On Mortality and Immortality

Sunday morning thoughts after a somber Saturday.

Life is full of “where were you when…” moments, and yesterday was surely no exception- a typical summer Saturday late afternoon interrupted by a watershed moment in modern American politics. It was one of those instances that immediately send shockwaves through the zeitgeist, leaving everyone scrambling to make sense of it all.

There aren’t many feelings that can compare to the “oh shit, this is really happening” rush, a perverse conglomerate of anxiety, paranoia, and confusion.

It’s a feeling many of us had when the lockdowns were issued in March of 2020, or when the second plane hit the towers on 9/11 (for those of us old enough to remember- can’t believe I’m writing that). There’s an awareness of your own lack of safety and your own mortality that leads to an adrenaline rush that leaves an imprint on your psyche for a considerable amount of time to come.

It seems as if the dust is settling (and we’ve had a night to sleep on it), so let’s try and make some sense of it all.

Originally, the next article was going to be about Taco Bell (I’m not kidding). However, the assassination attempt was too sobering and significant to glaze over, and it only made sense to call an early lid on my Saturday evening to put the fingers to the keyboard and hash out some thoughts. There will be plenty of time in the future to get back into mindset and introspection and lifestyle, but it felt out of place given the gravity of Saturday’s events.

As with any major world event, the group chats were instantly abuzz after the attempt on Trump’s life. Twitter was no different, with millions of impressions per second being shot out from every corner of the country. Pairing these digital reactions with the IRL world, let’s explore some observances from this whole fiasco, and what we can take away and learn from it:

Things Have Changed.

As if we needed any further proof?

Growing up in the United States, it always felt as if violence and strife were reserved for foreign soil, reduced to clips on the TV or images in the newspaper.

This is largely because, well, that’s how it was.

All of the major world wars were fought overseas, ditto for the modern day warfare in the Middle East. Shootings and assassination attempts were events that “just didn’t happen here”, they were for 60 Minutes B-roll footage or Time Magazine photo editorials, or Liveleak videos as the internet came to prominence.

This is one of the main reasons 9/11 was so jarring, as acts of war on U.S. soil had been basically unthinkable. Even the JFK assassination, though incredibly tragic, was buried into the black and white pictures in our social studies texts books- you knew about it, but you couldn’t feel it.

All of that has changed, and it had been coming.

The entrenched political divide and the accompanying domestic absurdities that came with it, Covid, the “Summer of Love” 2020, the issues at our border, etc. were all grease on the fast track we’ve been hurtling down towards utter chaos. The palpable security of life in a first-world nation- and a global superpower at that- was dissipating at a fast rate, and it seemed to all but disappear into the ether after yesterday’s events.

We won’t go down the “doomsday prepper” arc today, but it would be fair play to keep your wits about you in the coming months. We’re fortunate that amidst these crazy times, we have excellent technology, so do use our methods of hyper communication, location sharing and the like to your advantage. Things might sadly get crazier before they improve.

We’re a nation in an unprecedented state of transformation.

On Mortality

There was no doubt an adrenaline rush that accompanied yesterday’s events, especially for guys around my age. The texts pouring in were all across the spectrum of emotion, but the energy levels were all the same.

I was hearing such things as “I’m going 1000x harder in my life after this”, “I’m ready for war”, to “Bro, if they can get him, they can get us” and “it can all be over in an instant”.

All of these reactions are understandable, and all of them ring true in different ways.

Love or hate Trump, the man clearly embodies power. Adding to this, he’s also afforded the protection that a multi-billionaire former President of the United States would have at his disposal.

You’re not going to see Donald Trump at Stop & Shop, the gym, or the movie theater. He may fight for the everyman, but he doesn’t occupy the same physical spaces. It’s a luxe life of private jets, the greatest possible accommodations, an entourage of professionals and private security everywhere he goes.

Watching Trump be attacked in real time by an extremist who was able to pierce the veil of his untouchable status was naturally unnerving. The images of a Lion-like man, known for his bravado and power, with his hair a mess and face bloodied, felt surreal. Trump finally looked like a 78 year old man who needed help, albeit it taking an actual bullet to get there.

For once, our most powerful, arrogant figure looked vulnerable on the world stage. It felt like an alternate universe.

