Week 33.
However lousy you think your week was, it was better than Jeffrey Toobin’s.
I have sought to keep my schadenfreude in check since Tuesday by considering excuses for Mr. Toobin – such as the regrettable blurring of what was, pre-pandemic, a critical line between work and home life and the arguably predictable lapses that come from Zoom work calls at home - thoughts wander, idle hands, devil’s workshops. But frankly, Jeff has had 33 weeks to develop the mental discipline and good habits of homework and to “work out the kinks” … to coin a phrase. Anyway, I am fortunate enough to be able to avoid the potential for Toobin tragedies, by going into my office daily since March. And on the rare occasion I have been in between Zoom work calls when at home, I pet the dog. Which, I hasten to add, is not a euphemism. Gilly always finds a place to curl up near me, where she is “immediately to hand” … to coin a phrase.
But Elder Advice cannot be only about onanism.
As always, it must counsel against self-interest as well as self-abuse. Which is just as well, because I have been greatly troubled of late by the failure of the present health care emergency to bring us all together, as past crises did. And by the epidemic of cocooning which seems to be driving us apart. And by the fact that those phenomena are not simply a predictable result of raising generations to believe that it is all about them and their ever-growing list of “rights”. It is about not caring anymore, whether or not born of self-interest.
And that is a pandemic without hope of a vaccine.
Chief among the villains responsible is the information ecosystem. That ecosystem has enabled the information war now being waged. That conflict has roots of which go back to the Cold War. Which some of us remember well. The goal then was to wreak havoc elsewhere. But social media platforms and other information technology have made this conflict exponentially more terrifying. And everywhere. Everyday on-line interaction, whether fueled by foreign interests, dangerous social movements or hare-brained special interest groups, is now intended not just to misinform and promote tribalism. Increasingly, it has been elevated to intentional “censorship through noise”. We are daily bombarded with such overwhelming amounts of information on every issue, whether true or false, that decent people despair and are paralyzed into inaction. Or, at least, no worthwhile action. We are ceasing to effectively govern ourselves, individually and collectively.
That may explain why many have sought to cocoon themselves from it all. It was always a tendency. And a pandemic which mandates physical distancing is a perfect, and perfectly horrible, justification for it.
That may explain how a country can have president who can lie incessantly and extravagantly, and often pointlessly. And many seem not to even care anymore.
That may explain why there are more Amazon Prime members in that country than there were voters in its last federal election.
It certainly explains the name of my corporation - the Misery Loves Company.
Elder Advice? As for the information problem, it is of nightmarish complexity. But here’s a start. Online anonymity needs to end. We license the use of virtually everything else. Why not a license to use the information ecosystem? Why not prevent those who make statements from hiding behind pseudonyms. Information is power and if we want its consumers to “consider the source”, we must enable them to do just that. And – additional benefit - in the old days, when people knew it was you saying those ridiculous or spiteful things, you spoke less often. And considered your words far more carefully when you did. Same thing on Twitter.
Otherwise, this is no time to be inactive, indoors and in the dark. Unless, of course, you are intent on becoming veal. Your mother was, as always, correct when she said the most important screen is the one in the door that hits you on your way outside. Cocoon avoidance requires thought, discipline, action, and careful attention to past Elder Advice. Small Things Matters. Be the Chocolate Man. Be open to strangers and strange ideas. Fall in love with aeroplane mode. Find a quiet spot. Consider the Source. And so on.
And you must find joy and hope in the joy and hope of others. Like my joy in finding that my schadenfreude is more satisfying than yours. And my joy in finally being able to use “schadenfreude” in Elder Advice. Twice. And my hope that Kate Beckinsale, who has now wisely offloaded Goody Grace, might not be entirely tired of Canadians. And anxious to pick on - and up - someone her own age …
Great piece. Wanted to leave a helpful comment but I don't tweet. And have no desire to ......:-)