A pending platform change, and other "housekeeping" matters

 Hello again, to anyone reading.  With apologies, "tap, tap, is this thing still on?"  As I indicated in my previous post on the death and resurrection on this, the Messiah-blog, which died for your sins, this blog which is the way, the truth and the light... where was I?  Something about blasphemy.  No, that wasn't it.  Well, at least you know that this blog has not been hacked, and that I am still me.  Anyway, I indicated that I will be shifting to a different platform, since I am not happy with Google and their attempt to see, quite frankly, if there is anything beyond death.

What, didn't you see Flatliners?  Everyone in it was just one degree removed from Kevin Bacon, except for Kevin Bacon, who is zero degrees removed from Kevin Bacon.

Anyway, I'm heading over to substack.  If you are unfamiliar, substack works a little differently.  You can visit an author's page, and click on posts, as with a blog or other site, or you can subscribe, and have the posts emailed to you.  There are authors who charge, but I'm just a schlub, so the idea of me charging money for anyone to read what I write would be... my books are free, right?  I mean, it's not like I'm getting much in the way of royalties, so... oh.  oh.

Anywho, you'll be able to read on the substack page itself, subscribe and just have the posts emailed to you, whatever.  Also, while substack has been involved in some de-platforming, they seem to be a bit better than Google, keeping in mind that I still do not know what actually happened as no one ever told me.

That being a thing I do not like.

So quite soon, look for a link to a new substack, but I need to get that arranged, and acquaint myself with the platform.  I do not intend to do much writing here, as the whole incident has left a bad taste in my mouth with respect to blogspot.

Will I just do the same thing on a different platform?  There will be similarities, and differences.  Look, I am still a Political Science professor (much to the chagrin of Case Western Reserve University and its Political Science Department), with interests in disciplines ranging from Economics to Literature, and yes, plenty of science fiction counts as "literature," even if the schlock can be fun too.  In the intervening two months, I did not convert to the religion of Psychology, but at some point, I may revisit Christopher Lasch's Culture of Narcissism, published in 1979.  Look for that!  (As a teaser, it connects to Abigail Shrier's new book, John McWhorter's Woke Racism, some Thomas Sowell, and even an Ayn Rand essay from 1971.)

Point being, my scholarly perspective and interests are roughly what they were two months ago.

Yet, I may play around with format.  Substack is a different platform, and I don't know if I will do different things there.  I got into a rhythm of Sunday posts on science fiction novels, with Saturday posts on politics/current events, and occasional mid-week posts whenever the mood struck me.  Once the school year starts again, that kind of schedule is much more practical.  As for content, here's the thing.

I view the world at a remove.  I am not a joiner, I am not an activist, I just like books, music, and the quiet life.  The political world is nuts, but business will keep on chuggin', and that means that my money will keep accumulating, because capitalism works.

Am I pleased with the state of American politics?  No, but I place equally negative valance on so many possibilities.  Equal valance.  Equi- and -valent.  Equivalent.  The word implies indifference.  In the economic sense, I have become politically indifferent, meaning that I ascribe the same utility to the various outcomes, but those utilities are not zero.  They are negative.  They are, however, outweighed by the positive utility provided by a functioning capitalist system and the opportunity provided.

Am I pleased with the state of the world?  No.  But others' decisions are not mine.  My life is mine.  I can observe errors, errors in rational judgment, errors in moral judgment, the results of their interaction, but in so many ways, the problems that people create for themselves through errors in rational judgment and errors in moral judgment are their own.

Tomorrow is July 4.  I am a patriot.  This country provides opportunity for anyone who chooses to take advantage of that opportunity.  What that means is that even when our political candidates and government officials act like fools and worse, we retain agency, we retain fundamental control of our lives and the ability to determine the course of our lives.  That is not true everywhere, that has not been true throughout history.  Those who live in countries where this is not true have not chosen to make it true.  I cannot make that choice for them.

What I can do is take the opportunities I have.  Yesterday, the S&P closed at 5509.  Even money market funds are getting around 5% interest, because Powell hasn't lowered interest rates yet.  Will there be market crashes?  Of course, but capitalism is beautiful.  Take advantage of it.  That is your choice.

I could elaborate on what I see globally and why I shake my head, but assume a position of detached scorn, but if you live in the United States of America, you have the opportunity to make what you choose of your life.  If others do not, and they construct political systems around dysfunction, you may still make what you choose of your life.

I will write a bit more on that theme tomorrow, for July 4.  If I can get it set up, it'll be a first post on the new substack, but otherwise, it'll be here.

More to come, but mostly on a forthcoming substack.