I'm Sick

I’m sick of the lack of virtue, so prominent in this time of crisis.

I was talking with an aunt of 90 years the other day and the conversation drifted to stories of a great aunt of mine: Aunt Tillie.

I had heard the name often and had a vague concept of who she was, more so when I was much younger than now, but I could not put a face to her.

In the course of our telephone conversation, I am not visiting 90 year olds at a time such as this, my aunt mentioned how Aunt Tillie (Matilda) used to wash her dishes. My memory was jogged and though I still could not put a clear face to her, I remembered.

My dad was the kind of man who sought out relatives, no matter how distant. So visiting our elderly relatives across Wisconsin was common in our family.

So my aunt mentioned how Aunt Tillie would scour all her dishes. How she intensely scrubbed down her cutting boards every week. I remember witnessing the routine.

You see, Aunt Tillie was alive in 1918. She knew many people in their neighborhood who had died in the Spanish flu. It shaped her life in many ways.

Traditions, history, experience, trauma, war, travel and so many other past events are behind every person, every character one may try to convey in a story.

When the reader has shared the same experience, portraying such background in words and actions, becomes more cogent, powerful and has the potential to convey deeper meaning.

Such references display the value of history, of the wisdom of those who have come before. This is the basis for virtue.

How does one convey virtue in a character or society if not through traditions passed down and the reasons for them? An earth shattering event or being touched by God.

Earthquakes, tsunamis and a whole slew of natural disaster have not only shut down economies but destroyed the machinery of those economies, yet they bounced back. For many who experienced those events, the economic setback was not the formative nature of the event. It was the human tragedy; the human story.

But our economy is about to be destroyed because… we are going to shut it down for a couple months? How are many of our businesses even supposed to keep going if they depend on a supply stream that originates in China?

Idiots. Charlatans. ‘This is just the flu’ many had been screaming but their views now just morph about, never admitting they were wrong.

Who understands exponential growth? Who understands the difference between an antigen test and an antibody test and the significance of each. Who can discern reputable sources?

Not many.

All the talking heads are grasping at anything that might justified their flawed views. All the talking heads abandoned the free market decades ago. All the talking heads have been found lacking in virtue when a real crisis has finally arisen.

Dystopian novels/movies appear a mainstay for many readers and viewers. Survival of the fittest, natural selection is driven by what? Not just strength but by higher thinking.

The ability to see what is coming, not just to report on it ounce it happens determined rise and fall.

Damn technology for destroying this dynamic.

I am sick of what I am hearing.

The result? Well, I listen to the radio far less which shifts my focus from more manual labor oriented tasks, I have plenty of those, to more intellectually oriented tasks, including writing.

I am also back strong into Master Class which includes many courses by reputable authors.

Perhaps this is a post more suited for my “No Sanction” blog, but I made it fit here.

I have a story to tell.

I started more than one post for “No Sanction” but with so many failures of virtue, greed and corruption, and the fragility of our institutions each needing to be addresses and coming so quickly one upon the other, I never get a single concept fully developed.

A new age is coming.

Here is a concept shattering phrase, societal shattering or some may simply claim an introduction to a work of fantasy:

The only begotten daughter of God.

Why not?

Thanks for reading.