Sh*t’s going down in the macro and the micro - and you need more glue sticks (Ep.26)

Season 4 starts now! Keith joins Laura and Kori to touch base mid-summer because Lord, y’all - so much is happening!  The three discuss the tension of living our individual lives with its daily rhythms, routines, and pressing “must dos” while acknowledging the big picture things happening in our world that we just cannot ignore! And boy oh boy are we tired of living in unprecedented times! Poor elder millennials - it’s all we know.

Big macro forces include the ongoing genocide in Gaza, a shooting at a presidential campaign rally, famine in Sudan and DRC, exploitative mining practices in Congo, inflation, violations of the separation of church and state in Louisiana classrooms, dangerous and crazy Supreme Court decisions about homelessness, bribery, and presidential immunity, AIPAC bragging about influencing our elections, a felon leading the presidential race, Nazis marching in Nashville. Yet we have to pack for vacations, drive kids to camps, and make dinner.  Gah!

We reflect on the events of recent weeks and have some takeaways.

Americans consume violence as our entertainment - from the NFL to the Law and Order series to true crime podcasts. So why are we surprised when we see political violence? Violence is woven into the fabric of our nation’s history - particularly violence against native peoples and Africans captured and forced into slavery. And it only continued - see Tulsa Race Massacre - and even school shootings. Assassinations aren’t even new - see Lincoln, JFK, MLK. Yes we condemn violence, but let’s be clear - this is not new.

Kori shares a terrifying, poignant memory of being a 10 year old girl in the backseat of her parents’ vehicle as the police pulled them over with SWAT and helicopters, assuming the car was stolen. Perhaps the shock is just new to white Americans?

More than ever - community is everything - practically and strategically. Check on and take care of your people. Flex your empathy muscles. Don’t feel guilty about self-care. Remember - you’re putting out brush fires in your own life while a forest fire rages all around. Finding joy and healing spaces is critical. And even if you have the privilege to ignore what’s going on in the world - fight that urge.  Don’t be a rugged individualist. Lean in and recognize the power of the collective. And if you haven’t read about Project 2025, the time is now. So much dangerous wild stuff - from women’s rights to weather reports! Get educated about the stakes and talk about them with your people.

And lighter topics of conversation include The Price is Right and how Bob Barker is better than Drew Carey as host. Streaming services with ads are making us cranky. Wasn’t the point of streaming to skip ads on cable? And all the categories of exercise classes in these handy dandy apps, The Outer Banks on Netflix, school supply shopping with a bajillion glue sticks, crazy school calendars, our vacation plans.

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