He hopes we will come to our senses soon.
Photo © Michael Gold with permission.
And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge…
-William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
Former New York State Governor Cuomo looked and sounded like an old dog throughout his resurgence into the limelight. But if Cuomo was an old dog wreaking vengeance without media savvy, Mamdani was a puppy with a blue sky smile. Are we kicking an old—"experienced" – dog to the curb and elevating an–"inexperienced"—puppy to higher office? That's what many in the city fear, including many of my city friends.
I had intended this post as comedy today. Reading the news every morning is hard enough, and the image of the old dog and the puppy amused me. Even though I moved out of the city in 2018, I still follow every electrifying, insane New York city election. But this one hurt and, in the end, was not amusing. It was amplified by hate, ageism, innuendo, tropes, and entitlement, an echo of the devolution of political discourse and language, especially on social media, but not only on social media. Despite Elon Musk's getting-to-Mars fantasies, there is no Planet B, as yet. We have to settle down and try to make things work right here. I hope you will join me in an experiment to broaden and steady our frontal lobe thinking, as follows:
1. Study in earnest-- and with as open a heart and mind as possible-- any issue which engages and challenges your life. Read more, scroll less. Get more informed—more educated—than you have ever been. Read what you would not normally read in the mainstream media. Read and listen to media from other countries. Podcasts are available in abundance.
2. Try not to assume that your point of view is the right one, or the only one. Consider-with an open heart and mind-other points of view.
3. Mentor anyone younger than you are. Showcase your experience, but allow new ideas to surface.
4. In general, listen more, talk less, as per my last blog post.
5. Define and then re-define smear words, stereotypes, imprecise phrases. Study their historic source. Study propaganda. Take notes.
6. Take a deep breath. Exhale.
I look forward to your findings and observations in this utopian experiment. We can reach for the stars, and one another, right here on earth.