What a beautiful text! About the squirrel, it certainly looks to us humans, given our way of thinking and seeing the world, to attribute it such a level of complete selfishness. But we don’t know what is going on in its mind. I like to keep the option open for something more being there, next to the selfishness.
About people. In a way, I think the same about them. Only, because we are of the same kind, I feel entitled to claim that I understand them better. But maybe I’m not, maybe it is just a projection of what I believe that I would think, being in their shoes.
But I’m not in their shoes, and there could be things going on in their minds that I cannot even imagine.
I have a similar background to yours, except that exactly my mother wasn’t a narcissist, but many others were, and I recognise your thought on myself being kind of a magnet to such people, given my own, more empathetic nature.
The 70 million misled Americans: Narcissism grows when people are scared, so it is easy to create such a situation. I am more puzzled by the fact that all the rest, supposedly not narcissists, were blowing up the fire by constantly calling the 70 millions idiots and losers, making them fortify themselves in their new-found refuge.
I hope that squirrels and people alike have more going on in their minds, to be exposed when moods calm down and reality demands it.
Thank you so much, Jorgen! I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and experiences - you have some very good insights :) I join in your hopes for better connections for the future :)
Hi Jorgen! I just wanted to let you know that I explored this portion of your comments further in a Note today, as it's a topic that I find often comes up regarding interactions with narcissists: "I am more puzzled by the fact that all the rest, supposedly not narcissists, were blowing up the fire by constantly calling the 70 millions idiots and losers, making them fortify themselves in their new-found refuge".
It's an interesting comment, and I guess that I am mostly agreeing with you — having some serious experience with narcissists myself.
About the 70 million people: I actually thought that you called them narcissists as kind of metaphorical trick to make it match your depiction of the squirrel. You may be right, of course, that they all are literally narcissists, but I don't think so. Some of them probably are, but others are just grabbing a chance they see to be part of something, a reaction against the society they feel have treated them wrongly.
Their behavior is narcissistic, but they may be able to also show other behavioral patterns. If you see narcissism as the absence of empathy, you will find that people who are under pressure often behave more narcissistic than they would if they were in a less stressed situation.
Whatever is the case with the 70 million, I hope that at least some of them will become more rational, and that some of the rest will find a will to accept them as human beings, not just monsters.
The polarization has a lot of the blame for how things turned out. I guess this is a deliberate strategy by Trump, Musk, and friends, who are now attacking democracy in Europe, to create a similar situation here. What they are going to do with that, is not clear to me yet, but it makes them best friends with Putin and some others who will find it easier to do what they want to do if they do not meet a solid, united resistance from us.
Somehow, turning an enemy into a friend would be the better outcome of the activities you can have with each other in the USA.
Factually, Trump-support and narcissism are highly correlated, because it takes an extreme lack of empathy and disregard for (or even enjoyment of) harm to others to support his rapist, racist, violent rhetoric.
I think you're operating out of a paradigm where regular people have some ups and downs and differences. But Trump consistently rallied his supporters on eradicating immigrants to cleanse America; imprisoning and executing all opposition voices; and lots and lots of other racist, bigoted, violent rhetoric. People who identify with his campaign, even if they are just seeking belonging, are seeking belonging at a level that is harmfully disordered.
That's why I think that somehow turning an enemy into a friend, while it's always the ideal, is not going to be realistic in the majority of cases in this scenario. This is not a random sample of people - this is a sample that is skewed far-right and high-narcissism. That's why I believe that what's more important is to let people know that it's okay to protect themselves and their loved ones, and that they don't need to feel pressured by some sense of politeness to condone, excuse, or submit to narcissist demands for more understanding and accommodation.
Out of curiosity - do you think things would have turned out better in the Nazi era if more people had been more accommodating, made more efforts to turn their enemies into their friends - or if more people had recognized the danger sooner and been less accommodating in every way they possibly could? Obviously, I think the latter, and so I hope that more people will resist at the individual daily level to make the rise of Trumpism unacceptable before we relive the worst historical atrocities of our world's worst tyrants.
I don't know what should have been done in the time between WWI and WWII, where both Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan, and actually several other countries developed some sort of fascism. It was a time of crisis, not the least because the USA experienced the Wall Street crash during that period and stopped buying grain from Eastern Europe, started growing it themselves instead, in the Mid-West.
Countries were enclosing around themselves, making the crisis even worse, since they didn't get any incomes from export. There wasn't much to export, either, as farming was almost impossible without the horses, that had almost all died during the first world war. Everything was ruined and needed a rebuild, but there was no money to do that.
