There is the phrase, “heat wave.” There is not the phrase cold wave. There is not the phrase hot snap. There is the phrase cold snap. Our language does not have as firm a basis in reality as we think – if people stopped to think about it, they would be taken aback. That is, those who think. I am now convinced most people do not think. So there are thinkers and non-thinkers. Unfortunately, non-thinkers can vote.

I wonder who is allowed to vote and who is not. If, say, someone is mentally disabled, might those who tend to them, vote for them? This all must begin with one’s getting a social security card. Do you have to be gainfully employed in order to vote? Do you have to have a residence in order to vote?

Nothing anymore in this world is as it was. Truth also has no basis in reality anymore – we cling to those small things that we think are providing us with a basis in reality. For example, those on the middle left believe that periodicals such as the New York Times and the Washington Post have a basis in reality. They also think that National Public Radio has a basis in reality. And those on the middle right believe that news networks such as Fox News have a basis in reality. And there are those who believe that social media outlets have a basis in reality.

I believe that the middle-left publications/periodicals etc. have a basis in reality because to think otherwise would be like pulling the rug out from underfoot.

I was astonished to discover that a local civic organization is going to host a gun show on Easter Sunday. And I was shocked to discover that the Mat-Su Borough Assembly passed a vigilante resolution, one in which they advocated that home owners purchase guns and get gun safety training.

I mentioned this to a friend today and she told me that she owns a gun and has had gun safety training. I was not surprised to hear this because I know that she is a middle right thinker. It’s too bad that we can’t go back in time and reframe certain conversations. If I could do this, I would have asked her what papers she reads and what news outlets she listens to/watches. I might just start asking this of everyone – and also ask if they feel that this is where truth resides.

Well, we are not going back to the era of the daily town or city newspaper and the three channel news broadcasts. Maybe this really began when Walter Cronkite, upon hearing of John Kennedy’s death, began crying. The question is, was he really distraught or was his news anchor persona distraught?

I suspect that those who own guns are very fearful individuals who have been duped into believing that they are not safe. And therein lies the truth.

Next: 32. 2/1/24: A Short Month