Meanwhile In The Real World…

I don’t really touch on events that could be labelled as current affairs in this tiny corner of the internet way over here. I sometimes feel that I should, that I should be more engaged in what’s going on around us out there in The Actual World as opposed to just sitting it out over in my pop culture bubble.

Actually, that’s probably a little unfair to describe myself as not being engaged. I do keep abreast of what’s going on to varying degrees. I go through phases of taking in as much as I can (usually when I’m intermittently taking advantage of one of those cheap 12 week subscriptions to The Economist) before finding myself so utterly despondent at the various different injustices and outrages being perpetrated all across the word that I have to unplug a little.

I’m just not sure that I have anything particularly insightful to add to the vast crop of commentators currently out there. Thanks to social media, everyone is a pundit these days (a fact that I gleefully take advantage of, naturally, with these aimless witterings). Also thanks to social media, it’s very easy to get it “wrong” and be electronically hung, drawn and quartered (can’t bear using the term but “cancelled”). Of course there are cases of people’s hideous views and opinions being exposed but equally there are examples of miscommunication and a lack of proper articulation leading to people being tarred and feathered when they need a bit of re-education.

In an age where we pride ourselves on being so much more enlightened than in times past, mob mentality still prevails. It’s visible in our interactions with each other online and it’s visible out there in the actual flesh and blood world. Today, Britain leaves the EU and exploitation of mob mentality, of base fears and prejudices, has played a major role in an action that will impact this country in some way, shape or form for a long time to come.

On days like today, it can be tough to reconcile that change is happening, whether you like it or not. The important thing about change is that it keeps happening. Very few things in this world are permanent (not even permanent marker - you can scrub off the genitals your mate drew on your head when you passed out drunk if you try hard enough). If you don’t like this change, you can work to effect one that you will like in the future. Of course, that means that someone else won't like that and will be working to effect their own change in return…

Hmmm, OK, I think I see why I normally leave the “real” world well enough alone. I’m unfocused and rambling enough of the time in this written runoff from my thought bucket without doubling down on it. “All very nice but what was the point there?”

*shrugs shoulders and starts planning something about film and TV for next time*