Covid Flips Sides

"Only Connect" -- E.M. Forster

____

A big part of the pandemic experience for me was reconnecting, and given I've had a relatively long life with more jobs than the average Baby Boomer, there are a lot of people to reconnect with, potentially.

Recently partly out of curiosity I pinged a list of former employees from one company just to see if it still worked. There had not been any messages in about seven years but -- surprise! -- some 20+ people responded. So the list was dormant but not dead.

Most people seemed happy to weigh in again, some gave personal updates. A few sounded like they would have preferred not to be reminded of a time that is now long past.

But by far the most satisfying to me were a handful private messages off the list from people who told me we had mutual connections, including with my family members. These were relationships I wasn't even aware of.

I guess the message is "only connect." True in a great novel, true in life.

***

If you go back and study the previous pandemics in human history, one problem inevitably is that the casualty estimates are at best only rough approximates. Contemporaneous accounts often provide graphic detail of what the situation appeared to be to those on the ground, but we can't know with certainty how many people died or suffered lasting health damage.

We have much better tracking systems in place now but they too have their limits. Our current estimates of 33.7 million cases and 605,000 deaths in the U.S. from Covid no doubt undercount the true totals, according to public health officials.

But we know enough to say it's been bad.

Today I sifted through the latest reports from around the world to try and assess whether the danger has truly passed or whether sooner or later in the U.S. we'll face a new surge in cases. Here are my best guesses, with the caveat that I'm not a public health expert:

* For those of us who are fully vaccinated, the evidence indicates we are protected from the current, hyper-contagious delta variant. We may get infected but show no symptoms.

* Unvaccinated adults are at greater risk, however, because the delta mutant is much more contagious than the original. And also because those of us who are vaccinated will probably pass it on to them unknowingly. 

* So what we have is a complete reversal in roles. Before vaccines, the maskless fraction of the population threatened the masked portion. Now the opposite appears to be true.

* As CNN reports, there are five huge unvaccinated clusters of people in the South at particular risk of incubating new variants beyond delta. The virus has proved capable of mutating quickly among unprotected populations. This further puts all of us at risk.

* But the good news is that the major vaccines are not only effective, manufacturers will most likely be able to develop boosters in real time to protect us from new variants. They may be able to create these new vaccines in as little as three weeks.

* Next, even if the U.S. can overcome vaccine hesitancy and reach herd immunity, unvaccinated ares of poor countries around the world may well incubate new variants much like what will soon be occurring in those five clusters in the southern U.S.

* Due to vaccine inequality in the poor world, new mutations will most likely continue to emerge globally for a long time to come.

* At least, most government officials in the U.S. now realize that placing new restrictions, including masks and social distancing, in place will help mitigate any future waves, so our public infrastructure is better prepared to deal with whatever happens next.

* The preventative measures used against Covid-19 also vastly reduced the winter flu season to a non-event. That suggests that similar methods could help restrain future outbreaks of coronavirus or other pandemics.

* In the future, probably the only people who will die from coronavirus will be unvaccinated adults, with very few exceptions.

* Children who do not have compromised immune systems will probably remain free from the worst effects of coronavirus illnesses whether they are vaccinated or not. But as always they may pass on the virus to more vulnerable populations, i.e., unvaccinated adults.

* Probably Covid will be as routine a matter as the flu has been for years. Of course that still means a lot of misery for some people.

The bottom line of this summary is while most of us are probably out of the woods for now, there still is potential trouble, big trouble, for those stuck in the anti-vaccine backwoods. Their problem (in the U.S.) is ignorance. 

Meanwhile, the virus, which appears to be far more intelligent than certain members of the human family, knows how to exploit that problem.

