I’ve been wondering at your recent silence and applaud it. The earlier volume of posts I actually found overwhelming to digest fully.
And you name something I too struggle with. Am I scrolling to support my views, feel righteous in my emotions? Sometimes, yes. Am I also scrolling to discern the patterns of what’s emerging globally? Also sometimes yes. The line between can get pretty blurry 😜
As a newcomer to The Vertical Dispatch, I recall a recent essay from the departure lounge in which the author engages with a young man. I took the story literally. Is there a separate site from The Vertical Dispatch entitled Departure Lounge, or am I just really thick?
Same person, which is why I am not focusing on geopolitics; it takes too much of my effort and time, and I also really enjoy the departure lounge stories. See you in the lounge this Sunday
I look for the same things you do in a leader, plus one a bit more specific - a commitment to the rule of law and (in my particular case) the US Constitution, in its entirety, for everyone in the US
Well, maybe I'm too wrapped up in egoism to be able to accept completely what you're saying, Glen, but I'd like to stand up for reading analyses of political situations, an activity that you describe as a way of feeding the ego's hunger for a sense of being in the right. As Ms. Salter points out in her comment, we're scrolling in part for information to enable us to formulate an understanding of the situation in question. The aim of that effort is to gain a sense of control--to help us find the direction to align our keels, to use one of your key metaphors. In these stormy times, when rationality has largely disappeared from the scene, it's difficult to discern what's actually going on, and, like sailors on the ocean, we absolutely need to know. Making judgments about the information is where the feeding our egos with the sense of being right comes in. Don't we attend to the vertical axis at that point? For instance, at the same time that we are suffering the consequences of human-caused climate change, such as drought, wildfire smoke and lung diseases, Canada's leaders are planning to increase the use of fossil fuels, a scientifically known cause of climate change. Is it not with reference to the vertical axis that we are able to judge the leaders' behaviour to be harmful to everyone, irresponsible and just plain wrong? Believe me, I get no pleasure in being right about this conclusion. Quite the opposite. Now the question becomes what to do about these politicians' decisions. In other words, rightness is not really an end. Furthermore, faced with public craziness, finding out that there are other people who see things as I do creates a sense of solidarity and even hope that sanity could prevail. Your careful analyses of political situations have had those effects on me, so I'm both grateful and sorry you're giving up on that work.
I’ll continue to look forward to any future essays posted to The Vertical Dispatch. I learn a lot from the author’s well reasoned and researched posts. So much so that I’m now reading Mr. Roberts’ The Ladder of Light.
Regarding The Ego and the Scroll, I can see that I, too, was flipping through posts that merely confirmed my point of view. Much of the time, I didn’t learn anything new. I think that’s why I’m so happy to have found The Vertical Dispatch.
Mr. Gerry’s concern about the government’s plans to increase fossil fuel production is valid. I’ve struggled with that, too, despite my high regard for Prime Minister Carney. Yet, I see how Canada is between a rock and a hard place given Trump’s desire to choke our economy. Perhaps more action needs to be taken to mitigate the impact of fossil fuels and further bolster “green” initiatives.
Amen to Mr. Baum’s added criterion for any leader - adherence to the rule of law.
I’ve been wondering at your recent silence and applaud it. The earlier volume of posts I actually found overwhelming to digest fully.
And you name something I too struggle with. Am I scrolling to support my views, feel righteous in my emotions? Sometimes, yes. Am I also scrolling to discern the patterns of what’s emerging globally? Also sometimes yes. The line between can get pretty blurry 😜
I too struggle with the volume.
I hang out in the Departure Lounge, a fellow traveller and enthusiast.
That, for me, is where the gold lies.
These are the stories which excites me the most.
The ability to bear witness to life, and what it taught you, and turn it into literary gold is rare gift and talent indeed.
Glenn here, in this capacity, has displayed that gift in spades.
As a newcomer to The Vertical Dispatch, I recall a recent essay from the departure lounge in which the author engages with a young man. I took the story literally. Is there a separate site from The Vertical Dispatch entitled Departure Lounge, or am I just really thick?
Same person, which is why I am not focusing on geopolitics; it takes too much of my effort and time, and I also really enjoy the departure lounge stories. See you in the lounge this Sunday
Thank you for holding up an honest mirror 🙏
I look for the same things you do in a leader, plus one a bit more specific - a commitment to the rule of law and (in my particular case) the US Constitution, in its entirety, for everyone in the US
Thank you
🙏
Well, maybe I'm too wrapped up in egoism to be able to accept completely what you're saying, Glen, but I'd like to stand up for reading analyses of political situations, an activity that you describe as a way of feeding the ego's hunger for a sense of being in the right. As Ms. Salter points out in her comment, we're scrolling in part for information to enable us to formulate an understanding of the situation in question. The aim of that effort is to gain a sense of control--to help us find the direction to align our keels, to use one of your key metaphors. In these stormy times, when rationality has largely disappeared from the scene, it's difficult to discern what's actually going on, and, like sailors on the ocean, we absolutely need to know. Making judgments about the information is where the feeding our egos with the sense of being right comes in. Don't we attend to the vertical axis at that point? For instance, at the same time that we are suffering the consequences of human-caused climate change, such as drought, wildfire smoke and lung diseases, Canada's leaders are planning to increase the use of fossil fuels, a scientifically known cause of climate change. Is it not with reference to the vertical axis that we are able to judge the leaders' behaviour to be harmful to everyone, irresponsible and just plain wrong? Believe me, I get no pleasure in being right about this conclusion. Quite the opposite. Now the question becomes what to do about these politicians' decisions. In other words, rightness is not really an end. Furthermore, faced with public craziness, finding out that there are other people who see things as I do creates a sense of solidarity and even hope that sanity could prevail. Your careful analyses of political situations have had those effects on me, so I'm both grateful and sorry you're giving up on that work.
Tom
I’ll continue to look forward to any future essays posted to The Vertical Dispatch. I learn a lot from the author’s well reasoned and researched posts. So much so that I’m now reading Mr. Roberts’ The Ladder of Light.
Regarding The Ego and the Scroll, I can see that I, too, was flipping through posts that merely confirmed my point of view. Much of the time, I didn’t learn anything new. I think that’s why I’m so happy to have found The Vertical Dispatch.
Mr. Gerry’s concern about the government’s plans to increase fossil fuel production is valid. I’ve struggled with that, too, despite my high regard for Prime Minister Carney. Yet, I see how Canada is between a rock and a hard place given Trump’s desire to choke our economy. Perhaps more action needs to be taken to mitigate the impact of fossil fuels and further bolster “green” initiatives.
Amen to Mr. Baum’s added criterion for any leader - adherence to the rule of law.