254 - Two Celebrations

PSA: As two celebrations of horror take place over the coming couple of weeks, Halloween and US elections, maximum absurdity is set to unfold. In both cases, “children” of all ages are likely to feel ill afterwards, having indulged in far too many cheap short-term rewards that dubious strangers were handing out to everyone passing by.

During one celebration people will dress as various horrors, and during the other they'll act the part.

There is virtually nothing to be gained by watching the shitshow unfold for 99.99% of the population, but psychological and emotional stability and health is sure to take a heavy blow for almost everyone who follows it. Simply, there is practically nothing to gain, and everything to lose.

A litmus test for whether or not you should follow the news between now and the end of the year is to ask yourself a simple question. “Will my knowing change anything that is happening?”

For more than 99.99% of people, the answer is firmly and undoubtedly “No”. The only thing that most people do is to irritate those around them proportionately more by talking about things that they don’t actually care enough about to do anything about.

That isn’t to say that people shouldn’t vote, they absolutely should, but they should promptly detox from all news and probably disown many of the people who fail to do so for the 2 months thereafter. Peak incompetence and disinformation is not the right time to get much of anything done, except for bad actors, or the people who directly fight them (in the literal sense).

Everyone can spend the next two months focusing on their own mental health and happiness, and perhaps considering any of the long list of countries that offer vastly higher quality of life and affordability relative to the US. This is the advice I’ve given to my own family, but it applies to pretty much everyone.

There will be tons of deepfakes circulating, and there will be shallow fakes getting elected. “News” will be a sewage pond, so don’t soak in it daily like you’re visiting some kind of angry spa.

There are no treats between now and the end of the year for the US, only tricks. If you keep an eye on the news, those tricks will be on you.