The Coronavirus

I must say--again--that I am shocked by what has been happening in society because of the coronavirus. If someone would have told me a year ago this would happen, I would have thought it was something out of a Ray Bradbury novel. Yet, I think, the experience can be mind-expanding.

That is, sometimes reality has deeper layers that are shut away until something happens that wasn't foreseen, or that is not foreseen by much of the populace.

Yet, the more I read about the coronavirus and pandemics, the more I see that some had sent out warning flares. And it also brought to mind how politicians are usually the last ones to know, or to be more precise, they are the last ones to want to sound an alarm, especially if the status quo works in their favor.

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Obamagate

I've been reading about Obamagate. And I must say, I am surprised that the president would go to such lengths to distract from the current crisis (the coronavirus), just so he could get out ahead in his 2020 campaign. That is, most politicians in the current climate would try to better the crisis and only secondarily deal with their campaign, but the president seems hell-bent on winning at any cost, even if it costs the country many more lives.

It seems surreal. But I guess Nixon and Clinton would have done similar things if they were in Trump's shoes. Just not anywhere near to the frenzied extent of President Trump.

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Just Thinking Aloud

Things have changed since the coronavirus came to town. It is like something out of a sci-fi thriller, with happenings that are hard to peg and responses even harder to peg. It definitely shows how individuals who hold certain views can dig their heels in even further when things don't go their way--very much like what is talked about in the book, When Prophecy Fails, writter by Leon Festinger and others.

It can no doubt happen to most anyone, no matter their political, religious, or societal affiliations. When I was younger I probably fit in that category.

It's hard at the time to see it in yourself. And pointing it out to the person, usually, is to no avail. You just produce a better martyr.

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On Writing

I have been looking over a book that has a lot of good information on writing (though, I think, I forget to use a lot of it). The book is about the writing teacher Don Murray. It's called, The Essential Don Murray: Lessons from America's Greatest Writing Teacher, edited by Thomas Newkirk and Lisa C. Miller.

Here is some of Murray's advice:

--Be patient, listen quietly, the writing will come.

--You have to write to discover what you have to say.

--Write with information. The reader doesn't turn the page because of a hunger to applaud.

--All writing is experimental, failure is normal, success abnormal.

--Don't look back. Yes, the draft needs fixing. But first it needs writing.

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