NOTEBOOK: The forest is burning, so quit arguing about single trees

Cleaning out the notebook again…

Watching the bloody and useless battles over the funding of ObamaCare confirms for me once again that getting out of the system is the best choice for sanity and long-term logic. The forest is burning and it’s too late to put out the fire. The smart thing is to figure out how to escape the doomed forest, not fight over who gets to control certain trees. The whole thing is going to burn.

I’m frustrated by the utter lack of regard for the truth that I see in so many posts on Facebook and Twitter these days. Just because someone posted something and you’re reposting it doesn’t absolve you of responsibility for spreading lies. Show respect for the truth and your own credibility. Use some basic common sense before spreading obvious idiocy that can be debunked in 30 seconds. You’re making yourself look foolish when you do that. It seems that people are willing to post anything that appears to support their viewpoint, whether it’s credible or not.

For the last three months, I’ve waited through various delays for the person who had agreed to do the special effects makeup for my next short film. The continued delays in getting certain supplies were frustrating, but I thought everything would be on track once she finally got those supplies. She told me about two weeks ago that she would be ready to go in two weeks, but she sent me an email out of the blue last Thursday to say she was quitting because of “work and personal matters.” So I’ve wasted three months on this project and now I have to find someone else who can do the same effects or else switch to a different project. I’m frustrated, because I thought we’d have a finished film by now. I’m trying to find someone who can do the same effects, because I really want to make this film.

I have a Facebook friend who just had to endure a criminal trial in which his brother was prosecuted for killing their parents. The brother was convicted earlier this week and sentenced to life without parole Wednesday. Sometimes when I look at his situation — and the situations of others who’ve endured very difficult circumstances — it makes me feel as though I have less to complain about than I sometimes feel that I do. I know that you can’t really compare people’s heartaches, but I do feel fortunate that I haven’t had to endure what some others have had to endure. I don’t know how well I could deal with some of what I see friends deal with. In many respects, I have it pretty good.

I know that social media allow many people to have public voices that otherwise wouldn’t be heard. But when I look at what’s actually said on Facebook and Twitter, I’m not sure we’ve really gained much more than a cacophony of nonsense.

There was a time when bad news-writing was unusual enough for me to point out and make fun of. But now it’s the norm. It’s almost everywhere. It’s not even worth pointing out, and I’m not sure how many people care. As an ex-editor, I’m ashamed of what’s become of professional standards. (And one of the worst offenders is my local newspaper. It was a very good newspaper at one time, but it’s pathetic today.)

There are times when you know what you’re going to do about a difficult decision, but you’re just working up the courage to tell the person or people who you think will be hurt by what you need to do. There are also times when you lose the chance you need to take because you didn’t take difficult steps sooner. I’ve been watching several people lately who are in this situation, and it reminds me of what I’ve done something similar. It seems as though most of our wounds in life are self-inflicted in one way or another.

If your opinions invariably match those of almost everyone in your chosen political group — about everything — you’re probably not thinking for yourself. I see so many people today who seem to find out what their group is supposed to believe about something before expressing an opinion — and then defending the opinion as though it was really their own.

In the last week, one of my cats has figured out how to turn the lights off in the bedroom. When it’s getting to be dinner time and Bessie wants to complain about not having been fed is the only time she does it. I’m pretty sure it’s just to get my attention, but I hope she doesn’t decide to trying turning the light on in the middle of the night.

It frustrates me that people make up explanations for things they don’t understand — and they’re not interested in the simple truth when it doesn’t confirm their dark conspiratorial speculations. I see that from more and more people today. The world is complex and it’s OK to admit that we don’t understand everything. Some people can’t accept that, though, so they make up explanations that confirm their existing biases. Once again, it’s essentially about a lack of respect for truth.

And, finally, mornings are wonderful, but they come at such an inconvenient time of the day.