riches virtue or kindred.
12. Detract not from others neither be excessive in commanding.
13. Undertake not what you cannot perform but be careful to keep your promise.
14. Be not tedious in discourse, make not many digressions.
15. Drink not nor talk with your mouth full.
16. Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.

And even farther back, there is Aristotle

1. Name your fears and face them

2. Know your appetites and control them

3. Be neither a cheapskate nor a spendthrift

4. Give as generously as you can

5. Focus more on the transcendent; disregard the trivial

6. True strength is a controlled temper

7. Never lie, especially to yourself

8. Stop struggling for your fair share

9. Forgive others and forbear their weaknesses

10. Define your morality; live up to it, even in private

So here we are in the 21st century and it seems civility is a lost virtue and our kinder selves are in submission to our baser selves.  Societal pressure to "behave" seems to have no effect.   

So we see 

• Congressional misconduct: Seems a bit worse than the "normal" misbehavior: gold bars in a Senator's closet; the election of a fraud and fabulist practicing political donor identity theft yielding expulsion; censures, name calling, profanity, threats, physical attacks (clean kidney shots) and other dodgy behaviors inside and outside the halls of Congress. These are echos of pre-Civil War Congressional conduct. We have a Congress where way too many members are there to become famous rather than to accomplish something. And the quickest route to notoriety these days is bad behavior.  24/7 media eats that stuff up. And that bad behavior gives license to the rest of US.
• Barely concealed bribery of Supreme Court justices
• Nearly daily "unruly airline passengers" incidents. See also restaurants. Or anywhere there's a line or a service person.
• Road rage epidemic. Advice: resist the temptation to thrust your hand out the driver side window. The three-lane freeway near me has become the 75, 80, 85 mph lane raceway.
• A marked physical assault uptick, particularly against hospital nurses. Against nurses!
• School board meeting hissy fits.
• A presidential candidate refers to people as "vermin".
• Will Smith smacks Chris Rock at the Oscars.  Good grief.
• Thanksgiving Day family fissures
• ... and this list will surely grow by tomorrow

What kind of people are we becoming? There is an epidemic of rude behavior and this rudeness begets more rudeness. It's a contagion. I am no psychologist but we are nation divided into tribes, enabled by isolating social media. And isolation breeds narcissism and loneliness, which breeds anger & victimhood and here we are in a tribal warfare world. 

But the true tragedy of this is that from rudeness to hate us but a short hop. The dramatic increase in hate crime, of overt persecution and incidents of violence against Jews, Moslems, Blacks, Asians, LGBTQ makes it imperative that we, the safe and secure, raise our voices against these outrages. Do we sit idly by and watch the world relive the 1930’s? I hope we might have learned from history. Edmund Burke once wisely noted, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph in the world is that good people do nothing.” 

As we Lutherans are apt to say, this is unfortunately true. So, let's step back and take a deep breath people. We don't have to memorize Washington's rules.  We simply need to abide by the Golden Rule:  "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".  Add to that a daily random act of kindness to help move the needle towards good will.

Be careful. Be brave.  Blessings to you all.  

Copyright ©  2023  Dave Hoplin