***

THE HEADLINES:

* WHO sounds alarm as toll tops 4 million, delta spreads to 100 countries (WP)

* The global death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 4 million Wednesday as countries race to vaccinate their populations while the mutant delta version spreads rapidly. The death toll is about equal to the population of Los Angeles or the nation of Georgia, but is likely to be an undercount. [AP]

* Five undervaccinated clusters put the entire United States at risk (CNN)

* New study on delta variant reveals importance of receiving both vaccine shots, highlights challenges posed by mutations (WP)

* Olympics Host city Tokyo bans Olympic spectators amid COVID-19 emergency (Reuters)

* The recent emergence of a virus that typically sickens children in colder months has baffled U.S. pediatricians and put many infants in the hospital with troublesome coughs and breathing trouble.  RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, is a common cause of cold-like symptoms but can be serious for infants and the elderly. (AP)

* The Latest: Virus outbreak straining Fiji’s medical system (AP)

* ‘Zero Chance of Survival’: Search for Survivors in Condo Collapse Is Ending (NYT)

* Officials Will End Search Efforts After Condominium Collapse -- Officials in Florida said after two weeks of searching for victims they would shift their focus to recovery efforts after assessing that no survivors would be found. (AP)

* Police capture, kill alleged assailants in assassination of Haitian president (WP)

* Climate Change Drove Western Heat Wave’s Extreme Records, Analysis Finds -- A rapid analysis of last week’s record-breaking heat found that it would have been virtually impossible without the influence of human-caused climate change. (NYT)

* A Young Naturalist Inspires With Joy, Not Doom -- At 17, Dara McAnulty is becoming one of Britain’s most acclaimed nature writers, with work that touches on his autism as much as the world around his home. (NYT)

* U.S. says humans will always be in control of AI weapons. But autonomous war is already here. (WP)

* Research from the Scripps Research Translational Institute suggests that wearable fitness trackers — like Fitbit and Apple Watch — can not only help detect early signs of Covid-19, but they can also track lasting effects of the virus. (NYT)

* Even Marjorie Taylor Greene Thinks Mike Lindell’s Trump Reinstatement Theory Is B.S. --The Georgia congresswoman told people not to get their hopes up that Trump would be back in the White House next month “because that’s not true.” (HuffPost)

* Abbott Opens Texas G.O.P.’s Push to Limit Voting and Reshape the State (NYT)

* Sha’Carri Richardson was punished for her humanity. But it only makes her more impressive. (WP)

* The complete sidelining of U.S. track star Sha’Carri Richardson from the Tokyo Olympics stinks, White House press secretary Jen Psaki agreed. “We know the rules are where they are; maybe we should take another look at them,” Psaki suggested. [HuffPost]

* ‘Financially Hobbled for Life’: The Elite Master’s Degrees That Don’t Pay Off --Columbia and other top universities push master’s programs that fail to generate enough income for graduates to keep up with six-figure federal loans. (WSJ)

* FDA narrows use of Alzheimer’s drug to patients with early-stage disease (WP)

* ‘In the End We Felt Betrayed’: Vietnamese Veterans See Echoes in Afghanistan (NYT)

* U.S. considers visas for vulnerable Afghan women after military exit (Reuters)

* Scientists Discover Thousands of Ancient Tombs In Galaxy-Like Patterns (Vice)

* Coronavirus Variant Excited To Compete With World’s Top Mutations In Tokyo This Summer (The Onion)

***

Today's soundtrack comes to us courtesy of SARS-CoV-2 aka Covid-19:

"Coming for You"

Sung by Neffex

Written by Brandon Horth

And I recall the past real vaguely
I remember everything they'd say
Maybe thought that I was crazy
Thinking that one day they'd see my name

Loved being a loner, always moving closer
Know exactly what I wanted to have
Fear of growing older, chip all on my shoulder
Told myself I'm never looking back

And now I'm cold and dissonant
I'm losing my innocence
And you don't know my intent

And now you better back down 'cause I'm coming for you
Better back down 'cause I'm coming for you
Better back down 'cause I'm coming for you
Better back down 'cause I'm coming for you

Better back down 'cause I'm coming for you
Better back down 'cause I'm coming for you
Better back down 'cause I'm coming for you
Better back down 'cause I'm coming for you

-30-

It's All In The Telling

Over a number of years I developed a fondness for the singer Norah Jones, the soulfully exotic way she sings, and her large lovely dark eyes that always seem to convey wisdom beyond her years.

