Maybe heat short-circuits our thinking
In last week’s episode of “Because, America, 2019,” one of the most viral videos of the summer showcased a heart-stopping moment in which a charging bison in Yellowstone National Park tossed a 9-year-old girl through the air like a cow chip.
Apparently, some folks were “petting” the behemoth and it became agitated.
That’s right, a bunch of tourists thought it would be a good idea to approach and annoy a wild, 2,000-pound, four-legged tank because, what’s the worst that could happen?
Thankfully, the little girl was young and agile enough that her impromptu flight didn’t cause her any serious injury. In fact, she landed on her feet like a cat; years of trauma ahead caused by adults who must have been dropped on their heads. Recently, when online gamer Matty Roberts made a joke about charging the Area 51 military facility Sept. 20 “to see them aliens,” it never occurred to him others might take it literally.
But more than 1.2 million conspiracy theorists and Deep Staters did exactly that, with some declaring that after they take over Area 51, their next stop will be Loch Ness.
Information Age
How did get here?
Is it that we’re just young? On the timeline of human history, we’re like toddlers with too much candy trying to steer a rocket ship.
In this Information Age, how can there be such an acute shortage of critical thinking?
Is it the heat? Or have we finally hit a wall, like the Romans?
Every summer brings with it some welcome silliness in the form of a fad like planking or the Ice Bucket Challenge, which in reality was created for a great cause.
But this summer, someone thought it might be a good idea to douse New York City police officers with water.
Why? Are there no bears available at the Bronx Zoo to poke with a stick?
Summer in the city
Not to be outdone, the City Council in Berkeley, Calif., has eliminated 40 gender-specific words in its city code. For example, “manhole” cover is now a “maintenance” hole cover.
At least “boneheaded” is still gender-neutral.
One reason employment is so good right now is because people keep losing their jobs. Professors, political operatives and police officers are going down like bowling pins because they clearly missed the memo: You don’t have to post everything you think.
Last week, Daniel Leonard, a school board member in Toms River, New Jersey, all but called for the killings of Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, who are in a Twitter war with the president.
Why would anyone — particularly a public employee — publish crazy and incendiary things that they have to know will get them in trouble?
It’s almost as if some people can’t help it. Threatening a member of Congress is not only illegal, it’s unconscionable. That said, some folks in Congress might also want to review the same memo every now and then.
Even the president himself is on a midsummer tirade, tweet-trashing Rep. Elijah Cummings’ home district of Baltimore as rat-infested and crime-ridden. It’s not a good strategy, given that many of those rats live in hundreds of apartment buildings owned by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. It also runs the risk of bringing renewed attention to the Washington Post’s 1976 report on the late Fred Trump’s arrest for deplorable conditions at a housing project the Trumps owned in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
This summer we’re marking the 50th anniversary of the moon landing and Woodstock. Even though we were on the precipice of Watergate and in the throes of Vietnam, we still had faith in ourselves as a nation.
The summer of 2019 feels different. Angry. Darker.
Even the sharks are fed up with us.