This isn’t going to be a thirty second TikTok video that provides you with the courage to go argue with people who live in a country you have never visited about how you know more about it.
No, it’s time to strap in and see if social media has killed your attention span or if you have the ability to handle multiple thoughts and ideas in a piece that will take a minute to read.
That’s going to chase away a bunch of you and then I’ll push away those who can’t handle ideas that challenge their beliefs.
I’m a believer in the mark of intelligence is the ability to consider beliefs that disagree with your own.
I’m also a firm believer in the concept of I can explain it but I can’t understand it for you which is a thought I have shared with others too many times.
Sometimes I swap it out with there aren’t enough crayons for me to explain it you. Sometimes people respond with “kindness is a more effective way to motivate people” or some variation.
That’s true, but when you are speaking with people who drink bleach, eat Tide Pods and or believe the world is flat you make do.
Hell, look the unhinged nonsense this person posted about the World Cup.
If Jews and Israel had the mythical abilities the conspiracy theorists accuse us of the Holocaust never would have happened, I’d be retired and debating on whether I wanted to cash in the rent the pharaohs paid on the pyramids or potentially using space lasers for fun.
But I am not yet retired though I recently learned about a new job that I am thinking about applying for.
Sounds like it could be a nice way to start the day.
Before you ask, I am not the Josh that is mentioned in the screenshot above. I am however the Josh that decided he wanted a newsboy hat.
It was sort of inspired by a few different things. Last summer I watched Masters Of The Air and the documentary about it called The Bloody Hundredth.
That got me into the Harry Crosby book, A Wing and a Prayer that inspired the show/documentary all of which led me into thinking about my grandparents.
I think about them all on a regular basis but the events of the last number of years has made me wonder more than once what they would think of the world now.
And yes, I did come this close to being clean shaven for the first time in years. I made a minor error trimming things and decided to shave it off and let it grow back.
I usually let my barber trim my beard but he was busy and I decided I didn’t want to wait two weeks. It is not the first time I have screwed things up, probably won’t be the last.
It’s a first world problem. I have gotten it right more times than I haven’t and it grows back. If this is the biggest problem I have than I have no problems.
We Don’t Talk Anymore
Some of you who are proud not to have grown up with a pink flamingo on your porch may think that quote is directed at them.
Some of you are old enough to remember Free To Be…You And Me (1974) may have mixed feelings about so many things.
You might watch the video above and smile like so many of us have, it brings up good memories.
Some of it is bittersweet because that world doesn’t exist any more and it is not because we’re not five, six or seven either.
People don’t talk the way we could and should. Some groups and individuals refuse to have any conversation with people that don’t agree with their myopic, provincial and sad misunderstanding of the world.
The antizionists are a great example of that. I read a great post that sums up so much about it that I shared it on Facebook and am providing a link to the author’s substack: The people who know nothing know everything.
If you don’t want to get involved with Substack you can find it on Facebook over here.
Remember that unhinged comment about Israel and the World Cup above?
I have seen multiple versions of that not just about the games but about so many things in life in general.
Variations upon variations of fake humanitarians who say they’re interested in making the world a better and safer place but who refuse to engage with Jewish and or Israeli voices.
Variations upon variations of people who would go ape shit if they saw other minority groups be treated in ways they suddenly go blind/deaf to because Jews/Israelis were involved.
They ignore the people that walk into restaurants or other Jewish businesses and start screaming about a fake genocide. They don’t ask what the political beliefs are, they just assume.
The people who make excuses for attacks on synagogues in America. They don’t say it’s wrong, they say it is too bad but we need to understand hurt people hurt people or some other ridiculous immoral excuse.
They don’t take the time to get an education on the topic or try to engage in an honest conversation with others.
There is no self awareness or shame about goysplaining. It’s tedious and obnoxious and it’s not going away any time soon. There is no shame felt for engaging in it, or if there is it’s felt by too few.
A colleague asked me how I don’t despair over all of this and I said “I can’t and I won’t.”
I could tell you it’s because of a thick skin, education and security in my beliefs. I could tell you it is because I have responsibilities and I don’t get to to be weak.
Or I could tell you I am here because I am the descendants of survivors. I am the progeny of people who some cases overcame challenges I can’t imagine.
I stand upon their shoulders and offer my own to others.
There is no question about whether we’ll survive or get through this. It will happen, solely a question of time.
An Old Favorite
That Marcus Aurelius quote is an old favorite. It’s meaningful to me for many reasons including life experiences that prove its worth.
I shared it because I came across a video on Instagram that resonated with me and reminded me of a Latin phrase I have shared here before. “Amor animi arbitrio sumitur, non ponitur- We choose to love, we do not choose to cease loving.”
Crossposted on my Substack
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