But I never even did the most basic homework to know who she was. When I finally did, it turned out she is the daughter of the great Indian sitar master Ravi Shankar, who had such an enormous influence on George Harrison and the Beatles that it spread out to all the rest of us in the western world. 

Her birth name was Geethali Norah Jones Shankar.

So that helps explain a few things. She is gifted at solo performances but she really comes alive in duets with just about anybody. Via YouTube I've seen her perform with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, Tony Bennett, John Mayer, Wynton Marsalis, and many more, but maybe my personal favorite is when she performed "Love Hurts" with Keith Richards.

I don't know how to categorize her singing -- jazz, rock, country, folk -- and I'm not sure that it matters, because in my mind she'll always be that person who could have stolen any show if she chose to but instead helped others to shine.

That is how it goes in life and work -- collaborators and partners invariably accomplish more together than they ever would have alone.

As a special treat for those who like Norah as much as I do, check out the one movie she starred in -- "My Blueberry Nights," a 2007 romance directed by Wong Kar-wai, and co-starring an all-star cast of Jude Law, David Strathairn, Rachel Weisz, and Natalie Portman.

In case you've not yet seen it, I won't be too descriptive, but one of my favorite parts of the film concerns how lovable (and frustrating) two particular addicts are, an alcoholic and a gambler. Never have I seen addicts portrayed with a more loving human touch than in this special little gem of a film.

The soundtrack is also great, including a song (below) Norah wrote called "The Story." And this story is one that has a happy ending.

***

Now we can all socialize openly, I am doing so every chance I get. So Wednesday I met with an old friend from the '70s in a Berkeley coffee house. We reminisced about SunDance, Rolling Stone, CIR and the way the world seemed then. 

We had a lot of catching up to do because we hadn't met up for decades. These kinds of meetings always have a major impact on me. Anyway, in the course of our conversation my friend said something that struck me as simple but profound:

"Everyone has a story. At this point, it's all in the telling."

***

THE HEADLINES:

* From Wuhan to Paris to Milan, the search for ‘patient zero’ (WP)

* A Dutch Journalist Exposed the Mob and Defied Death Threats. Now He's Been Shot in the Head (WP)

* A heat wave is expected across the West this week. (California Today)

* From corporate America to conspiracy theories: How a Minnesota man made a career out of anonymously amplifying dark plots -- An examination of Sean G. Turnbull’s activities, based on records and interviews, offers a view of how online conspiracy promoters flourished in the last decade. (WP)

* Six months after the Capitol riot, Biden says U.S. survived ‘an existential crisis.’ -- “We can say unequivocally that democracy did prevail,” the president said in a statement. (NYT)

* Virginia ‘Bible study’ group was cover for violent militia plans, prosecutors say (WP)

* Self-Described Virginia Militiaman Is Arrested in Capitol Breach -- Prosecutors did not charge the suspect, Fi Duong, with crimes of violence but accused him of planning to use Molotov cocktails and of conducting surveillance at the Capitol after Jan. 6. (NYT)

* A rate rise in the U.S. might trigger big problems in the developing world -- Many emerging markets are enjoying some of the lowest lending costs on record, but a move by the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than expected could shake both those borrowers and the U.S. economy. (WP)

* Eric Adams Wins Democratic Primary for New York City Mayor (NYT)

* Why a special election to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom was set for Sept. 14 -- The date was decided by Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, a Democrat who is closely allied with the governor. It was the soonest that county officials said they could pull together a special election. (California Today)