If they can get to him, aren’t we all fair game?

It’s the type of moment that leads to a mini existential crisis, a sort of “out of body” experience that leaves us asking ourselves the cliche yet incredibly difficult questions:

“What have I accomplished?”

“Have I done enough? How will I be remembered?”

The assassination attempt was the shot that launched a thousand metaphorical mental ships, a sobering reality which begets deep conversations.

Perhaps we need to make the most of moments like these to keep it all in perspective.

The Indomitable Will of the Human Spirit (and Immortality)

The articles lamenting the modern state of masculinity are legion, and while they’re not unfounded whatsoever, they’ve been done to death.

Look- we get it. Men of current year on a macro level aren’t the men of yesteryear. The Tik Tok girls are quick to remind you that “men used to protect and provide, now they just act sassy in their text messages!” (btw, some men can do both, just saying), while your favorite RW grifter cannot wait to unleash on soyboys, betas, incels, and the like.

While tiresome, there’s truth to it all. There’s a dearth of male role models, no two ways around it. Actors and artists are largely compromised, and athletes have become media-trained robots with Instagram accounts comprised of nothing but advertisements.

There’s a reason superhero movies have crushed it at the box office over the past decade- we don’t really have them in real life anymore.

Perhaps a scenario as grave as this one is what it takes to give us a much-needed and long overdue reminder of the power of the human spirit.

As I said previously, love or hate Trump, you can’t deny that the man is on a crusade for the ages. Conor McGregor put it very succinctly:

He doesn’t have to be doing this. Trump has far more to lose on a personal level than he does to gain from a second Presidential term.

However, and this is the lesson here- it isn’t about that. The man wants to change the country he lives in (whether you agree with his policies or not), and that to him is worth throwing away the life he had, the life we all dream of- and it damn near got him killed.

It’s hard not to get emotional watching Trump, battered and bloody, bouncing back to his feet and yelling “Fight!” as he’s whisked away to safety:

Despite the violence and the overtones of the days events, the scenes after the shots were a refreshing reminder of the power of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

When is the last time we saw a man (not on the silver screen) ready to sacrifice it all and die for a cause he believed in?

Not only that, but to pop up and insist to keep fighting instead of saying “screw this, it’s gone too far”?

In a world overpopulated with men afraid to offend or overstep, there was beauty in the unfortunate nature of Saturday’s events.

Life force is still alive and well.

There’s a lot to be learned here, no matter what side of the aisle you’re on.

Marcus Aurelius famously said “What we do in life echoes in eternity”, an ode to the immortality of our impact or accomplishments (should we attain them).

You think this picture is going to be etched in the history books forever?

I do too.

The Ever-Present Divide

Naturally, the sociopolitical schism in our country was always going to play a factor in this whole scenario. I don’t want to give this too much thought and effort, but the article would be incomplete without touching upon it.

While many prominent Democratic figures were quick to denounce the act of political violence (such as Barack Obama with his usual class and promptness), lower down the chain of command and into civilian territory, the results weren’t as pretty.

Twitter was an abject cesspool, with plenty of tweets lamenting the fact that the incident all but solidified the election for Trump (not necessarily true) instead of thinking of the implications of domestic political violence on American citizens, no matter their political affiliation. There seemed to be plenty of people online who didn’t have the emotional or intellectual capacity to see the bigger picture and/or feel empathy, instead rushing to knee-jerk tweets and hysterics about their own political leanings. Also, (surprise surprise) this seems to be the same contingency responsible for absolutely ghoulish personal behavior in 2020 and 2021.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

(Let’s not even get into the people who think it was staged!)

Closing Thoughts

You don’t want to write pieces like these. This was a lot more fun when we were talking about cool tweets and staring at planes.

Nonetheless, reality is meant to be faced head on, and this was no exception.

Life in the United States of America has fundamentally changed, and now we truly have concrete proof.

Moments like these can make us more aware of the big picture in our lives, and how our own actions affect the lives of others. The silver lining is that there is inspiration and introspection to be gained, even from the darkest of hours.

As for how to handle it all?

Well, I think it would be pretty cool if we took our changing national landscape into account, took inspiration and awareness from these events, and did our best to move on……

Together.

Please stay safe out there.

<3

Talk soon,

John

14 July 2024