(Hut, hut, hike) Monday Morning quarterback
The best stuff from the week of July 16th
Back in Brooklyn.
The humidity is… interesting. At one moment it’s 90 degrees and sunny the next moment it’s 90 degrees and I’m in the middle of a torrential downfall.
TikTok:
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
This TikTok historian (anti-social studies) frames the current strikes and rise in labor unions in a historical perspective.
She says we are entering Gilded Age 2.0.
The Gilded Age 1.0 lasted from around 1877-1900 and was a time of rapid industrialization and economic growth for the U.S. I hope we’re on the way out of the Gilded Age, however. Because, what came after the Gilded Age was one of the most important and socially impactful periods in US History … the Progressive Era.
Essay: The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s
Coming in at #10 was a song I saw performed in person at Coachella 2017. This song was played on my prom bus and is one of the most memorable songs of my high school experince. I didn’t analyze the song back then, but now I realize why I loved it so much: Punk Rock elements, melancholic lyrics that fit the feeling of the time, and the sound cloud autotune that made 2017 punk rap what it is.
I have a video of me moshing in the crowd, but I can’t find it.
Media: Presidential Candidate Absurd Tweet
Our country is at a tipping point. There is the North Pole and South Pole.
At the North Pole are progressives. While you may not agree with progressives on every issue, you can’t deny the fact they generally on the side of the working person. They may not be fans of marektization and capitalism, however it’s hard to argue against their support for humanity and ensuring it’s longevity. Their biggest issue is messaging and mobilizing. And, maybe it’s becasue they don’t even support the system they are so desperately trying to change.
The South Pole outright denies our problems and underlying reality. Climate change does not exist. Inequlity is a symptom. And, Greed is undeniably natural and good.
Their beliefs are exemplified in the tweet. They base their morals on the make-believe, insist on gender norms from a past century, fight culture wars that don’t exist, and support a system that only works for the very wealthy.
Who said there are 4 branches of the US government? How do you still deny climate change?
How do you fight a battle against a side that doesn’t even recognize or misconstrues basic facts?
The better question is… how do we get their believers to stop buying into this nonsense?
Quote
Above all, do not lie to yourself. A man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point where he does not discern any truth either in himself or anywhere around him, and thus falls into disrespect towards himself and others. Not respecting anyone, he ceases to love, and having no love, he gives himself up to the passions and coarse pleasures, in order to occupy and amuse himself, and in his vices reaches complete bestiality, and it all comes from lying continually to others and to himself.
Father Zosima, Brothers Karamazov (Dostoyevsky)
This week I made the decision to name one of my sons Foyodor. I slightly worry someone will mistake the name for Theodore, the little chipmunk from Alvin and the Chipmunks, but that’s a frivolous thought.
Brothers K is already one of my favorite books. The character descriptions and dialogue are phenomenal in just about every way. Foyodor, the father in the story (not the author), is hilarious.
Experience:
I want this section to be a human moment from my week.
I had a birthday party for my 25th birthday last Tuesday. Over 15 of my closest friends showed up to my parent’s rooftop in LA.
Your friends and the ability to keep close friends for a long period of time say a lot about the type of person you are. Friends from middle school, high school, college, and post-grad showed up to celebrate me on a Tuesday at 8pm.
Reflecting on where life has taken me these past few years. I know haven’t reached the expectations I set for myself. I’m not proud of where I’m at and who I am, but in other ways, I should be.
I have people in my life who respond to my texts, care about me, and show up when I need them to. Sure, very few of them live in New York, but they exist. And it must say something about who I am.