* How extreme climate change arrived in America (WP) * COVID Delta variant could ruin summer, French government warns (Reuters) * The Latest: Utah experiencing surge in COVID-19 cases (AP)

* ‘Should We Sell?’ After Collapse, Hot Florida Market Faces Uncertainty. (NYT)

* The collapse of the apartment building in Surfside, Fla., is raising concerns about the structural integrity of San Francisco’s Millennium Tower. (CNN) 

* Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) acknowledged that his state would receive about $4 billion from the American Rescue Plan, even though he and every Republican in Congress opposed the bill. He suggested that local officials "spend it wisely, because hopefully this windfall doesn’t come along again.” [HuffPost]

* Rising Oil and Gas Prices Add to U.S. Economic Challenges (NYT)

* Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated after a group of unidentified people attacked his private residence, interim Premier Claude Joseph said. Moïse’s wife, First Lady Martine Moïse, is hospitalized. The killing comes amid deepening political and economic stability and a spike in gang violence. [AP]

* A Generation of Afghan Professionals Flees Ahead of Taliban Advance (WSJ)

* Taliban fighters storm capital of northwestern Afghan province (Reuters)

* ‘Sermongate’ Prompts a Quandary: Should Pastors Borrow Words From One Another? -- The new leader of the Southern Baptist Convention has delivered sermons containing passages from those of his predecessor, causing a furor. (NYT)

* Trump files class action lawsuits targeting Facebook, Google and Twitter over ‘censorship’ of conservatives (WP) * Gates Foundation lays out contingency plan amid high-profile divorce (Reuters) * Chinese social media giant WeChat shuts LGBT accounts (AP)

* Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s visit to the Holocaust Museum just weeks ago apparently has not stopped the Georgia Republican from comparing vaccines to Nazi-era Germany. The far-right congresswoman known for spreading conspiracy theories tweeted on Tuesday claiming that COVID-19 “is a political tool used to control people.” [HuffPost]

* Child Being Teased About Having Crush Angrily Asserts He Incapable Of Love (The Onion)

***

"The Story"

Sung and Written by Norah Jones

I don't know how to begin
Cause the story has been told before
I will sing along i suppose
I guess it's just how it goes
And now those sprangs in the air
I don't go down anywhere
I guess it's just how it goes
The stories have all been told before
But if you don't char
The light won't hit your eye
And the moon won't rise before it's time
But if you don't char
The light won't hit your eye
And the moon won't rise before it's time
But I don't know how it will end
With all those records playin'
I guess it's just how it goes
The stories have all been told before
I guess it's just how it goes
The stories have all been told before
I guess it's just how it goes

-30-

Waiting For Somebody

Last Saturday I was going to attend my very first minor league baseball game. But after we entered the stadium, we found out that the team was on the road. 

So instead of a ballgame there was a schmaltzy movie about baseball, The Sandlot, and a fireworks show. People spread out blankets in order to sit on the field, which was nice except I can't really do that. So we found the accessible seating section for disabled people and I sat over there. 

The fellow nearest me exhibited the effects of a bad stroke. When he got cold, his caretaker struggled for a long to get a sweatshirt over his head while he balanced on his cane precipitously. I worried that it might never work out for him, but happily it did. 

Another fellow, blind, never stopped smiling. Maybe he was happy he didn't have to watch the movie. Anyway he had a nice smile.

One lady, caring for an elderly man who seemed confused as to where he was, raised her eyebrows when she noticed me sitting alone, unattended. She may have been thinking, "Oh dear, have you misplaced your caretaker?" 

So it really wasn't that bad of an outing. Mainly I watched the people coming and going through the fence, most of them utterly oblivious that life is short and brutish and they won't always be able to do this sort of thing. 

After the fireworks had their climax, I rose and slowly took my leave of the accessible area. As I closed the latch behind me for the final time, I knew in my heart I would never be returning to this place. 

And I was okay with that.

