Just In Case You Forget This Exists.

Just in case you forget this exists.

It exists.

moleskine = bad

On seat belts and choice

One of the great virtues of being old is that you remember things other people only read about. Like the moon landing. Folks, it was awesome. Sorry if you missed it.

Another is seat belts. I am so old I remember not just when using seat belts wasn’t mandatory, but when seat belts were OPTIONS one had to order when buying a car. As in, cars didn’t come with seat belts when you bought them. You had to pay extra for them.

And folks, when the federal government mandated seat belts as standard in cars, you’d have thought the American democratic experiment was collapsing around you. (Not USE of seat belts, mind, just their physical presence in the vehicle.) Car manufacturers resisted adding seat belts because they didn’t want to add “unnecessary” costs to their cars. (They did the same thing with airbags and anti-lock brakes, by the way.) Some people insisted that it was their choice whether to buy a seat belt or not; it certainly wasn’t the government’s business making them buy anything as ridiculous as a seat belt. And – get this – some people screamed that SEAT BELTS MADE CARS MORE DANGEROUS! See, seat belts might make it harder to escape a car after an accident if you needed to. I mean, what if you ran into a lake? Or the car was on fire? Of course, while both these things can happen, they are rare, and indeed in general one is much safer contained and protected by a car in an accident than out loose amongst the metal bits smashing together … but that was not the point. It MIGHT be a problem. So SEAT BELTS MUST BE UNSAFE!

All of which is to say: today’s vaccine deniers are nothing new. People have always enjoyed believing they know more than the people who know what they’re talking about do, especially if they find a rare case that challenges the generally smarter way to do things. People also like to scream that they and they alone know a truth that is being “hidden” from “real” people by smarty pants people. The major difference today is the endless proliferation of social media platforms that amplify some speech far beyond any reason the broadcast it.

Alas.

The God Wars

In the beginning…

belief and rituals shaped the first gods from the dreams of man.

As the civilizations of man grew, so did the strength and influence of their deities. 

In return for sacrifice, the gods gifted their followers with mystic might.

But the people wanted more than these gifts could provide.

In their souls the people found their own power. They called it “Craft.”

The gods, jealous and afraid,

struck down the firsts of these Craftsmen.

Thus the God Wars began.

But the gods were formed from the faith of man. It was a war they could not win.

And so the Craftsmen took up the mantle of the gods and rule in their stead.

Discreet Pride Pins

Devin Draws Depot on Etsy