Rumors of wars

My Facebook feed this morning offered me its usual list of recommended items and articles for my perusal. I wish I understood algorithms better simply to figure out why our Facebook overseers think I like what they think I like. You see, I don't think I worry as much about chaos and disintegration as Mark Zuckerberg apparently believes I do.

One article in this morning's suggestions spoke about the parallels between the current United States and the fall of the Roman Empire. We're going down that road, I'm afraid. Yes, yes indeed. The writing is clearly on the wall.

Maybe so, maybe no. The future is unwritten; we cannot, simply cannot, know exactly where we're headed. And while certain things might be very good conjecture, they're still mere conjecture.

I remember reading articles in the Seventies which purported to alert me then that we were going the way of the Roman Empire. Yet lo, here we still are today.

Republicans thought the Barack Obama Presidency was the end of history as we knew it. Democrats thought it of Donald Trump. We've survived them both. I'm not shocked.

All this worry is brought on by people who thrive on worry, whether it's reporters or the White House or the myriad individual hand wringers among us. We forget that, as the Good Book says, there will be wars and rumors of wars; part of the lesson there is that we should not put too much stock in such nonsense.

I suppose this is my long winded way of saying stop panicking, everybody. It doesn't help us solve the very real problems which exist of which the fear mongers try to take advantage simply to get their way. Don't give them that power over you. You're only helping them get what they want: your fear, because it feeds their hunger.