There were many factors in play, and many unhappy people who hoped for a strongman to fix it.
Scholars of today are either pointing out how many things are alike, or they are stressing how many things are different now. There is no agreement, and it is politically incorrect in many countries to point out the dangers from the right-wing, as the parliamentary majorities for the least extreme right-parties depend on the extremists.
There is a lot not being spoken about in modern politics.
Personally, I think that every day is a new one in history. History doesn't repeat itself, but people follow some behavioral patterns that are quite predictable. That is why Trump could make such a successful campaign — he, or his advisors (or manipulators?), knew something about sociology and shaped a fascist take-over by the book.
We have many squirrels visit us every day. Black squirrels, grey squirrels and some squirrels with a combination grey and reddish fur. I have observed these squirrels for two years now. I feed them nuts: peanuts, walnuts and sometimes peacans.
I have seen them cooperate, not only with each other, but also with the birds, whom I also feed seeds. There is, in particular, an understanding between the squirrels and the blue jays. When a blue jay, with her loud vocalization announces her presence, she will swoop down, check for the right peanut, pick it up and fly off with it in her beak.
The squirrels will then, one by one, then do the nut check, take it his mouth and scamper off happily. There might be a hierarchy of sorts in the squirrel world. I have never seen any violence among squirrels or between squirrels and birds.
Thank you for sharing, Perry! I enjoyed imagining this "pecking order" that even the squirrels participate in 🤣 It's so beautiful to watch nature's creatures interact with each other in such balanced manner, each one an individual musical instrument, all together a harmonic symphony. 💕
Thank you for this thoughtful and insightful post. Animals know who they are, they are authentic. That's how I know I can trust them, and I love them for it. They make room for each other. Their self preservation is not selfishness.
Exactly, Noel, how well-stated! I really appreciate these characteristics that you've grouped up together, like a little mini-guide for "how to be a better human": know who you are, be authentic, make room for others, self-preservation is not selfishness. Talk about kindness balanced with healthy boundaries! 💕
Thank you Sydney. The beauty of the squirrel and the challenges of humanity. I hope, like you I think, that we find a way through where the boundaries built by love heal through the blaming and ignorance of many about who we truly are. Squirrels evolved to be free to be who they are. Humans are still on the evolutionary path. Thank you again Sydney for your wonderful writing and care.
Sydney, Thank you for giving me a way to better understand what the heck is going on in this country. I admit to often shaking my head as I see the 'no response' response to each affront to our system of order which may have it's faults, but all and all has let us live our lives far more sanely and freely than in other times or parts of the world. I have been watching, admittedly from afar via news media an absurd bowing and scraping to a very unsavory human and his many cohorts. But, I can see it will all too soon not be from afar. Living even on the other side of the country will not be enough distance to be immune from the repercussions of many of the actions being cooked-up by these flaming bunch of crazies. If only they were squirrels and go back to sitting on their pile of seeds!!! :-) Now here is the funny thing for me. I too was raised with a narcissist at home. Because she was my sister who has a wonderful intelligence and memory which I truly admired, it took me a long time to stop making excuses for her behavior. But one day I told someone that she reminded me of Trump and BING BING BING the light went on and all of the pieces started to match up and I saw both Trump and my sister for who they are. Both can be charming when it suits their needs, Which is usually to keep you from paying attention to what they are really up to. All of their plans are self serving. Neither have a need for sharing ... unless it is sharing your stuff or skills! Very little appreciation of art or humor or other peoples concerns. No interest at all in kindness or generosity. As I say, in my sister's case she is rather intelligent and sadly uses that intelligence to manipulate most anyone she bumps into. This includes her own doctors and such people she wants to do things her way. Quite talented at finding a persons weak spots and bringing them up as a way to manipulate them. Sorry if I have gone on a bit here. But you are so spot on in identifying how the change in our country has taken place. It gives me hope that this can be turned around. One of the things narcissist need is attention. They live for it. I am thinking that is a clue of how to stop them. If 'we' can rather loudly go about our lives without them, that may be a way to thwart their advance. Are we to be squirrel like and sit on our pile of seeds? lol Maybe so, if that makes them move on.
