It is a time of freedom and fear, of Gaia and of borders, of many paths and the widening of a universal toll road, emptying country and swelling cities, of the public bought into privacy and the privacy of the public sold into invisible data banks and knowing algorithms. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.

These are the times when maps fade and direction is lost. Forwards is backwards now, so we glance sideways at the strange lands through which we are all passing, knowing for certain only that our destination has disappeared. We are unready to meet these times, but we proceed nonetheless, adapting as we wander, reshaping the Earth with every tread.

Behind us we have left the old times, the standard times, the high times. Welcome to the irregular times.


 
Lately, it seems I can't pass a newsstand without a magazine cover featuring George W. and Laura Bush. You've seen them: George W. is consistently dressed in a casual blue-collared shirt without a tie, and Laura's got a cotton outfit that covers her ankles and wrists with a nice set of pearls. They're sitting in a moderate-sized living room with nice but not expensive furniture, or they're standing in front of
a split-rail fence with a red barn in the background and a field of lush green grass. Regular folks. Why, it looks like they might invite you over for a pot-luck or ask to borrow your waffle iron. And I sure bet that Laura's handy in the kitchen!

Of course, George W. and Laura Bush live lives nothing like this. They spend their days in pressed suits, with servants fixing their clothes, preparing their hair, making their food and changing their linens. They don't invite regular people over for pot-lucks; they go to high-rolling fundraising luncheons with America's
wealthiest at exclusive clubs. And, hon, I've got to be frank: as much as the nice magazine picture makes it look as if it were so, they aren't going to ring your doorbell to ask to borrow your waffle iron. They've got trust funds for that sort of thing.

But let's be honest: they look so comfortable and at home in those photographs, not out of their league like when they're playing the part of president and first lady. So let's help them out by sending them from the White House so they can use their multi-million dollar funds to play down-home dress-up in retirement.

Posted by James Cook at 6:46 AM. # (permalink)




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