Hello friends. I’m going to be quite honest. I wasn’t really sure I was going to say anything this week. As I really don’t think this is the best time for foolish remarks. There are too many things about this current conflict that I am unaware of. I haven’t exactly spent a fair amount of time digging into the nuance of the geopolitical tensions around the world. So, I do believe that anything I have to say regarding the matter will likely just contribute to our firestorm of misunderstanding across the board.
Instead, I would like to propose a rather burning feeling I have had since late Wednesday night as I found myself scrolling the internet witnessing videos of missile strikes the same way one would watch crudely made videos of fireworks on the 4th of July. That disconnected feeling you get when you are watching the ruination of an entire country and just trying to find more to educate you.
At what point does it stop being a search for information, and rather a new way to fill an addiction in this fascination we have in the macabre world around us.
That eerie feeling when you watch a TikTok or YouTube star crying over the destruction they have witnessed, only to follow it with Like, Share, and Subscribe in a jovial tone. The absolute disconnect you feel as you see the amount of content similar to this numbering in the thousands. Featuring amateur edits such as trendy music playing over videos of a fighter jet carpeting a town with missiles like it’s a video game.
Wholesome content.
As you throw your phone across the room, only to find yourself glued to it again not even ten minutes later in the search for more information.
Well, friends, this has been a sobering week, and I’ll be quite honest it had me rethinking my approach to this blog, and addressing the world’s issues. When I started this blog, I did it mainly as a personal catharsis for a very strange moment in time. I found that taking the time to formulate my ideas on paper, was far more productive than just yelling my frustrations to an already flustered crowd. As the goal has always been about being productive in very complicated situations.
I fear that at this time, there is very little I can be productive with when focusing on the world, instead of the community issues directly in front of me. That being said, this blog is going to be turning inward towards my community for the time being, at least until things reach a level I can approach and, hopefully, provide something productive. We have a lot to learn in the coming months, or even years if we are to come out of any of this nonsense with something positive.
Turn off the phones, turn off the computer, spend time with your family. Talk with your children about what they are witnessing daily with their friends as they share memes back and forth, help them understand this world gone wrong.
It does get better.
Thank you for reading,
-The Young Fool
