Here comes your 19th nervous breakdown
I found the following at Buzzfeed. Now, Buzzfeed isn’t a site I usually visit and certainly not a site I often (or ever?) quote. But this description of the current news coverage struck somewhat of a resonant chord in me nevertheless:
There’s so much discordant noise that just making out each individual thing and tracking its journey through the news cycle requires enormous effort. It’s tough to get your bearings. Trump’s presidency currently poses a fundamental question for each person: Is this overall moment weird but ephemeral, maybe not so bad ”” or is it an emergency? Given the current level of uncertainty (does Trump really mean X?) and the sheer volume of incoming information (what will Trump do tomorrow?), each day demands your judgment. Is this normal? Is this normal? Is this normal?
These questions are exhausting.
I’m not familiar with author Katherine Miller’s work, but although I’m going to assume she’s a liberal, the phenomenon of overload being described there is a more universal one—although for the right, the “fundamental question” about each moment includes the question “is this good?” or even “is this great?” in addition to the more neutral or negative choices Miller lists.
Think back to those first few heady weeks of Trump’s presidency (seems like a long time ago, doesn’t it?) when there was a sort of euphoria on the right (even among non-supporters of Trump) about the scope and unexpectedness of the GOP victory and the prospect of having a government with the right firmly in control of two branches and probably about to be at least somewhat in control of the third. That giddyness is gone—which makes sense, because reality was always going to intrude. But part of that reality is that, at this point, even someone like me—who analyzes and reacts to the news on a daily basis, and has long been skeptical of coverage—has gotten to the point of dreading reading about politics.
What will Trump do today? Will it be good, okay, or counter-productive and harmful? And how relentless and distorting and over-the-top (and successful) will the negative media spin on it be?
And above all: where to find anything even approximating the truth? It’s like panning for gold in a river that has little or no precious metal left, even of the gold dust variety.
Don’t worry, though; I’m not about to stop blogging. I seem to be a glutton for punishment.
NOTE: The title of this post comes from this Rolling Stones song:
[ADDENDUM: And yes, I realize that any angst we feel today is small, small potatoes compared to what the citizens of many other countries (or eras) feel or felt on a daily basis. Nevertheless, it’s still tiring, frustrating, and often confusing.]
Obviously Trump is the center of this but as for all the noise how about a little introspection from the MSM and admit that the biggest reason for the difficulty reading what is real is because of the massive hysteria that the MSM has joined fully in. I have just lost any belief in just about anything reported the last year as there have been so many ‘bombshell’ stories that just fizzle sometimes within hours that I don’t believe anything anymore.
A lot of “discordant noise” is what you might expect to happen when people (i.e. The Left) become ridiculously unhinged and react like spoiled toddlers to every single thing Trump says or does, large or small. Yes, it’s exhausting, but Donald Trump isn’t to blame and I say that as someone who’s no fan. The same media that gave Barack Obama a pass on his dishonesties, lawlessness and unprecedented actions now responds with knee-jerk hysteria any time Trump blows his nose, then points to the resulting ruckus on social media and says, “See! Trump is driving the country crazy!” Such a deeply dishonest lot.
The panning for gold analogy is spot on.
“19th Nervous Breakdown” has long been a favorite Stones song of mine. I love the staccato, almost-too-many-words to a line lyrics:
You’re the kind of person you meet at certain dismal, dull affairs
Center of a crowd, talking much too loud, running up and down the stairs
Well, it seems to me that you have seen too much in too few years
And though you’ve tried you just can’t hide your eyes are edged with tears
–19th Nervous Breakdown
I was thinking of that song after Chuck Berry died because the lyric style struck me as one more thing the Stones copped from Chuck — not that I’m throwing around “cultural appropriation” charges.
