From a214ca5a5b5a36d61af1b65840b078e1c89f52dc Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Stephen Michael Kellat <1001736+skellat@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2024 17:08:59 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] Whining by the pessimist

Signed-off-by: Stephen Michael Kellat <1001736+skellat@users.noreply.github.com>
---
 .post-template                                  |  2 +-
 .../2024-01-18-the-problem-of-lived-horror.md   | 17 +++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 18 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
 create mode 100644 _posts/2024-01-18-the-problem-of-lived-horror.md

diff --git a/.post-template b/.post-template
index 654ebc6..e9ac11a 100644
--- a/.post-template
+++ b/.post-template
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 layout: post
 title:  "Make A Title Here"
-date:   2024-01-17 00:03:00 -0500
+date:   2024-01-18 00:03:00 -0500
 categories: blather
 ---
 Go ahead and write a textual post here styled in Markdown
diff --git a/_posts/2024-01-18-the-problem-of-lived-horror.md b/_posts/2024-01-18-the-problem-of-lived-horror.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7499d67
--- /dev/null
+++ b/_posts/2024-01-18-the-problem-of-lived-horror.md
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title:  "The Problem of Lived Horror"
+date:   2024-01-18 16:13:00 -0500
+categories: blather
+---
+I saw a post yseterday on Mastodon that bothered me a bit.  It was a poster that simply said Americans needed to use the "USPOL" content warning more frequently or they would just be muted.  They were upset at the possibility of having to mute some very nice people but they wanted nothing to do with the politics of Les États-Unis d'Amérique.
+
+That's kinda sorta the problem some days with Mastodon and why I stay far away from the various firehoses and block somewhat mercilessly.  I get people wanting to escape oppression in their lives.  I get people wanting safe spaces.  
+
+We have a rather horrible and horrifying situation in play at the moment.  Depending upon how badly the vote turns out in New Hampshire on Tuesday, we might see the rest of Donald Trump's opponents drop out and him wind up with the nomination after just two states.  Yes, an adjudged rapist, an accused coup plotter, and accused threat to national security will more than likely be one party's nominee for President of the United States.
+
+I know people hope beyond hope that they'll be able to endure.  I know there are people thinking they'll be able to stand and provide internal resistance when the time comes.  The situation is much more like what was faced by Albert Einstein and others before they bugged out from Europe in the late 1920s and the 1930s.  This is descending into being a living horror show for a broad cross-section of the population.
+
+Yes, people living in horror shows can be quite a drag.  In places like this, they have nowhere to go and have to endure it.  Telling them to stay silent just increases the misery and suffering.  Instead of blocking out the misery and suffering as someone outside the hell realm, consider what can be done to make things less of a nightmare.  That's a far more humane solution.
+
+Reading [*The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism*](https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2024/january-web-only/tim-alberta-kingdom-power-glory-american-evangelicals.html) by Tim Alberta may give you a good overview as to why this whole situation is not some political dispute.  There is an honest to goodness weird Christian-sounding cult running around that is trying to take power.  The things the cult believes have little to do with actual Christianity, though.  You can't really do politics in the usual way when up against religious zealots of a new order...