Hi,
I realized today I haven’t written in a while. I look forward to getting back to a more regular cadence.
I think part of it was that when the virus hit, I felt overwhelmed with thoughts and ideas. For the past month I’ve felt more pensive, thinking a lot about how the “new normal” everyone talks about is really looking like the “old normal” in many ways.
It seems like the thought cycle went from “Wow, we have to embrace the ‘new normal’.” to “Let’s try as hard as possible to make the ‘new normal’ look just like the ‘old normal’”.
I’m feeling pensive and sad that this is the case. It’s big changes like the virus that could cause us to effect real change in society. These changes could cause us to pause and reconsider whether chasing The Dream is the only way to go.
Instead, it feels like most of society’s trying their damndest to pursue The Dream at all costs. They want The Dream to dominate the “new normal” like it has the “old normal”.
Maybe “want” isn’t the right word. Maybe “need” is.
Consider the title of this issue.
To put things in perspective, the building where my family and I live in Brooklyn was purchased a few years ago by the current US President’s son-in-law. The new owner converted our building to “luxury” condos.
(As an aside, we’re rent-stabilized tenants. You can see how they tried to constructively evict us and other rent-stabilized tenants in this Netflix episode of Dirty Money.)
The building’s now full of Dream chasers who “made it”. This explains the guy I saw feather dusting his Porsche in the garage the other day.
Really.
He was…feather…dusting…his…Porsche. He was using a feather duster he kept in the trunk of his Porsche, under the hood, to feather dust it before pulling out of the garage.
I saw this while getting into my family’s 2009, slightly beaten-up Honda CRV. My wife and I were on the way to pick up some second-hand children’s furniture for our child’s bedroom, since he outgrew his crib.
FWIW, our back seat’s strewn with our son’s puffed rice snack. Had I been quicker, I would’ve asked the feather duster if he wouldn’t mind doing our car next or if I could use his feather duster to dust out the puffed rice 😂
But I digress…
The point is, I’m guessing people like him NEED the “new normal” to look like the “old normal”. He NEEDS to be validated by the normal that makes achieving Dream status worth the suffering he’s inflicted upon himself and likely others, in order to feather dust his Porsche.
And unfortunately, it’s people with time to feather dust their Porsches that have the time to keep pushing the “new normal” in the direction of the “old normal”. Those that would truly care about making a new “new normal” don’t have that luxury.
They’re either working multiple minimum wage jobs and/or trying to achieve The Dream that’s constantly pushed on them by the feather dusters. Then they’re too exhausted to push for and manifest the real change a “new normal” would mean 😢
Chris
Current Reading List
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
Current Playlist
Here’s the music that’s been keeping me rolling with it…
…check out my Soundcloud profile for more music.