Time to Go Down the Basement

Decades ago, Life in the Boomer Lane was introduced to the concept of “things are not always as they appear to be” by Then Husband the Economist, who always declared that everything in life came down to economics. It was a new way of looking at events and pretty much covered all bases except for natural disasters and what LBL was going to make for dinner. Years later, Now Husband declared that, if you wanted to truly assess the conclusions gained from any research, first find out who funded the research. This proves either that both Now and Then are totally in sync with each other, or that LBL needed to learn the same lesson twice.

The nugget, here, is that life is always bombarding us with events that are overwhelming. LBL, personally, has gotten her panties in a twist so often, that they now resemble G strings more than the sensible undergarments that mature women are mostly inclined to wear. But, forcing herself to step away from her own horror over individual events, she realizes that the events, themselves, aren’t the issue. There is an ultimate method behind the madness, and that realization causes both a relief that there is a reason and an understanding that the reason is worse than you believed it to be. (“Madame, your inexplicable, maddening symptoms that no doctor or test can diagnose, are, in reality due to your body’s rejection of any rules. It’s actually common in women your age. We call it the “Wild West Syndrome.” Get used to it.'”)

Books are being banned because they provide content that shocks and offends God-fearing parents who are terrified that their children will turn into crazed pedophiles. Woke curriculums are demonized because those same parents (and others) believe that their innocent children will be permanently scarred by believing that they created slavery and racial discrimination. Teachers from K through college are being challenged because they are implanting the seeds of moral decay in students, through books and art and classroom discussions.

Step back from all of this, untwist your panties and try to get a perspective. This has nothing to do with religious belief or moral belief or racial discrimination. Follow where the “money” is coming from and the answer becomes clear. The state (whichever state one is looking at) is on a path to control the education of its students. It’s the most fundamental power any society has.

The Supreme Court shoots down Roe v Wade. Women march, women protest, women resort to illegal measures. On its heels come actions to prevent the morning-after pill and birth control, itself. Further background noises promote a narrowing of the definition of rape. No fault divorce is then thrown on the table for the consumption of those who purport family values and the sanctity of marriage. Half of the population, whether they are aware of it or not, are having their rights stripped away in this society.

To the pile of panty-twisting causes, add the fallout caused by LGBTQ rights and the tsunami of protest over female impersonators and medical intervention of transgender children. Season with the seemingly inexplicable reality that the number of guns and gun-related violence continues to rise, matched only by the rising percentage of people who want some kind of gun control.

Step back from all this, try to salvage what is left of your panties, and get a perspective. This has nothing to do with religious belief or moral belief or the sanctity of marriage and the protection of defenseless children. It has nothing to do with the Second Amendment or the love of the Constitution. Follow where the “money” is coming from and the answer becomes clear. The state (whichever state one is looking at) benefits greatly from narrowing the percentage of the population that has a say in how that state is run. True democracy is a great concept, but it’s messy and unwieldy and takes a lot of time to get anything done. If one can pare the power down to a smaller number, things work much more efficiently.

Culling the number of people who have a say in a society, results in tyranny by the minority. It’s aided by politicalization of the courts, gerrymandering, the electoral college, and the filibuster. And tyranny by the minority is a story as old as time. It even pre-dates the arrival of human panties (4400 BC).

For those Loyal Readers who are now wondering what folks did before 4400 BC, LBL will leave it to another blogger to tackle. LBL considers this topic to be beyond her range of interest. She is far more concerned with the ever-escalating fallout of her own Wild West Syndrome.