Saturday was hot in San Francisco, but a cooling breeze came in from the ocean. Arriving there by Lyft, I met my three youngest for a delightful lunch at an outdoor cafe in the Castro, prior to my daughter's travel next week to the East Coast, where she'll finish out her senior year in college.
One of our dilemmas this fall has been how to get her into the right time zone for her classes, which start at 6 a.m. Pacific Time. Her college outside Baltimore cancelled in-person classes late in the summer, so remote learning is the only option. This week she signed a lease on an apartment she can share with a friend in New Jersey.
Having grown up in the Bay Area, my three 20-somethings are perplexed that there seem to be so many people in this country who do not share our values of tolerance, diversity, compassion and love. And why do these people support a cruel tyrant who demonizes good, peace-loving people as members of a violent "mob?"
My kids have all marched in peaceful demonstrations; none of them would ever even consider being violent or destroying anyone else's property. But now they wonder whether the lessons they were taught at school, that this is a democracy where each citizen has the right, indeed the responsibility, to exercise their first amendment freedoms, remain accurate representations of what this country seems to have changed into.
Who are these angry, spiteful white people so filled with hate and resentment that some of them actually celebrate the killing of peaceful protestors? That is one of the questions I cannot answer for them. For my children, the choice is stark: Either America will sink into an unthinkable abyss or it will reaffirm the values of tolerance, diversity and mutual respect that once made the country the envy of the world.
For them, there is no middle ground. As their father, I almost feel guilty now for raising them to believe in the essential goodness of people.
Just like them, my hope for the future is fading.
***
In and out of the city, m Lyft drivers told me their stories. A delightful thing about taking Lyft is getting to know these drivers, most of whom grew up overseas, as they work their way through college or support their young families here in the Bay Area.
Quite a few years ago now, I met the company's founder, John Zimmer, when he was running an earlier ride-service company called Zimride. He seemed earnest and idealistic. Then, when he started Lyft, he called me to tell me about it. I wrote a favorable blog post for the media company I worked for at the time.
Back at the company's birth, I met some of the early drivers and developed the firm impression this startup was going to strike gold. There were a few other ride-sharing ventures I was covering at the time, including another startup called Uber, but I liked Lyft's business model best.
These days, without a car myself, Lyft is my key to independent movement, although now I can actually see (post-cataract surgery), I may start renting cars for road trips as well. Because like many others, I am feeling incredibly restless.
***
So here is my latest theory about news. You can take any genuine news story, cut it into slices, and it will accurately reflect the essential nature of our time. It also usually contains traces of our history and hints about our future.
An example:
A week ago, I posted an extended essay on the potential synergistic effect of pesticides on our health and the integrity of our environment, titled "Synergistic Times."
In it, I recapped research I did in the '70s and '80s about the combined effects of the chemical cocktail we all are subjected to in modern society.
Today, way down the list of headlines that follows, is a piece from the Times about how new international guidelines on combating drug resistance omit any mention of fungicides, an omission that is directly due to the political influence (money) of the U.S. pesticide industry.
This new article reflects the current balance of power in the U.S. and the world, the lack of our collective ability to achieve scientific integrity in both domestic and global policys, and the ongoing threat agrochemicals present to our bodies and surroundings.
Alone, it may seem a rather obscure piece of a larger puzzle, but that is my point. It also indicates where those of us who worry about the future of climate change and democracy stand.
And that is a long, long way from where we need to be.
***
* Facing possible defeat, Trump threatens the integrity of the election (WashPo)
* ‘I Feel Sorry for Americans’: A Baffled World Watches the U.S. -- From Myanmar to Canada, people are asking: How did a superpower allow itself to be felled by a virus? And why won’t the president commit to a peaceful transition of power? (NYT)
* Thousands of Proud Boys plan to rally in Portland, setting up another clash in a combustible city (Washpo)
* Will Amy Coney Barrett Cost Republicans the Senate? -- Mitch McConnell has a tricky needle to thread. (NYT)
* The pandemic has devastated downtown D.C. Some fear the damage is permanent. (WashPo)
* Her Study Center Was Bombed. She Still Topped Afghanistan’s National University Exam. -- Shamsea Alizada’s story of persistence is a reminder of advances in girls’ education in Afghanistan — and their vulnerability as the government negotiates with the Taliban. (NYT)
* Most Americans remain vulnerable to coronavirus, a national study suggests (WashPo)
* Record Wildfires on the West Coast Are Capping a Disastrous Decade -- One after another, major fires exploded across Washington, Oregon and California earlier this month. They have added up to the worst fire season on record. (NYT)
* The famed ‘Jericho banana’ is vanishing. Under Israeli occupation, there’s not enough water. (WashPo)
* China is doubling down on its territorial claims and that's causing conflict across Asia (CNN)
* Emails Show How Pesticide Industry Influenced U.S. Position in Health Talks -- The U.S. insisted that new international guidelines on combating drug resistance omit any mention of fungicides — a demand that the industry made but that ran counter to science. (NYT)
***
I'll be right here to stay
'Till You're back someday
To go again
Hope your holiday
At Tokyo & Causeway bay
Will drive your heart to say
"Wish you were here"
I can only perceive by usin' my imagination
Believe that everything will be real
How magical
Wherever you go, I too will go
There are things in life I can't ignore
Like how I'm connected to you
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