***

"Carbidopa Levodopa"

Parkinson's disease is thought to be caused by too little of a naturally occurring substance (dopamine) in the brain. Levodopa changes into dopamine in the brain, helping to control movement. Carbidopa prevents the breakdown of levodopa in the bloodstream so more levodopa can enter the brain. -- WebMD

___

One of my fonder memories of the hospital stays in 2019 was when my doctor started prescribing a medication called Carbidopa Levodopa. I just love the way it sounds as it rolls off the lips, so I challenged my nurse to repeat it ten times in succession with no errors.

She was a very pretty nurse, not long in this country, and always agreeable to my requests. So after getting a far away look in her eyes and taking a deep breath, she repeated the term ten times perfectly.

That made my day; I took the pill and have never neglected to take it for over the year and a half since. And sometime in the future if I'm ever in a good mood with a special friend again and I start behaving in a way that some might consider casually flirtatious, I'll be sure to try out this line:

"Maybe I'm falling for you, or maybe it's just my Carbidopa Levodopa talking."

***

THE HEADLINES:

* Representative Paul Gosar’s association with the white nationalist Nick Fuentes is the most vivid example of the Republican Party’s growing acceptance of extremism. (NYT)

* Texas Republicans rush to guard the Alamo from the facts (WP)

* Hunt for Capitol attackers still on 6 months after Jan. 6 (AP)

* Tesla Says Autopilot Makes Its Cars Safer. Crash Victims Say It Kills. (NYT)

* Imperiled for helping U.S. troops and stranded by bureaucracy, Afghan interpreters see Biden evacuation plan as last hope (WP)

* U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan more than 90 % complete (Reuters)

* After troops exit, safety of U.S. Embassy in Kabul top concern (AP)

* As Lebanon’s Crisis Deepens, Lines for Fuel Grow, and Food and Medicine Are Scarce -- The World Bank said the financial crisis could rank among the world’s three worst since the mid-1800s. The currency has lost more than 90 percent of its value and unemployment has skyrocketed. (NYT)

* Delta Covid-19 Variant Gains Ground Among the Unvaccinated (WSJ)

* The highly contagious Delta variant is now the dominant coronavirus strain in California and several other states. (Yahoo News)

* Breakthrough cases of Covid — or infections in a person who has been vaccinated — are exceedingly rare. (CalMatters) 

* Hospitals Often Charge Uninsured People the Highest Prices, New Data Show (WSJ)

* Surging global food prices put staple meals out of reach, from Nigerian jollof rice to Russian pasta and Argentine steak (WP)

* California ranchers aren’t benefiting from high beef prices in grocery stores. And the drought has forced them to scale back their herds, which is testing the faith of business owners. (Bakersfield Californian)

* Tropical Storm Elsa Poised to Become First Hurricane in 134 Years to Make Landfall on Florida's West Coast. (CNN)

* How Bad Are U.S. Wildfires? Even Hawaii Is Battling a Surge. -- It’s among the wettest places on the planet, but shifts in rainfall, invasive grasses and a housing shortage are driving a wildfire spike on the islands. (NYT)

* Firefighters made progress on major blazes burning in Northern California. But the potential for winds this week is concerning. (NBC)

* Global warming is changing the experience of summer camp for children across the country. Some camp operators are taking it as an opportunity to educate campers about climate change. (NYT)

* Climate scientists warned us. When will we listen? (WP)

* How G.O.P. Laws in Montana Could Complicate Voting for Native Americans -- Restrictions passed by the Republican-led Montana Legislature could have stark effects on Native American reservations, where voting in person can mean a two-hour drive. (NYT)

* Republicans want to make America more like China (WP)

* After a Nightmare Year, Election Officials Are Quitting -- The draining work of 2020 has spurred resignations and retirements. In a recent survey, one in three officials said they felt unsafe in the jobs. (NYT)

* Facebook’s latest product, a newsletter platform, exemplifies a strategy that some say should be illegal (WP)