This is fascinating, Sandy, thank you for sharing! I admit, I am endlessly interested in unravelling what's going on behind human behavior, even when it's terrible. "it took me a long time to stop making excuses for her behavior" - is the exact description of every person with regular empathy that gets sucked into a narcissist's orbit. When I read that phrase, I was vigorously nodding, and thinking back over all my experiences, and every one I've ever talked to in a similar situation. It's always like that! Because, of course, your tendency is to give people the benefit of the doubt, and it can take a long time for it to click that this is who they are and benefit of the doubt does not apply. It's sort of hilarious that Trump is what ultimately made it click for you - and then when it does click, like you said, every little thing suddenly makes sense.
I agree with you entirely that our greatest weapon is to "loudly go about our lives without them", well said. It's a personal goal of mine, and I hope more and more people continue on the path we saw post-election. The energy of being fed up with polite expectations and feeling empowered to cut harmful people out of our lives, to shame and shun, not with aggressive attacks but definitely with adamant ignoring, is probably the best method of self-preservation that we have at the moment. Thanks so much for connecting on this, Sandy 💕
Thanks so much for hearing my thoughts Sydney. And for sharing how you have come to understand behaviors of some humans and animals. One of my ways forward will be 'loudly' giving knitting classes at my local library. :-) I appreciate you!
So many wonderful thoughts here, as usual, Sydney. Thank you for sharing about your experiences with narcissism. I found your words very moving. It does seem like we have an epidemic of narcissistic actions and personality traits in the public arena right now. I think visibility of one very loud such person has emboldened more of the same to come out in the light. Your words about nature remind me of those famous lines from that most famous poem of Wendell Berry’s—The Peace of Wild Things:
…/I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
So beautiful, Laura, thank you for sharing! Yes, I see Trump as both a product of a rising tide and a catalyst to burst the dam. These are the times we are given - "it is a good lesson to consider." 💕
A lovely post. I’m trying to gauge the size of your squirrel. I think I’m settling on about six inches long? We don’t have anything like them here in Australia. SO cute.
And the narcissism is so scary. I’m so thankful to have not been exposed as much to such a scary trait.
One of the comments above reminds me that the current predilection to left vs right has made people forget that the middle ground is the best way to find common ground. America likes putting things into boxes - and then you have to defend your box! Why can’t we just Be? Like a squirrel.
Thought-provoking and lovely. Thanks so much dear Sydney. Hugs from afar.
Thanks so much, Beth! Yes, exactly - they sit about 6 inches tall - and then their tail is about 6 inches, too. They are endlessly adorable 🤗
It's really lovely to hear that you've had little exposure to narcissism. There's a little hope for the world, it doesn't have to be that way! 🤣
Excellent point about politics. Republicans and Democrats here both used to strive to appear more centrist in their policies, because that's what most people preferred. But my personal assessment is that the Republican Party has shifted pretty far right, especially since the 80s, focusing on inflammatory rhetoric and aggressive power-grabs. The fact that centrists tend to compromise has actually benefitted far-right progress so that now, even though they're technically still a minority, they dominate our political landscape :( I would be happy to have more people voting for platforms that would be good for all of us instead of just picking a "side" - maybe more will come to their senses as the consequences of this next election unfold.🤷🏼♀️
Politically I see the same in Australia. The right keeps on moving further right because those in the middle keep on compromising a little more. We now have a bunch of ‘teals’ elected, intelligent independents, mainly women, trying to keep the other parties honest. And of course those on the far right, constantly have a go at them and try to tell us all how stupid they are. So many people just accept the ‘fake news’ because they’re exhausted from trying to work out what the actual truth is anymore. Let’s send a few positive hopeful vibes into the world. Hugs my dear. All the best.
Thanks for sharing, Beth - it's really interesting to hear what things looks like on your side of the globe :) "send a few positive hopeful vibes into the world" - so right, definitely the thing I need to dig deep and keep re-centering on, as I often get side-tracked by the baffling lunacy boiling around me 🤣🤗
Nature, and writing Nature Moments, does pull me back periodically into that refreshing space of contemplation, though, and that's a good thing!💕
What a beautiful text! About the squirrel, it certainly looks to us humans, given our way of thinking and seeing the world, to attribute it such a level of complete selfishness. But we don’t know what is going on in its mind. I like to keep the option open for something more being there, next to the selfishness.
About people. In a way, I think the same about them. Only, because we are of the same kind, I feel entitled to claim that I understand them better. But maybe I’m not, maybe it is just a projection of what I believe that I would think, being in their shoes.
But I’m not in their shoes, and there could be things going on in their minds that I cannot even imagine.