They furnished off an apartment with a two room Roebuck sale
The coolerator was crammed with TV dinners and ginger ale,
But when Pierre found work, the little money comin’ worked out well
“C’est la vie”, say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell
They had a hi-fi phono, boy, did they let it blast
Seven hundred little records, all rock, rhythm and jazz
But when the sun went down, the rapid tempo of the music fell
“C’est la vie”, say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell
–Chuck Berry, “You Never Can Tell”
It sounds like that person at Buzzfeed is spending so much time thinking and analyzing information that she has lost her sense of perspective. I generally listen to NPR in the morning, and watch NBC at night, but I disregard what is presented about President Trump, as so often it’s clear that the reporters are trying to push or create a dramatic narrative, heightening tension needlessly. Mr. Trump is currently the 45th President, but others will follow him, in time, and he is just one man, much like any other.
Besides that, things are easy today, compared to previous years in this country. It was tough for the pioneers in the 19th century to survive, and hard as well for the laborers during industrialization. And during all those periodic economic downturns, there was no Federal Reserve around to mitigate things.
For that matter, a mere 300 years ago, this part of coastal Maine, now known as “Vacationland”, was the scene of almost non-stop warfare between the British settlers, and the French with their Indian allies.
Just relax, take a break, you won’t miss anything by skipping the news, and things will work out in due course.
The dogs bark and the caravan moves on.
Predicted a couple of months ago by Scott Adams. The guy is great.
http://blog.dilbert.com/post/156399716951/outrage-dilution
Huxley is right: There are so many appropriate lines in the lyrics of that song. I’d add these:
Oh, who’s to blame, that girl’s just insane.
Well nothing I do don’t seem to work,
It only seems to make matters worse. Oh please.
When you were a child you were treated kind
But you were never brought up right.
You were always spoiled with a thousand toys but still you cried all night..
The special snowflakes just can’t seem to get a grip on reality.
Perhaps this will help:
And goes running for the shelter of a mother’s little helper
And two help her on her way, get her through her busy day
Doctor please, some more of these
Outside the door, she took four more
What a drag it is getting old
You’re probably seeing the best persuasion you will ever see from a new president. Instead of dribbling out one headline at a time, so the vultures and critics can focus their fire, Trump has flooded the playing field. You don’t know where to aim your outrage.
Yann: Obama did much the same for his entire eight years. It worked to keep conservatives in a lather and unable to focus against Obama on any single point. Overall, though, Obama didn’t do much persuasion except in a reverse sense.
By the time Obama left office he had gutted the Democratic Party at the local and state levels, flipped the House and Senate to Republicans and given the 2016 GOP candidate — even Trump — a clear shot at the White House.
I admit I have enjoyed seeing the left out of their minds from Trump’s tactics, but it doesn’t look like it’s persuading anyone in a positive sense.
In the meantime Trump has given some nice speeches, stood up for the right allies and made some good appointments, but he has flubbed his two major policy shots — the travel ban and now the Obamacare fix — plus Trump lost Mike Flynn, his National Security Advisor, in 24 days.
It’s not hard for me to imagine Trump leaving the GOP in as bad a position as Obama did the Democrats.
kevio: Good shot!
It didn’t occur to me to turn the 19th’s lyrics on the Democrats as you did.
19th also contains one of the earliest direct references to LSD tripping (as opposed to psychedelic sound effects or metaphors about being high):
On our first trip I tried so hard to rearrange your mind.
But after a while I realized you were disarranging mine.
Roy Lofquist Says:
March 27th, 2017 at 5:37 pm
The dogs bark and the caravan moves on.
* * *
Just finished reading this one with the same thought.
https://amgreatness.com/2017/03/26/art-possible-age-recrimination/
“The chihuahuas of the fourth estate are desperately endeavoring to tar Trump with the same brush. So far it is not working. Why not? …. The chihuahuas are barking but the caravan moves on. “This,” as Adams concludes, “is a good day for all of us.” “
These stanzas are from a poem written by Judah Leon Gordon, a 19th century Jewish poet, when the Jewish periodical, Ha−Shahar (The Dawn), resumed publication after an interval of several years.
Once upon a time I sang of love, too, and pleasure, and
friendship; I announced the advent of days of joy, liberty, and
hope. The strings of my lyre thrilled with emotion….
