Updates from America
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You might be wondering, “Alex, why aren’t you writing about the 2020 Presidential election?”
Because I don’t care. Really, it’s that simple. Maybe it’s because I’m a cynic, but I knew two things going into this:
There would be chicanery involved; and
The end result won’t matter because ultimately the President of the United States of America has little impact on my life, unless they start a war.
Cthulhu always swims leftward, so I’m just going to roll with it. I bend my knee to Jesus Christ anyway, so that’s where I focus my attention. I’m honestly a political observer for the laughs. I intuited it was all nonsense when I was a teenager, spent much of my 20s trying to convince myself that it wasn’t and that any of this mattered, only to realize that, guess what: it is all a joke. America is for sale to the highest bidder, and what we think of as our elected representatives actually represent the interests of the global bankers and multinational corporations who serve as their paymasters/puppeteers.
This isn’t even conspiracy talk. I just refuse to keep my head buried in the sand. I laugh at anyone who believes in the purity and the sanctity of the American system, or thinks that our way of doing things is the greatest ever devised in the history of humankind. It’s not, nor has it ever been, nor will it ever be. We have one party divided into a radical faction and a moderate faction. The destination is the same, it’s just that the speeds are different. I’ve basically become a one-issue voter, and that issue is abortion. I’m going to vote for whomever is against this barbaric practice, so infer from that what you wish.
Otherwise, what goes on doesn’t affect my moods, my spirits, or my physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. I’m a Christian, not a Democrat or a Republican or whatever. I think we’re all going to be all right in the end.
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There is good advice and bad advice on how to handle stressful situations like U.S. Presidential elections. In a healthy, functioning, well-ordered society, there would not be such uncertainty, such fraudulent activity, or such stress. But America has not been healthy, functioning, or well-ordered for a long time now. We operate at the type of third-world banana republic levels of corruption we’re taught in school to laugh at, yet are right here in front of us. Therefore, a thing like an election which should be just another civic duty we perform before getting on with our lives becomes THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT EVER IN THE HISTORY OF HUMAN EXISTENCE. Until the next one. Methinks it might be time for UN inspectors to come here and make sure we’re doing things above-board the way they did in Afghanistan and Iraq, but I don’t really trust the UN either.
Anyway, put away the booze and the pills. There are better ways to calm any anxiety, fear, or general unease you may be feeling:
Control what you can. This generally means yourself. Go to the gym. Go for a walk. Hang out with your kids or loved ones. Read a book. Write a book. Learn something.
Pray. If you’re religious, this is always a good thing to do. And remember–we don’t ask God for stuff like he’s the Sky Daddy we get criticized for supposedly worshipping. You pray for greater understanding. And if you’re not religious, do whatever it is you do to clear your mind. If it helps and it’s not harmful, I’m all for it.
Build a family. This is never a bad idea. Don’t let current political events deter you from starting a family or continuing to raise the one you have. If your ancestors, who faced much worse, found the hope required to plan for the future, you can too.
Get offline. If you find that being online or paying attention to the news or whatever is making you feel bad, stop doing it. It’s that simple. All of this stuff is designed to demoralize you and keep you in a constant state of high tension, regardless of which side you support. Don’t give them that power over you.
Realize that life will go on. All the things that were supposed to kill us all–the election of 2016 (and 2012, and 2008, and 2004, and 2000, and . . .), coronavirus, murder hornets, Net Neutrality, Sam Hyde, etc.–haven’t. We survived.
And for God’s sake, AVOID LARGE GROUPS OF PEOPLE RIOTING AND BURNING STUFF DOWN.
I like to bury the lede just to make sure you’re still reading. Where am I with my books? Well, Dreamers & Misfits is with the formatter. I found a few minor formatting issues he is correcting, and I received a last-minute interview response that I added to one of the Appendices. Barring anything unforeseen, the eBook will be available in a week or so, with the paperback coming out a week or two later after any reader-submitted typos are brought to my attention.
The Second Sojourn needs a bit more work. I rewrote the prologue after much excellent beta reader feedback, I’m halfway through a typo check from one of the aforementioned beta readers, and then I am going to do one last read-through for content-related issues. This is taking longer than expected because life is busy, but I want to make sure this book is as excellent as the first one–and I’m not just making that up, because it has 21 reviews all of four- or five-stars. Read The Last Ancestor for yourself while you wait!