I have a similar background to yours, except that exactly my mother wasn’t a narcissist, but many others were, and I recognise your thought on myself being kind of a magnet to such people, given my own, more empathetic nature.
The 70 million misled Americans: Narcissism grows when people are scared, so it is easy to create such a situation. I am more puzzled by the fact that all the rest, supposedly not narcissists, were blowing up the fire by constantly calling the 70 millions idiots and losers, making them fortify themselves in their new-found refuge.
I hope that squirrels and people alike have more going on in their minds, to be exposed when moods calm down and reality demands it.
Thank you so much, Jorgen! I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and experiences - you have some very good insights :) I join in your hopes for better connections for the future :)
Hi Jorgen! I just wanted to let you know that I explored this portion of your comments further in a Note today, as it's a topic that I find often comes up regarding interactions with narcissists: "I am more puzzled by the fact that all the rest, supposedly not narcissists, were blowing up the fire by constantly calling the 70 millions idiots and losers, making them fortify themselves in their new-found refuge".
Here is the link to the Note, if you're interested :) https://substack.com/profile/172359175-sydney-michalski/note/c-85474248
It's an interesting comment, and I guess that I am mostly agreeing with you — having some serious experience with narcissists myself.
About the 70 million people: I actually thought that you called them narcissists as kind of metaphorical trick to make it match your depiction of the squirrel. You may be right, of course, that they all are literally narcissists, but I don't think so. Some of them probably are, but others are just grabbing a chance they see to be part of something, a reaction against the society they feel have treated them wrongly.
Their behavior is narcissistic, but they may be able to also show other behavioral patterns. If you see narcissism as the absence of empathy, you will find that people who are under pressure often behave more narcissistic than they would if they were in a less stressed situation.
Whatever is the case with the 70 million, I hope that at least some of them will become more rational, and that some of the rest will find a will to accept them as human beings, not just monsters.
The polarization has a lot of the blame for how things turned out. I guess this is a deliberate strategy by Trump, Musk, and friends, who are now attacking democracy in Europe, to create a similar situation here. What they are going to do with that, is not clear to me yet, but it makes them best friends with Putin and some others who will find it easier to do what they want to do if they do not meet a solid, united resistance from us.
Somehow, turning an enemy into a friend would be the better outcome of the activities you can have with each other in the USA.
Factually, Trump-support and narcissism are highly correlated, because it takes an extreme lack of empathy and disregard for (or even enjoyment of) harm to others to support his rapist, racist, violent rhetoric.
I think you're operating out of a paradigm where regular people have some ups and downs and differences. But Trump consistently rallied his supporters on eradicating immigrants to cleanse America; imprisoning and executing all opposition voices; and lots and lots of other racist, bigoted, violent rhetoric. People who identify with his campaign, even if they are just seeking belonging, are seeking belonging at a level that is harmfully disordered.
That's why I think that somehow turning an enemy into a friend, while it's always the ideal, is not going to be realistic in the majority of cases in this scenario. This is not a random sample of people - this is a sample that is skewed far-right and high-narcissism. That's why I believe that what's more important is to let people know that it's okay to protect themselves and their loved ones, and that they don't need to feel pressured by some sense of politeness to condone, excuse, or submit to narcissist demands for more understanding and accommodation.
Out of curiosity - do you think things would have turned out better in the Nazi era if more people had been more accommodating, made more efforts to turn their enemies into their friends - or if more people had recognized the danger sooner and been less accommodating in every way they possibly could? Obviously, I think the latter, and so I hope that more people will resist at the individual daily level to make the rise of Trumpism unacceptable before we relive the worst historical atrocities of our world's worst tyrants.
I may not be as optimistic as you think – I wrote about this not long ago, and you may wish to check the thoughts I expressed: https://turn.inidox.com/p/maga-neo-nazism-and-friends
I don't know what should have been done in the time between WWI and WWII, where both Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan, and actually several other countries developed some sort of fascism. It was a time of crisis, not the least because the USA experienced the Wall Street crash during that period and stopped buying grain from Eastern Europe, started growing it themselves instead, in the Mid-West.
Countries were enclosing around themselves, making the crisis even worse, since they didn't get any incomes from export. There wasn't much to export, either, as farming was almost impossible without the horses, that had almost all died during the first world war. Everything was ruined and needed a rebuild, but there was no money to do that.
There were many factors in play, and many unhappy people who hoped for a strongman to fix it.
Scholars of today are either pointing out how many things are alike, or they are stressing how many things are different now. There is no agreement, and it is politically incorrect in many countries to point out the dangers from the right-wing, as the parliamentary majorities for the least extreme right-parties depend on the extremists.