But yonder comes Ha−Shahar again, and I shall attune my
harp to hail the break of day.
Alas, I am no more the same, I know not how to sing, I waken
naught but grief. Disquieting dreams trouble my nights. They show
me my people face to face…. They show me my people in all its
abasement, with all its unprobed wounds. They reveal to me the
iniquity that is the source of all its ills.
I see its leaders go astray, and its teachers deceiving it. My
heart bleeds with grief. The strings of my lyre groan, my song is
a lament.
@AesopFan,
The sources say the “the dogs bark” is a proverbial saying of the Bedouins.
Irene: We could do worse than look to Jewish history for perspective on today’s America.
On a pleasanter note the periodical title reminded me of the first Israeli folk dance I learned, “Im Hashachar,” which means “With the Sunrise.” As I recall it was about going out into the fields to pick grapes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NOp_BWFVws
Simple and beautiful. I loved all the songs from that Geula Gill album it was from.
I’m so glad Trump re-affirmed the US relationship with Israel.
Yann:
I fail to see what’s so great about that Scott Adams quote. It’s merely a description of what Trump was already doing for the entire 2016 campaign.
Nor does it mean it will be successful in anything except causing exhaustion.
@Huxley
Sadly, I’m not familiar with “Im Hashachar,” but I’ll look it up.
The periodical Ha−Shahar is often translated as Daybreak, which the poem references, as does your dance!
@Huxley
Thank you for the link. The song is very beautiful, and the young ladies made a good go of it from what I could tell.
The song is very beautiful, and the young ladies made a good go of it from what I could tell.
Irene: Yes, they did! That right-hand movement up then down is the grape picking.
Luckily it is a simple dance, simple enough even for me to learn. One evening a woman I knew from philosophy class pulled me into a circle of folk dancers as I walked by and I was enchanted.
Years later I showed up for folk dancing at a Jewish Community Center and people didn’t know what to make of me. I’m entirely Scots-Irish/Hispanic.
My 19th nervous breakdown would be daily if I had to listen to the dulcet tones of President Hillary Clinton.
Irene: Do you know Robinson Jeffers’ “Be Angry at the Sun”? (I’m sure Vanderleun and neo know it.)
It doesn’t hit quite the same note as JL Gordon’s poem, because Jeffers was such a stubborn misanthrope, but it is in the vicinity.
BE ANGRY AT THE SUN
That public men publish falsehoods
Is nothing new. That America must accept
Like the historical republics corruption and empire
Has been known for years.
Be angry at the sun for setting
If these things anger you. Watch the wheel slope and turn,
They are all bound on the wheel, these people, those warriors.
This republic, Europe, Asia.
Observe them gesticulating,
Observe them going down. The gang serves lies, the passionate
Man plays his part; the cold passion for truth
Hunts in no pack.
You are not Catullus, you know,
To lampoon these crude sketches of Caesar. You are far
From Dante’s feet, but even farther from his dirty
Political hatreds.
Let boys want pleasure, and men
Struggle for power, and women perhaps for fame,
And the servile to serve a Leader and the dupes to be duped.
Yours is not theirs.
–Robinson Jeffers
@Huxley
Well, thank you again for that poem! Beautiful internal rhythms. Language is vivid and stunning. And an awful lot was packed into that poem.
I am not familiar with Jeffers, but will be soon.
Irene: Indeed, “Be Angry” is one packed poem.
Jeffers was major but so peculiar — he didn’t see much difference between FDR and the leaders of the Axis — he never got the credit I thought was due him.
It’s late. This topic will likely die off tomorrow. I’ll throw in another old Jeffers fave and hide beneath neo’s fondness for poetry.
THE HOUSE DOG’S GRAVE (HAIG, AN ENGLISH BULLDOG)
I’ve changed my ways a little; I cannot now
Run with you in the evenings along the shore,
Except in a kind of dream; and you, if you dream a moment,
You see me there.
