Gray and chill yesterday. The Lady in Red informed us soberly that the indomitable Canadian jet stream had strayed south again, the northern cool air colliding with our Piedmont semi-tropical moisture. Rain again in the hours of darkness, but the morning dawned bright and welcoming. Word from the meteorological staff was that it would be a nice day. The entire staff, Compliance, Legal and (approved) Content Staff decided to accommodate it with modest theological observance and possible brunch in town. We are considering showers, since there is nothing as refreshing as disrobing down by the pasture and getting soused outdoors.
There are issues pending, of course. Revision to one of the books is in progress. It required some research, or ‘time travel,’ to take a look at how our society came to be what it is at the moment. Our elected President- there was some vigor in that discussion- has embarked on a truly historic revision to the structures that make up what we are still calling “America.” We are gratified to learn that we live in a desperately flawed nation in need of fundamental change.
Some of these require modification to the Production schedule. On the green ash-tray free table are all sorts of things. It is a veritable cornucopia of great ideas. One of the latest is establishment of a new Commission to overhaul our flawed Judicial System. That is something that FDR could not pull off nearly a century ago, despite having a real crisis in progress (37% unemployment!) and complete control of Congress. There is another handful or two of associated changes required. The Firearms thing is again current, and we had a great time wading through the Amendment and Federalist #47 that underpins the old history, codified in the Act of 1934. There have been pitched battles over the meaning of the two disparate phrases that make up the Second Amendment. They remain unresolved until we can get past some old thinking.
Thankfully, Education is not in turmoil. It is the basis for change. We are gratified the Unions seem to be pretty much in charge and are protecting their members from the children who are unlikely to spread disease. Aside from the benefits of Zoom-based learning, old-fashioned subjects like Civics and History have been considerably amended without much discussion. The depth of it all is displayed by some educators- I use the term loosely- who are claiming that mathematics as traditionally taught is racist. Correct answers are part of systemic failure. Despite our support, we were uniform in not wishing to be first to try the new bridges, whether they are “infrastructure” or not.
Staying on the edge of all this change is a challenge. Some Staff argued strongly about the idea that our language itself is part of oppression, and old meanings to new words audibly represent unacceptable things. There is a near daily assortment of revisions to that. ‘Sex’ was one of the first. We used to have two terms for biologic manifestations. You know what they were. The term “gender” also had a meaning that seemed adequate to describe behavioral activity based on the binary representation of chromosomal structures. Thankfully we are beyond that now. We completely accept that one or both terms are apparently something assigned by impartial but supportive observers at first presentation to the world and subject to change. The staff naturally supports whatever is cool and current, however paradoxical or bewildering all 67 discrete types might be.
Since the teaching of history has been altered to something more accommodating, communication across generational lines is one thing that has become problematic. Members unjustly gifted with age and exposure to old thinking seem to think some things have been tried before, and that most have failed despite enormous cost. Younger Editorial members have been liberated from the shackles of memory. New thought has taken some bold action to create, of course. It normally starts with the admonition “Hey, Boomer!” and then “Hold my beer, watch this.”
The “1619 Project” is a cool example. It is new history inspired by the imagination of journalist Nicole Hannah-Jones of the New York Times. She effectively demonstrates the need for new freedom from the annals of the past. Her tome dates American history as starting with the arrival of the first chattel slaves on the North American continent in Virginia.
One member of the Staff muttered that the vast majority of Africans transported were captured by other Africans for sale, and most of them were consigned to brutal conditions in Brazil. We were only moderately surprised to discover that in the new history, slavery was invented here. That would be equally surprising to the Europeans enslaved by the Barbary Pirates in their old-fashioned raids along the Spanish and Italian coasts. Thankfully they are deceased. Once freed of the old history the new one can be innovative and exciting. We are wary of the Irish indigents on the property, who have all sorts of outlandish claims, but we have moved on.
In a more rational world, what happened at the direction of the King should be paid for by his heirs. Unfortunately, we are only cousins in that matter and we suspect the direct descendants are broke. No matter. It is just a matter of paying a fair share for wrongs done to people no longer alive by living people who had no part in it. We are strong believers in that, even if it doesn’t make a great deal of sense.
It is more comfortable that way, or it is at the moment. We are definitely in favor of that. Hold our beer.
Copyright 2021 Vic Socotra
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