From liberals fearful of legal cannabis to conservatives freaking out over their kids learning our full history, Americans aren't dealing well with rapid change. Plus the latest in political reform.
Douglas Rushkoff, who seems to live in Hastings-on-Hudson too, a town where I do believe I smoked my first joint long, long ago, also has reported on the opt out movement there. You two power people can certainly make a difference if you want to.
Climate chaos is only gonna get more chaotic. Cambridge, MA used to be in a planting zone with an October 15 first frost date. It progressed to first frost maybe by Halloween a decade or two ago. This year we still haven't had a first frost hard enough to kill tomato plants.
And I suspect the global inflation in food prices is related to low crop yields and climate disasters. Look for more of the same and get ready for a bumpy ride.
“_You_ remember what we used to say at Sarratt, Toby - about fear being information without the cure? How we should respect it? Well, I respect yours, Toby. I want to know more about it. Where it came from. Whether I should share it. That’s all."
Smiley's People by John Le Carré
Fear is almost always in some sense inchoate but an MIT scientist once told me that, in his experience, fear is short-circuited by curiosity.
Thanks Micah! This, to me, is one of the best and most... moving pieces you've written here so far. Do I also sense/guess that your town skews a bit older? I am asking because I think that many people of our generation - and older - are simply tired of change. To take just one aspect of this, when we/they were young, a college-educated person could pick up the NY Times and expect to understand pretty much any word or concept mentioned there. But in the last 20-30 years we've been flooded by so much new (or "new") stuff that this is no longer the case. And so people are frustrated, and they will definitely yell "Stop!" when given the chance. The least we can do is recognize this. Thank you!
I stumbled on the Neighbors app a few yrs ago in SoCal. A horrifying discovery. My totally oeaceful leafy suburb was portrayed by its own paramoid residents as being akin to Beirut in 1982. As Ring flourished so did the paranoia. Up here in the PNW I live a more modest neighborhood alongside lots of, say, non liberals. And Neighbor up here is much less crazy. Perhaps the lack of threatened BMW’s and Merceces. Great column.
I suppose that could be the case, though when I've been out door-knocking in parts of the north Bronx that are less well off, I saw lots of Ring doorbells too. A video doorbell in an of itself isn't an issue; it's the video-sharing (and posting on platforms like NextDoor) that seem to fuel more paranoia about crime and stranger danger.
Douglas Rushkoff, who seems to live in Hastings-on-Hudson too, a town where I do believe I smoked my first joint long, long ago, also has reported on the opt out movement there. You two power people can certainly make a difference if you want to.
Climate chaos is only gonna get more chaotic. Cambridge, MA used to be in a planting zone with an October 15 first frost date. It progressed to first frost maybe by Halloween a decade or two ago. This year we still haven't had a first frost hard enough to kill tomato plants.
And I suspect the global inflation in food prices is related to low crop yields and climate disasters. Look for more of the same and get ready for a bumpy ride.
I don't think it's that easy to move people while an issue like this is lighting up a lot of inchoate fears.
“_You_ remember what we used to say at Sarratt, Toby - about fear being information without the cure? How we should respect it? Well, I respect yours, Toby. I want to know more about it. Where it came from. Whether I should share it. That’s all."
Smiley's People by John Le Carré
Fear is almost always in some sense inchoate but an MIT scientist once told me that, in his experience, fear is short-circuited by curiosity.
Thanks Micah! This, to me, is one of the best and most... moving pieces you've written here so far. Do I also sense/guess that your town skews a bit older? I am asking because I think that many people of our generation - and older - are simply tired of change. To take just one aspect of this, when we/they were young, a college-educated person could pick up the NY Times and expect to understand pretty much any word or concept mentioned there. But in the last 20-30 years we've been flooded by so much new (or "new") stuff that this is no longer the case. And so people are frustrated, and they will definitely yell "Stop!" when given the chance. The least we can do is recognize this. Thank you!
I don't think the town skews older; my sense is this debate mainly driven by people with kids in the schools, plus or minus a few years.
I stumbled on the Neighbors app a few yrs ago in SoCal. A horrifying discovery. My totally oeaceful leafy suburb was portrayed by its own paramoid residents as being akin to Beirut in 1982. As Ring flourished so did the paranoia. Up here in the PNW I live a more modest neighborhood alongside lots of, say, non liberals. And Neighbor up here is much less crazy. Perhaps the lack of threatened BMW’s and Merceces. Great column.
I suppose that could be the case, though when I've been out door-knocking in parts of the north Bronx that are less well off, I saw lots of Ring doorbells too. A video doorbell in an of itself isn't an issue; it's the video-sharing (and posting on platforms like NextDoor) that seem to fuel more paranoia about crime and stranger danger.