So leave awhile the paw-marks on the front door
Where I used to scratch to go out or in,
And you’d soon open; leave on the kitchen floor
The marks of my drinking-pan.
I cannot lie by your fire as I used to do
On the warm stone,
Nor at the foot of your bed; no, all the night through
I lie alone.
But your kind thought has laid me less than six feet
Outside your window where firelight so often plays,
And where you sit to read–and I fear often grieving for me–
Every night your lamplight lies on my place.
You, man and woman, live so long, it is hard
To think of you ever dying
A little dog would get tired, living so long.
I hope than when you are lying
Under the ground like me your lives will appear
As good and joyful as mine.
No, dear, that’s too much hope: you are not so well cared for
As I have been.
And never have known the passionate undivided
Fidelities that I knew.
Your minds are perhaps too active, too many-sided. . . .
But to me you were true.
You were never masters, but friends. I was your friend.
I loved you well, and was loved. Deep love endures
To the end and far past the end. If this is my end,
I am not lonely. I am not afraid. I am still yours.
–Robinson Jeffers, 1941
I disagree.
Obama just used to deliver some generic statements put on airs, like he was guiding the whole humanity towards its destiny. And that was it.
He was never such a brilliant politician. Nobody focused against Obama and destroyed him because they were terrified of being the “racist KKK” who went hard on Obama. Even Fox used to make some bland opposition, going hard against the policies (like Obamacare) instead of the politician.
Yann: Obama does have a smoother style than Trump — unless you listen closely to his constant, insulting straw man arguments.
However, what I had in mind goes beyond speeches to include all the outrageous moves — Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, cash for clunkers, the Bowe Bergdahl deal, etc. — and the constant rain of scandals — Fast and Furious, Benghazi, the Benghazi coverup, the VA scandal, the IRS scandal, etc.
For a longer treatment, see Glenn Reynolds’ “Scandalpalooza” article.
http://nypost.com/2013/06/03/scandalpalooza/
When ever I hear a drawn out utterance of “Here it comes… ,” my mind always goes to 19th Nervous Breakdown. I skip video links 99% of the time, but I had to look. So amusing …
Because Jagger’s voice is “doubled” in a multi-track recording studio, so it couldn’t be live. And no one is playing the descending guitar arpeggios at the end of the song.
And look at the audience shots! Practically catatonic. Imagine that this is almost the same time period when Pete Townsend was smashing his guitar in front of wild audiences. My fave counterpoint would be the music video of Nirvana’s “It Smells like Teen Spirit.” (I know, both 1st and last references are staged. But still…)
I love the part where Jagger is concentrating so hard on his hip gyrations that he misses the first half of the next line.
I had about 50 thoughts on this post; I’ll list a few.
IMHO we are in the midst of a cold civil war and I date the beginning “capitulation” date to Mitt Romney’s phone-it-in campaign and loss. It won’t change into a Bolshevik war, but will look like Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, or if we are lucky Zalaya’s failed take-over of Honduras. Those represent the new model.
So yes, the best defense is a good offense. Flood the theater of conflict. Obama’s people did do this, and the Dems and media are attempting to do so right now. (The Trump/Russia collusion meme is the most absurd, alternate-universe, pile of crap I’ve ever heard.)
It is not like the amateur Trump is monkeying with a finely tuned government. Our government, at all levels, in most places, is a train wreck. The goal, primarily, is a coast-to-coast Tammany Hall.
I recall seeing an extensive interview with Warren Buffett on CNBC, the third week of March, 2009. I don’t trust WB’s political statements, but economically the guy is a wizard. The time was just after Berkshire’s annual statement to shareholders, but it was also just after the first large group of executive actions from the Obama Whitehouse.
The interviewer applied great pressure to get WB to rate these WH actions. To my surprise, Buffett the Obama supporter said that they were all (almost all?) bad for the economy. It didn’t get any better from there, nor did it slow down.