* The big GOP, real-estate, and tech money behind the Boudin recall effort -- Many of the same individuals and corporations who tried to defeat the progressives last year -- including Trump allies -- are now trying to oust San Francisco's elected DA. (48 Hills)

* Press freedoms are crumbling across Asia. It’s likely to get worse. (WP)

* 4th Of July Shootings Across The Country Killed More Than 180 People (NPR)

* Americans Eagerly Check To See If They Got Any Emails Today (The Onion)

***

"Turn Me On"

Song by Norah Jones

Written by John D. Loudermilk

Like a flower waiting to bloom
Like a lightbulb in a dark room
I'm just sitting here waiting for you
To come on home and turn me on

Like the desert waiting for the rain
Like a schoolkid waiting for the spring
I'm just sitting here waiting for you
To come on home and turn me on

And my poor heart, it's been so dark
Since you've been gone
After all, you're the one who turns me off
But you're the only one who can turn me back on

My hi-fi is waiting for a new tune
My glass is waiting for some fresh ice cubes
I'm just sitting here waiting for you
To come on home and turn me on
Turn me on

-30-

Disoriented Shades of Memory

"There are three sides to every story: your side, my side, and the truth. And no one is lying."

-- Robert Evans. 

***

One of today's headlines involves the controversy over what causes Alzheimer's, the mysterious ailment that steals away our memory and leaves us disoriented. Let's hope the new drug recently approved by the FDA helps.

"Memory and Disorientation" might be an accurate title for a memoir, should I remember to write one.

Meanwhile, the past week served up a virtual memory orgy from my time at HotWired and Wired Digital, names for the same place. (It yielded about six business cards, too.) Although it was a brief period in my career, barely two years, it was when I made the jump from the old media world to the new one.

You don't easily forget a moment like that.

What seems to happen to me, and maybe to you, is that different periods of the past suddenly become vivid again, where every detail suddenly stands up like the hairs on your arm in a bright light, begging for attention.

Yet if you indulge those memories, you risk stirring up emotions that have long been buried -- that's why this business of memoir-writing can be hazardous at times.

When I taught "memoir as journalism" at Stanford and U-C Extension (for seniors), often the students would unintentionally reopen family wounds that had never really healed about sexual abuse, betrayals, addiction, and loss. But other students discovered family histories they'd never suspected, such as Chinese families that had changed their name when landing at Angel Island, pretending to be relatives of somebody already here -- the only way they could get into the U.S. at that time.

Or Jewish families pretending to be Protestants to avoid anti-semitic, anti-Catholic immigration laws in the U.S. as they fled the horrors of Nazism.

In the end, the consistent feedback I got from those who took the courses was that investigating their family's past was worth it. 

In the early days of the Internet media, we liked to say "content wants to be free." Maybe the past, whatever is buried there, wants to be free, too -- freed from the chains of memory, corrupted. 

I always worry when we published these types of revisions that we would get something wrong -- and that someone else would remember it all much differently.

But maybe that is the point. As Robert Evans says in the quote at the top of this post, even though we may have very different memories of the same event, nobody is lying.

Except of course those who are. And lying has a lot to do with power.

Unearthing lies that rebalance power dynamics adjusts the truth -- or something approximating it -- and that can be disorienting.

***

"The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off..."

-- Gloria Steinem

***

THE HEADLINES: 

* Controversial approval of Alzheimer’s drug reignites the battle over cause of the disease (WP)

* In ramp-up to 2022 midterms, Republican candidates center pitches on Trump’s false election claims (WP)

* Climate Change Is Making It Harder for Campers to Beat the Heat -- Burn bans, flashlight campfires, extreme heat and stronger rainstorms: Today’s campers are experiencing their summer fun against the backdrop of climate change. (NYT)

* Tropical Storm Elsa headed to landfall on central Cuba coast (AP)

* With trillions at stake, Democrats must face tough choices on Biden’s agenda within weeks (WP)

