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Nineteen

by MAÔ, posted in Writing

“On August 18, 1920, Tennessee was the last of the necessary 36 ratifying states to secure adoption. The Nineteenth Amendment’s adoption was certified on August 26, 1920: the culmination of a decades-long movement for women’s suffrage at both state and national levels.” – wikipedia

One hundred years of amendment nineteen to the US Constitution, which states, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

I want to say that I think voting should be easier than it is. Maybe attach it to the social security card, giving an instantaneous voting right once you turn 18. No need to register.

That wouldn’t it be wonderful if Election Day in this country was a National Holiday, so that every citizen could partake. Somehow.

Voter turnout in 2018 was the highest recorded in a century for mid-term elections. And that was 49.3% of the voting-eligible population. Hell, in 2016 it was only 60.1%, and that was a presidential election year.

One hundred years ago, people fought and protested to gain rights that we now don’t really appreciate. Voting is one of our primary instruments in the governance of this nation. That so many don’t participate tells me that somewhere along the line a disservice has been committed.

It’s too late to fix this year, and I’m fairly certain that voter turnout will be immense anyway. But it should be something that is considered going forward.

For more information on the celebration of Amendment Nineteen, visit the Library of Congress website.

Block editing

by MAÔ, posted in Writing

I’ve been playing around with the new block editor on Word Press for a while now. I’m not quite a fan yet. And, at the risk of sounding old-fashioned, I think I prefer the way it was.

That’s a bad habit we get into. Getting stuck. Liking the way it was so much, we’re not willing to really explore the way it is… or the way it could be.

As I contend with the blocks here on Word Press, think about what you are fighting against – some change that you’re hesitant to accept. Just possibly, it could be better than what was.

What you are not

by MAÔ, posted in Writing

Sometimes we mix up our sense of self with some external feedback. A failed project, suffering relationship, lost job.

You are not a failure because something failed. You are simply the creator (or a part of) something that failed. It doesn’t define you, just as you don’t define it.

Remember that, even after failures, we keep going.

Refining your creative time

by MAÔ, posted in Writing

I know, I know. For months it’s been COVID-this, corona-that. And we’ve all been thinking about how to live our lives without the fear of uncertainty or ambiguity hanging over us.

If you’re like me, you thought about creating something during this time. If you’re also like me, you didn’t. At least, not to the level that you had intended. And while I would like to say that I was productive most of the past four months, it seems that I don’t have very much output to show for it.

Moving forward, it’s important to take stock of where your energy is going. What are you spending time on, and is it moving the ball down the field at all?

We all have creative energy. It has to be spent somewhere. Whether that’s writing, playing an instrument, photographing the world, or whatever. Don’t let that creative energy fade away. Just make something, anything.

And start right now.

The week that was

by MAÔ, posted in Writing

Well, a lot going on this week. Primaries. Stock market swings. Cover coverage. The Democratic presumptive nominee selecting his running mate.

So, just because, here’s that announcement. One could argue that these are quite historic times we’re living in now.

What the stock market is telling us

by MAÔ, posted in Economy

Well, the market is nearly reaching highs again. Surely the recession fears over the past months were unfounded. But, wait. What’s this?

“The stock market isn’t the economy. The economy is production and jobs, and there are shortfalls in virtually every sector of the economy,” Yellen said in an interview with The Washington Post.

Yellen… Yellen… oh, Janet Yellen, former Fed Chair. Yeah, she may be on to something.

So, where fiscally policy from Washington May be a while coming, there are those still suffering in this country. And where wealth may be accruing for those with substantial stock portfolios, the nearly 30 million people out of work (predominant low-wage workers) will just have to stick it out.

Taking it one step at a time

by MAÔ, posted in Writing

Sometimes we get into a habit of doing things a certain way. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m a huge proponent of routine. Yet, at times, it’s disrupted. Nothing we do or say will change that. So how do we deal with disruption?

I recommend taking it one step at a time. A huge response from you isn’t going to fix the problem. In fact, it may exacerbate it. Give it a chance to breathe. Explore the change, and lean in to the discomfort. You may find that the change really turned out to be a good thing.

Or, at the very least, it’s probably something that you can live with.

Upswings of downtime tech

by MAÔ, posted in Technology

The pandemic has a led to increases in the sales of all forms of technology. Computers, video games, streaming services, etc. How we’re spending time at home – or away from people – is a new type of American experience.

The burgeoning at-home entertainment market (at least electronic) is only a handful of decades old. And yet, here we are, spending time online, binge-watching Grey’s Anatomy (or so I’m told…), and delving into new distractions.

When we’ve reached the other side, how difficult will it be to pull ourselves away from all of the technology that we’ve become so reliant on? Or, will we continue to adapt, coexisting physically and digitally?

To mask or not to mask

by MAÔ, posted in Politics

I’m not sure what the question really is. I had to listen to someone while working the other day explaining that masks are just encouraging us to breathe in our own carbon dioxide, killing our brain cells.

Now, that’s a lot to deconstruct. First, masks really catch respiratory droplets.

“One category of evidence comes from laboratory studies of respiratory droplets and the ability of various masks to block them. An experiment using high-speed video found that hundreds of droplets ranging from 20 to 500 micrometers were generated when saying a simple phrase, but that nearly all these droplets were blocked when the mouth was covered by a damp washcloth. Another study of people who had influenza or the common cold found that wearing a surgical mask significantly reduced the amount of these respiratory viruses emitted in droplets and aerosols.”

Second, will wearing a mask kill brain cells?

“COVID-19 can kill. Now, according to a misguided Internet-fueled theory, masks can kill, too.

All it takes is a mask-wearer who inhales freshly exhaled carbon dioxide repeatedly until dizzy, unconscious or dead. That, no doubt, would be a shocking development. In the real world, the average mask user without preexisting respiratory illness has nothing to worry about — except COVID-19.

Only an airtight mask could possibly cause any breathing difficulty. That eliminates cloth masks, the preferred personal protective equipment in public. It actually eliminates N95 respirators, too, usually reserved for healthcare professionals. They fit tighter than a cloth mask but still not tight enough on the face to kill. Surgeons wear even more substantial face coverings all day without endangering their health.”

And finally, what does it mean for people to think that conspiracy theories are gospel truth? How can we fix that issue? How can we be more intelligent, more diligent about how we access truths in the world?

At the end of the day, it comes down to thinking – to using those self-same brain cells in an effective way.