Lastly, now that the CIA and NSA are directly involved in our domestic politics, I’ll recommend watching a mini series called “The Assets,” on Netflix. I have seen Hollywood portrayals of the Aldrich Ames affair before, but this one was adapted from the book “Circle of Treason” written by the two women most responsible for taking down Ames. It gives insight into the world of deception, disinformation, misdirection, and political arse-covering.
@Huxley
The House Dog’s Grave is a real gem. A lament, a paen, a love-song all in one.
When it stops raining (no, I’m not made of sugar but it’s chilly), I’ll walk over to the bookstore and see if they have any of his volumes.
I very much appreciate your taking the time to post these poems!
If the ‘factual’ media (as opposed to columnists and political analysts) could stick to the 5W’s and H, things would be a lot easier. But they feel they need to interpret the news, and tell us how to feel. So they get hysterical.
I hope it causes great despair to those on the Left. Me? I just ignore most of it, and don’t get stressed about what I do pay attention to. So as long as Gorsuch gets confirmed, the 2nd is safe, and the gov’t stops hating on pro-lifers (and other religious affairs – which wasn’t even a thing until a couple of years ago), I’m content.
Yes, I’m bummed about healthcare, illegals, terrorism, the economy, but these things will be compromise issues making everyone happy and unhappy.
Irene: You are most welcome. I love the poetry I love and it’s a pleasure to pass some of it on.
Jeffers is an odd bird, his poetry is astringent and not for everyone, but you can always hear his voice and usually get what he is saying — unlike much modern poetry.
And thank you for the Judah Leon Gordon poem.
TommyJay: I was struck in that Stones’ video how much it looked liked they were influenced by The Who.
Jagger hadn’t yet acquired his dance chops from Tina Turner and looked more like Roger Daltrey. Brian Jones in the back was doing Pete Townshend windmill moves on the guitar.
But the Stones were always glorious magpies stealing from everyone — Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf, Slim Harpo, Chuck Berry, the Beatles and more.
And look at the audience shots! Practically catatonic.
TommyJay: Well, that happens. As Rumsfeld said, “You go to war with the army that you have.”
Here’s my favorite video of Dr. Feelgood, a big British band who never made it over here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHm7uIC84YM
The girls sort-of-dancing in the crowd are “Geordies” — good middle-class girls from North England. They were hoping for a nice pop boy-band like the Bay City Rollers, not these intense, older, R&B weirdos from Dr. Feelgood.
“What will Trump do today? Will it be good, okay, or counter-productive and harmful? And how relentless and distorting and over-the-top (and successful) will the negative media spin on it be?
And above all: where to find anything even approximating the truth? “ – Neo
Would add, in between those paragraphs, the following…
“And how supporters from the right will (or feel compelled to) twist themselves to defend, excuse, or ignore the latest from trump”
This exacerbates the difficulty of getting at the “truth” as we also have to wade through all that on the right – especially from much of “conservative” media.
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There is nobody we can trust (as a group) to be fair arbiters of the “truth” (could argue this was maybe always the case).
Much of the “conservative” media seems as much in the bag for trump as the msm was likewise biased for obama the last eight years.
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Of course, that only works if they have an audience for it.
Seems that this manufactured sensationalism, this constant state of hyperbolic reaction on each side, and the resulting uncertainty / anxiety sells eyeballs.
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Our daily choices DO shape the world around us.
Like the 2016 election, we do have other choices, but it is up to us to seek it out.
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It is deeply concerning that enough people find this all as a “good” thing (as seems the case at the moment), thus, not only will it continue, but it may well head to setting us all up for a time where we all get railroaded (by one side or the other – intentionally or by “accident”) into a situation we thought would never happen or would be possible (and very far from what “we” thought we were buying into for “change”).
@Yann – only meat puppets buy into what adams says, in his “theoretical” world of meat puppets led by master persuaders.
You cannot just pick out a few things he says and ignore the rest as statements like the one you quote is based on that fundamental assumption of people.
And, if you buy into it, then what does that make you?
I personally think people are much smarter than adams gives them credit for, but…is he really correct?
Neo’s country cousin doing 19th Nervous Breakdown…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt-TfsIZThU