---
title: New but not Normal
date: '2022-05-27'
words: 556
collection: ramblings
---

I've been thinking about what is _normal_ more and more over the last few
years. Even moreso now, given the "new normal", caused primarily by the
pandemic. However, nothing about the situation we're in is normal! Therefor,
nothing about our response and attitude can be either. If we normalize how we
operate in these times, we only invite more chaos and corruption.

But we must act.

We must hold onto the memories of what we want, and what we **need**, even if
they've never been truly achieved.

- We need to feel safe
- We need to feel control over ourselves and the systems we depend on for
survival
- We want happiness, love, and community

Our memories are fluid, albeit viscous and sticky. We can choose to daydream
about the good... or the bad. We can cherry-pick the parts we want and
conveniently ignore the fragments that cause us discomfort. This feature of our
memory is a powerful tool, but like all tools, can be dangerous if used
carelessly.

Sometimes you don't realize how fucked up something is until you're presented
with abundantly clear evidence. I'm writing in the wake of a massive episode of
disturbing gun violence here in the United States. We know that this has been
on the rise for a while now, but it still takes mass shootings and dead
children to even begin conversations. We truly don't know what we're doing.
Stopgaps and thoughtful interventions are inoperable because policy makers are
disconnected at best, or actively disinterested in solving the problems.
Problems, to be clear, that are at the very root of our democratic institution.

How can we more forward, while we also hold onto the past? How can we make the
needed changes to the way we live while we still hold up our treasured
traditions and institutions? How do we avoid slipping backwards forever?

On the flip side, the same is true of the good things. You often don't realize
just how good the little things in life are. We miss just how far we've come
and just how much better we can be. Nobody lives in the same world as their
mothers and fathers, or if you look closely enough, even their neighbors and
friends! We progress quietly until one day you wake up and realize you're not
the same person you were before.

We must be able to make our own decisions, yet still get along with each other.
Tolerating the new quarks and ticks of society, while looking forward and
dreaming of a better life for ourselves and our children. Personally, I'm sick
of feeling so damn self-concious all the time. Worried what others will think,
what others will do, what I'm allowed to do, and even what I should be able to
do. Every action under constant, pervasive, deep surveillance; recorded and
analysed by shadowy systems I have no control over.

I just remind myself, **this is not normal**. This is new, but it cannot be
normal. How much longer it lasts is however quite unknown. Until lasting change
can be enacted, we must resist the numbing horrific shock and chilling reality
of today.

-----

Onto better times, forever holding the best ideas higher. Strung and strum
together late into the night, before rest calms. We find ourselves together
once again in the gradual bright light of morning.