Maybe Not Today…

It will be fascinating to see how history will judge those in charge today.

We reflect, armed with the benefits of understanding the second and third order effects of an event or the epicenter of a major shift in societal, legal, and/or cultural changes… We judge free from the immediacy of survival and the uncertainty of safety… We view the events of the past and the people who were part of them with disassociation and casual interest.

And we judge. We judge by the myopia of the contemporary, the standards of our reality, and the limitations of our ability to truly understand the complexities involved in making history.

My son and I were having another discussion about ethical and moral boundaries within warfare the other day, and why the targeting of medical personnel on the battlefield is a line which should never be crossed, no matter how dire the situation.

My logic was that there has to be a common and human level of restraint which supersedes the emotion of the moment and the objectifying of the enemy. After all, those medics are not responsible just for providing immediate care of those directly involved with the fighting; rather, they are responsible for providing care to either side once the last round has fallen and the last of the dust clears. They will be responsible for the conduct of the future – the rebuilding of the local workforce, the integration of the wounded, and the witnesses for future trials… both legal and societal.

For now, it is not my place – nor is it yours – to judge the actions of the world leaders today, tomorrow, and beyond next Thursday.

Honestly?

The die has been cast. At this point, the average person can do very little but watch, hope, and understand what I meant back in 2018 when I urged folks to vote responsibly… or when I drafted my warnings to all involved in 2019. Ah, but this is one blog post… written by one crotchety vet… and read by a cherished handful of dedicated supporters.

Dave and I have been texting a lot back and forth over the last few weeks as the spiral of lunacy accelerates towards the unpredictable – yet, inevitable – conclusion of decades (and centuries) of causality. During that time, I have maintained that one of the biggest hinderances to maintaining consistency with this blog is that there are times when guess/assess things correctly (and others when I don’t).

I have ideas where I think things will go… “Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon…” After all, while I may continue to assert myself as viciously optimistic, I am not naïve. While these thoughts roll around in my mind, they are counterbalanced by the cast-iron optimism that, no matter what, we will rediscover our resiliency… our community… and our determination.

On 6Jan2020, I posted the following to my deactivated Facebook page:

I got stuck listening to this again…
Beautiful…but fitting.

That was my own reminder of the epiphany I had after realizing the scope of what was going on in Wuhan… Little did I know how truly foreboding that moment was.

Is something dark coming?
That is up to us and our choices.

I choose to realize the potential positives rather than lament the imagined negatives.

Not long afterwards, the foundation of “Watch Carefully” came about…

[sigh]

Errands need to be ran before picking up the kids, but I have three questions which I shall leave the reader with. They may be rhetorical, they might become fodder for your own thoughts, or they might result in engagement in the comments… Who knows? They were here at the bottom the Word document which has been an open note for a few days and therefore are up for your own interpretation.

How long did the “new normal” last after 9/11?

How was the information of early 2002, which proved to be wrong, viewed as the truth surfaced?

What will it take for things to stop before they go too far?

How do you think this will end?