We are aware that times require change. For example, in ordinary correspondence, the footnotes now come first, in an effort to deflect potential consequences of a misunderstanding in meaning. We have tried to explain that as art of a phenomenon in which the meaning of former universally accepted meanings is change in mid-debate, and the many sides of a discussion no longer are speaking the same language. It is a product of the digital age- change no longer delivered to the doorstep.

So, here is the footnote on all this up front. We are ‘retired,’ though a changed meaning is certainly possible that we have not yet been made aware. This one would go along the lines that we are activist people whose active days are complete. Some of the incredible notions on display would have made us, in earlier times, to get off the couch and do something about them.

Those days have passed. For those at the Fire ring, women and men alike, all got up and did what they could to preserve our Representative Government (not ‘democracy’) against a single party and oppressive state. That was our fight, and one that occupied decades of service. The aftermath is not yet complete, and the realignment of the battle lines is still uncertain.

We find ourselves now in a situation where legal supervision of our speech, and by extension, our thoughts, are monitored to ensure we do not violate the precepts of a strong central government. That is a curious thing for those who devoted their lives to opposing such a system. But we are retired, and committed to the idea that it is a problem that must be dealt with by those to whom the couch has become perhaps too comfortable.

The simple analysis of that is controversial. A purely local issue rose here the other day. It was about an issue that spring from the guns of war a century and a half ago. Understanding it required looking into the period of history that followed the assassination of an elected President. It was called “Reconstruction,” and the issues at stake then have a resonance with some that continue today. We returned to something more in common with the America most of us remember. Government is a flawed enterprise, since it is managed by humans. But on the whole, we had a system that recognized humanity’s weakness, attempted to distribute power, and generally treat most people fairly.

Imperfect? Of course. Yet the freedom provided enabled what we knew as the “American Century.” It was a vast expansion of opportunity for the majority of the people who lived within it’s temporal confines. Within it was another traumatic event, also involving the murder of a sitting President in Texas. That event brought solutions to issues that in turn caused problems we are dealing with today.

Other attempts at kinetic change punctuate the years after 1963. One President was shot and nearly killed. Another was in the gunsight of a determined constituent and was saved. Today, we are dealing with something that shares components of other dramatic change. In this one, we have been told that our world is ending and we must transform ourselves to preserve some essence of what was good. We dispatched a President in a series of non-kinetic rhetoric about a hotel break-in a lifetime ago. We have just done the same thing once more.

The events around each of these irregular transfers of power are profound and debated today. The attitude around the Fire Ring is that we did our share in the uniform of our nation. We recognize imperfection, and understand it is part of our biology. We appreciate that our contribution was the best we could do as the times in which they occurred dictated. When we heard about it.

Disagreement today, in our transformational times, has become the equivalent of a form of disloyalty, even if digital. We are not that. In fact, we consider our approach to be the height of sensible support. We have removed ourselves from urban residency. We monitor the news while understanding that what is contained within it today, through the miracle of technology is not the truth as we understood it.

That is the conclusion of our collective musing this morning. Last night, sky clearing against the penetrating bright lights of the cosmos, there was some gentle musing over stout glasses containing the rich product of Belmont Farms moonshine production.

“Remember when Time magazine arrived at Mom and Dad’s house? Remember the week-long impact of that single image on the cover?” There was some gentle musing on that, considering even our inadequate digital access only delivers a thousand memorable images each morning. Here is one of them, utilized in low-resolution digital under “Fair Use” provisions with no commercial intent:

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This is the nature of information now. It is an image of a young woman in traditional elegant garb for a social event celebrating maturation, accomplishment and beauty. She stands in what was a neighborhood in a place named Kharkov. Some recalled when the same street might have looked remarkably similar in the time our young parents were of an age to act.

“Yeah, Time magazine was one way we got the news. The other ways were bigger and glossier. Like “Life” and “Look.” They had large format images that were sometimes startling.”

“Can you recall when the freaking internet equivalent of mass knowledge came to the mailbox on the front porch?”
“No wonder things are different. We have the same social issues, fights about money and power, and the information of the universe is on a device that also plays Candy Crush in your pocket or purse?”

“It is a revolution, all right. But it is going to be sort of different. Maybe you can do this one on your couch?

It was a nice day. We heard some of the discussion, but half of us were checking text messages and some might have been crushing candy.

Copyright 2022 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com