U.S. Seas are Rising at an Alarming Rate & The Republicans Bravely Defending the Legitimacy of U.S. Elections
Christian Nationalists are Leading the Charge to Remove Abortion Rights, Fewer Black Americans Plan to Vote, Kristi Noem's Self-Destructive Book Tour, Duane Eddy Plays "Rebel-'Rouser"
What I’m Discussing Today:
Kareem’s Daily Quote: Oscar Wilde reminds us of how difficult it is to be true to one’s self—whatever that is.
Where Seas Are Rising at Alarming Speed: Experts say we’re so focused on hurricanes that we’re ignoring a much worse danger.
A group of Republicans has united to defend the legitimacy of US elections and those who run them: Sometimes people risk their careers to do the right thing. Respect.
Kareem’s Video Break: This is what pure, unbridled joy looks like. I want some.
New Poll Reveals Real Dividing Line Between Abortion Supporters and Opponents: Christian Nationalists are the driving force in the war against women.
Fewer Black Americans plan to vote in 2024, Post-Ipsos poll finds: Their frustration is understandable; their decision is illogical and self-destructive.
Kristi Noem’s Book/Self-Sabotage Tour: Just when you thought she couldn’t say anything dumber…
What I’m Reading—Mystery: West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman is a surprisingly clever and satisfying novel.
Duane Eddy Plays “Rebel-’Rouser”: The guitar playing is fierce and fiery rock-’n’-roll at its best.
Kareem’s Daily Quote
“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”
Oscar Wilde
From the moment we are born, we are taught what to think, how to act, what is good, and what is bad. Yet, as Americans, we are also encouraged to cherish our individualism as masters of our fate. If all of our beliefs and gut reactions are merely training, then who am I as an individual? It’s a conundrum that I think about a lot because how do you know you’re brainwashed if you’re brainwashed?
The point of our best art and literature is to force us to recognize that we’ve been brainwashed from birth and then to reexamine every opinion we have under the light of reason and logic rather than default to tradition, obligation, and sentimentality. Only then can we be sure of who we really are. Only then can we be free. The problem is that the price of finding out who we are can sometimes mean disagreeing with those closest to us and thereby risking being cut off by them. We spend so much of our lives craving acceptance that we don’t want to chance losing it. But what is being accepted? A manufactured version of self straight from the cultural conveyor belt.
Be yourself, we are constantly advised. But who is that self? It is easier—and more comfortable—to never question, to just live the fantasy of being an independent thinker instead of facing the truth of being a submissive member of the herd living only for herd approval. Even our tepid forms of rebellion, like drinking alcohol or speeding, or fighting, fall within our culture’s approved expressions of rebellion. Naughty, but still herd acceptable.
None of us can be cocky or complacent. Finding and maintaining your Authentic Self is a daily, lifelong struggle of uncomfortable self-questioning. But it’s so much more fulfilling and exhilarating than just agreeing with everyone else out of fear.