* New infrastructure deal must focus on climate, activists say (AP)

* Why America’s Politics Are Stubbornly Fixed, Despite Momentous Changes -- The country is recovering from a pandemic and an economic crisis, and its former president is in legal and financial peril. But no political realignment appears to be at hand. (NYT)

* Yes, Trump Really Did Lose Michigan (Editorial Board/WSJ)

*  As the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks approaches, victims' relatives are pressing the courts to answer what they see as lingering questions about the Saudi government's role in the attacks. (AP)

* The scientists fighting to save the ocean’s most important carbon capture system (WP)

* Almonds Swept California Farms. Then the Water Ran Out. (WSJ)

* Canada Battles More Than 180 Wildfires With Hundreds Dead In Heat Wave (NPR)

* Crews resume search for survivors amid condo rubble after collapse and demolition (WP)

* Afghan security personnel flee into Tajikistan as Taliban advance (Reuters)

* Iran, facing another virus surge, reimposes restrictions and focuses on homegrown vaccines (WP)

* As COVID Vaccinations Slow, Parts Of The U.S. Remain Far Behind 70% Goal (NPR)

* The Newspaperman Who Documented Black Tulsa (New Yorker)

* Baseball’s war on sticky stuff is already changing the game (WP)

* If Job Search Fails, Woman Knows She Can Always Find Work As Sole Protector Of Someone Else’s Children (The Onion)

***

"Come Away With Me"

Song by Norah Jones

Come away with me in the night
Come away with me
And I will write you a song

Come away with me on a bus
Come away where they can't tempt us, with their lies

And I want to walk with you
On a cloudy day
In fields where the yellow grass grows knee-high
So won't you try to come

Come away with me and we'll kiss
On a mountaintop
Come away with me
And I'll never stop loving you

And I want to wake up with the rain
Falling on a tin roof
While I'm safe there in your arms
So all I ask is for you
To come away with me in the night
Come away with me

-30-

One Kind of American

This holiday weekend I moved around to multiple locations, including a spell at San Jose's minor league baseball park to watch an open-air movie and fireworks, where country songs made up the soundtrack; one was Lee Greenwood's "Proud To Be An American."

It occurred to me that I'm an odd mix ofs an openly patriotic person who can dig a jingoistic song like that, but still be fiercely opposed to white nationalist BS like what drove those who attacked the capitol on Jan. 6th. 

I'm sure many of the insurrectionists like that song too but we couldn't be more polar opposites in other respects...So how can I explain this, let alone resolve it?

Well maybe I can't. Growing up in small cities in Michigan in the 50s, I did not identify with the coasts or with big-city life. My parents were naturalized citizens and we were not rich.

My value system included the stereotypical views captured in "It's a Wonderful Life," although I later learned that the guy who created it didn't have a wonderful one himself. Maybe ironic but not surprising.

My taste in music was my always own -- my Dad hated country songs and didn't care for rock 'n roll either.. But it was the story-telling in one and the beat in the other that hooked me, along with the schmaltzy emotionality of one and the rebelliousness in both. 

For whatever set of reasons, I always identified with underdogs and outsiders. At the University of Michigan, thanks to a scholarship awarded by Republican Gov. George Romney's administration, I was exposed to the burgeoning antiwar and civil rights movements.

I quickly converted into a student activist, then a journalist. 

Moving to San Francisco in my 20s and developing connections in New York, L.A. and Washington completed my transformation.

Eventually, you really couldn't have distinguished me from any other Bay Area progressive on the outside, but on the inside I never lost my small-town Michigan roots.

Fast forward to present tense, with a  nation and a culture so divided it hurts, people like me actually carry around divided hearts. When it comes to specific political issues I almost always come down on the side of progressives. When it comes to the places I prefer to hang out, it's big cities like the aforementioned.

Meanwhile, I *hate* the right-wing extremists and conspiracy theorists who have developed such a hold on some of the people whose lives I left behind when I moved away from the Midwest. 