There is a lot not being spoken about in modern politics.
Personally, I think that every day is a new one in history. History doesn't repeat itself, but people follow some behavioral patterns that are quite predictable. That is why Trump could make such a successful campaign — he, or his advisors (or manipulators?), knew something about sociology and shaped a fascist take-over by the book.
What a lovely squirrel. I learned long ago about their preference for finger niblets, so I feed them from afar, these days.
Thanks, Thomas! Can't blame them, I suppose, we do have fingertips that are suspiciously tender and juicy looking :)
We have many squirrels visit us every day. Black squirrels, grey squirrels and some squirrels with a combination grey and reddish fur. I have observed these squirrels for two years now. I feed them nuts: peanuts, walnuts and sometimes peacans.
I have seen them cooperate, not only with each other, but also with the birds, whom I also feed seeds. There is, in particular, an understanding between the squirrels and the blue jays. When a blue jay, with her loud vocalization announces her presence, she will swoop down, check for the right peanut, pick it up and fly off with it in her beak.
The squirrels will then, one by one, then do the nut check, take it his mouth and scamper off happily. There might be a hierarchy of sorts in the squirrel world. I have never seen any violence among squirrels or between squirrels and birds.
Thank you for sharing, Perry! I enjoyed imagining this "pecking order" that even the squirrels participate in 🤣 It's so beautiful to watch nature's creatures interact with each other in such balanced manner, each one an individual musical instrument, all together a harmonic symphony. 💕
Thank you for this thoughtful and insightful post. Animals know who they are, they are authentic. That's how I know I can trust them, and I love them for it. They make room for each other. Their self preservation is not selfishness.
Exactly, Noel, how well-stated! I really appreciate these characteristics that you've grouped up together, like a little mini-guide for "how to be a better human": know who you are, be authentic, make room for others, self-preservation is not selfishness. Talk about kindness balanced with healthy boundaries! 💕
Thank you Sydney. The beauty of the squirrel and the challenges of humanity. I hope, like you I think, that we find a way through where the boundaries built by love heal through the blaming and ignorance of many about who we truly are. Squirrels evolved to be free to be who they are. Humans are still on the evolutionary path. Thank you again Sydney for your wonderful writing and care.
Thanks so much, Ian! You're right, squirrels are a beautiful source of hope for our future path :) 💕
An absolutely fascinating, deeply thought-provoking post, Sydney - not to mention BEAUTIFUL. Such great reflections on the world and its inhabitants.
Thanks so much, Rebecca!💕
Sydney, Thank you for giving me a way to better understand what the heck is going on in this country. I admit to often shaking my head as I see the 'no response' response to each affront to our system of order which may have it's faults, but all and all has let us live our lives far more sanely and freely than in other times or parts of the world. I have been watching, admittedly from afar via news media an absurd bowing and scraping to a very unsavory human and his many cohorts. But, I can see it will all too soon not be from afar. Living even on the other side of the country will not be enough distance to be immune from the repercussions of many of the actions being cooked-up by these flaming bunch of crazies. If only they were squirrels and go back to sitting on their pile of seeds!!! :-) Now here is the funny thing for me. I too was raised with a narcissist at home. Because she was my sister who has a wonderful intelligence and memory which I truly admired, it took me a long time to stop making excuses for her behavior. But one day I told someone that she reminded me of Trump and BING BING BING the light went on and all of the pieces started to match up and I saw both Trump and my sister for who they are. Both can be charming when it suits their needs, Which is usually to keep you from paying attention to what they are really up to. All of their plans are self serving. Neither have a need for sharing ... unless it is sharing your stuff or skills! Very little appreciation of art or humor or other peoples concerns. No interest at all in kindness or generosity. As I say, in my sister's case she is rather intelligent and sadly uses that intelligence to manipulate most anyone she bumps into. This includes her own doctors and such people she wants to do things her way. Quite talented at finding a persons weak spots and bringing them up as a way to manipulate them. Sorry if I have gone on a bit here. But you are so spot on in identifying how the change in our country has taken place. It gives me hope that this can be turned around. One of the things narcissist need is attention. They live for it. I am thinking that is a clue of how to stop them. If 'we' can rather loudly go about our lives without them, that may be a way to thwart their advance. Are we to be squirrel like and sit on our pile of seeds? lol Maybe so, if that makes them move on.
