A general sense of disquiet and why-is-this-happening these days, a kind of confusion around a system that revolts against elitism, incompetence and malfeasance by electing even more bloated, degrading examples of elitism, incompetence and malfeasance. It’s full-on kleptocracy now. Add in some natural disasters and things start looking biblical. And very difficult to remember that just because destroying an existing social order for the sake of some imagined ideal (Greater Russia, Shining Path, Khmer Rouge, China Rising, Make America Great Again) is irrational, understanding that idea doesn’t keep people from doing it. You can stop making sense on that one; dissect the errors all you like but criminals and true believers aren’t much bothered by argument and theory. As I tell my Gen Z kid all the time, being right about the bus schedule doesn’t change the fact that you need to get to school. Feelings do not make the weather. Still, like a collage, you can reaarange how things fit, or how you see them. Of course, in the end, all you can do is make sense of your own life, which is often hard enough.
