CSotD: Thursday Short Takes
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I'm on the road with an early startup, so this will be a short one today. I'll lead off with Fowl Language because flying two-thirds of the way across this great country of ours is an exercise in nostalgia, particularly if your flights get messed up and you spend four hours more than intended in various airports.
I saw a lot of kids and parents yesterday, mostly hauling huge loads of gear that I was awfully glad I didn't have to schlep around anymore. And kids who were alternately freaking out or just raising hell in a most unhelpful manner.
I tried to think back to how we managed traveling with two small boys and I couldn't remember any particular crises. I was thinking that maybe that was a little parental amnesia, like the way (most) women kind of block the memories of childbirth pain and focus on the joyful outcome.
Or just being young and having all that energy.
But then I saw a family of four who, true, had more gear than I was carrying, but not as much as some other people, even without kids, were toting. And their kids were running around, but they'd found a spot kind of off in a corner and the kids were working off some large-muscle energy and it was pretty much under control.
And they were talking to their kids a lot, not giving them orders so much as keeping them up-to-date on what was happening, which included orders but not in a commanding way.
They were on my plane and the little one — she looked two-and-a-halfish, her brother about four — had a very brief meltdown about three hours into the flight, but they coddled her a bit and she recovered.
I like Fowl Language because we all like war stories and to laugh about the frustrations that come up, but the best part is that he does, indeed, focus on and exaggerate about funny stuff that isn't at the core of the experience.
These folks probably have tougher days, and the parents whose kids were raising hell probably have better ones, but my experience is that the critical factor is the engagement, the presence, the being-here-now.
Can't teach it, although there are plenty of books that try, and you can't fake it, though I've seen that, too.
But I know who I want to see get on the plane I'm about to get on.
The days seem to be nearly gone when airports bludgeoned you with loud TV news and so I managed to stay out of the loop yesterday, though I caught the highpoints here and there. But Trump & Co had already made their "let it die" statements and so I got the gist of those cartoons this morning.
But Bruce Plante supplies the missing piece: The "failure" of the ACA — to the extent that it has failed — has been largely due to GOP amendments at the time and blocking tactics on a state level since.
We can pretty much bet the farm that they will only increase this, because they have a stake in the failure that supercedes any concern for the people being impacted.
I think the "failure" of Obamacare has been successfully planted, much as Al Gore's "lying" was planted, much as Hillary Clinton's email "scandal" was planted, and none of the True Believers will see the plugs that were pulled or the tubes that were trod upon to make sure Obamacare horror stories emerged.
If they wanted to cooperate, the kinks could be ironed out and the system could be, if not as good as a single-payer system, a good way to deliver care while accepting that we've got a for-profit system that is large enough that you can't just bring it to a halt.
However, unless people scream "plug it back in" and "get off that hose," the prospects don't look good.
Which brings us to the Nib, which has a collection of short pieces in which various black cartoonists reflect on the current situation and, specifically, on demonstrations. I snagged a piece from Ben Passmore's contribution that reflects my own thinking, but there are a variety of opinions and voices there and it's worth a look.
It's a familiar rant for those who have read this blog for very long, though I'm a bit frustrated that "March" is getting so much good press and yet people still can't seem to see the difference between acting as a group and preening on the platform. And I don't find much comfort in saying, "Yeah, after the Democratic Convention was on national TV, demonstrating became a popular thing."
But it's true and, no, raising hell isn't supposed to make you popular.
The various voices here are worth hearing, if only as markers to show where we're at.
Gotta run. 83 small people are awaiting my wisdom.
Don't forget to share some of yours with any small people in your world. If nothing else, they might become more pleasant company on airplanes.
And maybe you can teach them — by example? — how engagement and hellraising should intersect.
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