Cue Tom Hanks

Months ago, I promised to post something which invariably would accurately reflect my thoughts on who won the election:

The context – for those too young to remember The Money Pit from 1986 – is simple: Hanks and Shelly Long arrive at this scene after a series of compounding catastrophes which has turned their bargain mansion into a financial liability.

All Hanks’ character wanted to do was take a hot bath. To do so, they had to heat consecutive buckets of water on the stove, haul them up the ladder which replaced a once-grand staircase, and fill the tum.

The maniacal and breathless laughter represented Hanks’ breaking point – the progressive signs that he was mired in a “sunk cost” fallacy had finally brought reality to the optimistic determination he struggled to maintain in spite of everything.

Go on – play it again.

That is my inner laughter; and, despite what others who think they know me would think, it would have been the same if the election went the other way.

Such a reaction is a defense mechanism to the growing idolization/condemnation many folks seem to have based not upon fact, but more of what they have been led to believe. It is the reaction of those who strive to understand history while others toil to repeat it despite every polite correction, concerned commentary, or profanity-laced monologue (knife hands included).

We laugh because we see in those on either end of the political extremes a subscription to the same polarizing forces they insist is the fault of “the others.” Our sides ache from the unbridled howling that comes after years of being constantly singed and toasted from the unrestricted warfare of blamethrowers. We are in hypoxic spasms of lunacy because everyone insists the other side is at fault for everything while taking no fault for the duplicity of those who they support.

We laugh because there is nothing left to do… because Sir Carl Popper said it best:

No rational argument will have a rational effect on a man who does not want to adopt a rational attitude.

I stepped away from Facebook on 6Nov2020… again. Not because someone won or someone lost, but because, once again, I had my fill of the garbage that spewed forth in the form of idiotic posts from either side, from the accusations without proof, and – most unsettling – that the idea that a platform (or publisher, depending on how far one was cast into the stagnant pond of favor) had once again become a battleground of opinion and ridicule.

[shrug]

Perhaps it was a petty reaction – to take my observations and attempts at lightheartedness and go home. More accurately, it was a needed break for me to try to understand what it all meant for the moment as well as the future. It might have also served as a period of reflection on the merit and value of some semi-public associations as it pertains to my personal and professional life.

Who knows?

What I do know is that the sun will rise again tomorrow, the slow naval buildup in the South China Sea will continue with a possibly slight and unbalanced acceleration, foreign states will continue to observe and process our glaring vulnerabilities, and everything will continue to be the fault of one rather than the guilty association of the many.

Either way, Hanks’ laugh – complete with the exaggerated inhalation for another increasing chorus of hysterics – will loop each day I find one more confirmation of my own bias that the cycle will continue.

In the meantime, I will continue to be inspired by other interesting writers:

The Dave Bowman Show (the back and forth discussions keep us both searching for the elusive answer to “what it all means.”)

Badlands Fieldcraft (“Strong men create order, weak men create chaos” is going to go down as one of my new favorite observations.)

Gun Culture 2.0 (I mean, really – how can the perspectives of a Sociology professor who explores the firearm world and culture not be intriguing?)

The Lean Submariner (one of the most consistent readers of this blog and a great fan of an often-unappreciated aspect of naval history.)

Pacific Paratrooper (another extremely consistent reader and dedicated to honoring military history and humor.)

The Moon and Me (for reinvigorating my fond memories of diving and allowing me to rediscover the awe of diving.)

…And many more who continue to read, comment, message, and encourage me to keep at it even when all I really want to be is diagnosed with profanity-spewing mental disorders.

Most importantly, while the motivation of the aforementioned folks keeps me going, my wife, son, and daughter give the offline support and inspiration to tie it all together in a way that hopefully makes sense.