A Dystopian 4th
Reflections on yet another strange, disturbing summer
I’ve been meaning to forge ahead with writing the next post in my “What’s Woke” series but have been having a hard time shifting into an appropriately analytical gear as I’ve been feeling . . . well, it’s hard to capture in words precisely how I’ve been feeling. There’s a strange sense of disorientation. On the one hand, I’m experiencing the seasonal goodness of summer: Verdant greenery, bountiful garden, vacation time, visits from friends and family. On the other hand, I’m feeling battered by yet another tidal wave of collective psychoemotional shocks.
One devastating news story just keeps hitting after another. It’s relentless: Buffalo, Uvalde, Dobbs, Highland Park, more January 6th, another Covid surge (“everybody’s got it”), endless Ukraine, soaring inflation, street crime spike, record gas prices . . . it just doesn’t stop. And in that ongoing string of crises and horrors, the mass shooting in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park on the Fourth of July (32 people shot, seven fatally) was particularly wrenching for me personally as it quite literally hit close to home.