This is fascinating, Sandy, thank you for sharing! I admit, I am endlessly interested in unravelling what's going on behind human behavior, even when it's terrible. "it took me a long time to stop making excuses for her behavior" - is the exact description of every person with regular empathy that gets sucked into a narcissist's orbit. When I read that phrase, I was vigorously nodding, and thinking back over all my experiences, and every one I've ever talked to in a similar situation. It's always like that! Because, of course, your tendency is to give people the benefit of the doubt, and it can take a long time for it to click that this is who they are and benefit of the doubt does not apply. It's sort of hilarious that Trump is what ultimately made it click for you - and then when it does click, like you said, every little thing suddenly makes sense.
I agree with you entirely that our greatest weapon is to "loudly go about our lives without them", well said. It's a personal goal of mine, and I hope more and more people continue on the path we saw post-election. The energy of being fed up with polite expectations and feeling empowered to cut harmful people out of our lives, to shame and shun, not with aggressive attacks but definitely with adamant ignoring, is probably the best method of self-preservation that we have at the moment. Thanks so much for connecting on this, Sandy 💕
Thanks so much for hearing my thoughts Sydney. And for sharing how you have come to understand behaviors of some humans and animals. One of my ways forward will be 'loudly' giving knitting classes at my local library. :-) I appreciate you!
Thank you, Sandy! It's heart-warming to think of your knitting classes, a spark of light in a chaotic world :)
Wow. I hope I come back as an animal in my next life! May the year be better than we expect.
No kidding, Amie! No matter what happens, I'll comfort myself imagining what life would be like if I came back as a squirrel 🤣
So many wonderful thoughts here, as usual, Sydney. Thank you for sharing about your experiences with narcissism. I found your words very moving. It does seem like we have an epidemic of narcissistic actions and personality traits in the public arena right now. I think visibility of one very loud such person has emboldened more of the same to come out in the light. Your words about nature remind me of those famous lines from that most famous poem of Wendell Berry’s—The Peace of Wild Things:
…/I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
It is a good lesson to consider.
So beautiful, Laura, thank you for sharing! Yes, I see Trump as both a product of a rising tide and a catalyst to burst the dam. These are the times we are given - "it is a good lesson to consider." 💕
A lovely post. I’m trying to gauge the size of your squirrel. I think I’m settling on about six inches long? We don’t have anything like them here in Australia. SO cute.
And the narcissism is so scary. I’m so thankful to have not been exposed as much to such a scary trait.
One of the comments above reminds me that the current predilection to left vs right has made people forget that the middle ground is the best way to find common ground. America likes putting things into boxes - and then you have to defend your box! Why can’t we just Be? Like a squirrel.
Thought-provoking and lovely. Thanks so much dear Sydney. Hugs from afar.
Thanks so much, Beth! Yes, exactly - they sit about 6 inches tall - and then their tail is about 6 inches, too. They are endlessly adorable 🤗
It's really lovely to hear that you've had little exposure to narcissism. There's a little hope for the world, it doesn't have to be that way! 🤣
Excellent point about politics. Republicans and Democrats here both used to strive to appear more centrist in their policies, because that's what most people preferred. But my personal assessment is that the Republican Party has shifted pretty far right, especially since the 80s, focusing on inflammatory rhetoric and aggressive power-grabs. The fact that centrists tend to compromise has actually benefitted far-right progress so that now, even though they're technically still a minority, they dominate our political landscape :( I would be happy to have more people voting for platforms that would be good for all of us instead of just picking a "side" - maybe more will come to their senses as the consequences of this next election unfold.🤷🏼♀️
Great to hear from you, as always, Beth! 💕
Politically I see the same in Australia. The right keeps on moving further right because those in the middle keep on compromising a little more. We now have a bunch of ‘teals’ elected, intelligent independents, mainly women, trying to keep the other parties honest. And of course those on the far right, constantly have a go at them and try to tell us all how stupid they are. So many people just accept the ‘fake news’ because they’re exhausted from trying to work out what the actual truth is anymore. Let’s send a few positive hopeful vibes into the world. Hugs my dear. All the best.
Thanks for sharing, Beth - it's really interesting to hear what things looks like on your side of the globe :) "send a few positive hopeful vibes into the world" - so right, definitely the thing I need to dig deep and keep re-centering on, as I often get side-tracked by the baffling lunacy boiling around me 🤣🤗
Nature, and writing Nature Moments, does pull me back periodically into that refreshing space of contemplation, though, and that's a good thing!💕
Thank you