Damn!

 Damn! I DO want to write my blog but things just are getting in my way.

Like I went on a diet on August 1(just so I didn't have to buy new clothes as I had no pants that fit.) And so I have been hungry since August 1st. It turns out it is very hard for me to do thinking while hungry. Leslie says she is always hungry, and that doesn't stop her! Well, maybe I would get used to it but I have dropped the weight, so I will no longer have this excuse.

Part of my problem is that there is so much I want to write about and I can't settle down on the next one (so this is the next one.)

After getting requested feedback from some Republican friends, I want to redo my last post about the rational reasons people will vote for Trump, much as I find their narratives wrong-headed.

But I thought that, first, I should do a series of posts on how are brains really aren't good for this moment in time. A blog on narrative construction, which rules us all, should come probably come first. Another on tribalism, which plays deeply into our narrative lives. Another on stereotypes, which makes it possible to communicate, organize and understand our world - but can lead to blind prejudice if not held lightly.  All come into play in why our country is so damn divided.

But, then, changing direction, I have blogs in my head about the American multi-decade sexual panic. Another on redemption and restorative justice. The election. Global warming - and why we are so screwed. Cancel Culture (and I would be). Social Media's pernicious effects. Title IX. Integration v. Identity Politics. Political Correctness (left and right). Pension Reform. Social Security Reform. Fire. LSD. Covid-19. Wagner. Trapping possums. Free will.

But my perfectionism keeps me from writing. I know I don't have the focused energy or time. Other things call to me: editing Leslie's new book; Covid-19 issues, the election - and doing something about it; the orange sky or smoke or ashes; my mother's needs; my dog's needs; some new and cool post-Covid thing on the internet; the Village people (a group I am in); my list of house projects; my desire - post Facebook and in the throes of Covid - to reach out to each and every friend; the will rewrite (see earlier post); reading, reading, reading!! And, then, there is playing bridge - which turns my mind off from all other things for a several hours most days.

The blog - like everything I have ever written - is basically for me. A moment in time. Something to come back to and reread to see how I have changed and not changed. How the world has changed. But, like all my blogs, I make them available to anyone who is interested in a peak into my brain, my views, my logic, my attempt to persuade. But, I don't want the blogs to be terrible for my future self. I don't want to embarrass my future self (like reading diaries from my 20s!) Thus, I must be properly focused. Now, instead, I must go get rid of excess leaves and sweep up old ashes. Spray paint the wheelbarrow to prevent rust. These things beckon. The blog will wait.

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