But these are good people, patriotic Americans. They've just been sold a bad line of goods and a demagogue named Trump came along to take advantage of them. They also have trouble letting go of their biases against the coasts and big-city life.

I hold out hope that enough of them will come to their senses and back into the great middle of our culture, reject extremism and embrace the true meaning of patriotism. Then maybe we can all sing Lee Greenwood's song in the same tune.

[When it comes to patriotism and democracy I strongly recommend the first three articles listed below from The New Yorker.]

***

THE HEADLINES:

* Among the Insurrectionists --The Capitol was breached by Trump supporters who had been declaring, at rally after rally, that they would go to violent lengths to keep the President in power. A chronicle of an attack foretold. (New Yorker) 

* What We Get Wrong About America’s Crisis of Democracy The interesting question is not what causes authoritarianism but what has ever suspended it. (New Yorker)

* This July 4th, Can We De-Adapt from the Pandemic and Trump at the Same Time? --Although 2021 is only half over, it has brought about two major restart moments—one in politics and the other in public health. (New Yorker)

* Post-ABC poll: Biden earns high marks for handling the pandemic, but many Republicans resist vaccination (WP)

* In Case Against Trump’s Company, Echoes of His Father’s Tactics on Taxes -- The first criminal prosecution involving the former president’s business hearkens back to Fred Trump’s $16,135 purchase of boilers in the 1990s. (NYT)

* GOP governors implore residents to overcome vaccine hesitancy as delta variant rises (WP)

* Demolition crews move in at condo tower amid storm fears (AP)

* Despite GOP attacks, Justice Dept.’s Gupta leverages her relationships with police -- The administration seeks to balance holding police accountable for bad conduct and supporting them amid a spike in violent crime. (WP)

* China Orders Ride-Hailing Company Didi’s App Removed From App Stores-- The government says it has serious problems involving illegal collection of personal data (WSJ)

* Climate change could cost condo boards billions. They aren’t ready for it. (WP)

* Are Masks a New Signifier of Social Class? -- Face coverings are coming off, though not for everyone. (NYT)

* What the ‘return to normal’ means for toddlers who no longer remember ‘normal’ (WP)

* Chinese astronauts make first spacewalk outside new station (AP)

* Vatican indicts 10, including a cardinal, over ‘reckless’ London investment scandal (WP)

* The Relics of America’s War in Afghanistan -- Just a mile from Bagram Air Base, where U.S. forces departed on Thursday, shops sell items left over from two decades of fighting. Each one tells a story. (NYT)

* The unseen covid-19 risk for unvaccinated people (WP)

* These Chinese Millennials Are ‘Chilling,’ and Beijing Isn’t Happy -- Young people in China have set off a nascent counterculture movement that involves lying down and doing as little as possible. (NYT)

* Outside magazine thrived on adventure stories. Now it has its own survival fight. (WP)

* Independence Day 2021 is an apt occasion to celebrate America’s liberation from Trump (WP)

* Inseparable: On their 75th anniversary, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter celebrate a record-setting love story -- On Wednesday, the Carters will be married 75 years, the longest marriage in presidential history. Jimmy, 96, and Rosalynn, 93, will mark the occasion in the town where they met nearly a century ago. (WP)

* Historians Discover Thomas Jefferson May Have Secretly Fathered Multiple Other Countries (The Onion)

***

"Proud To Be An American"

Song by Lee Greenwood

If tomorrow all the things were gone I'd worked for all my life
And I had to start again with just my children and my wife
I'd thank my lucky stars to be living here today
'Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can't take that away

And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free
And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me
And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land! God bless the U.S.A.

From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee
Across the plains of Texas, from sea to shining sea

From Detroit down to Houston and New York to LA
Well, there's pride in every American heart
And it's time we stand and say:

I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free
And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me
And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land! God bless the U.S.A.