“May you live in eventful and interesting times.”
–Chinese curse

Happy midsummer’s eve, Dear Reader – if it is happy…which I doubt…
I know, I know – the solstice was three days ago, but here in Sweden we always celebrate midsummer’s on the weekend. In not much in the mood for celebration, though.
Midsummer marks the point after which the days grow shorter, and we are indeed heading toward darker times – metaphorically as well as literally.
This morning it was announced that Britain has voted to leave the European Union and the GBP dropped eight percent. Now, I’m not a big fan of the EU in general, but for all its shortcomings it comes with a lot of benefits as well. I haven’t studied the issue will enough to predict if the UK will be better off outside the EU or not, in the long run. It seems clear, though, that there will be a host of problems to begin with and with both Northern Ireland and Scotland murmuring about independence, ‘Great’ may soon be even less suitable as an epithet for Britain.
But the real tragedy here – the real darkness – is not the vote to leave and it’s consequences. The real tragedy here is the forces that made it possible.
We live in an increasingly divided world.
On the one hand we have the growing right-wing opinions fuelled by fear, nostalgia and personal gain. On the other we have the left-wing idealism fuelled by hope, compassion and globalistic ideals. Both sides suffer from the same ailment: naively being swayed by personal emotions and a sense of righteousness. Neither side seems capable of critical thinking when it comes to their own views.
We live in the Disinformation Age.
In this global grapevine that is the Internet it is far too easy to sway public opinion by appealing to emotion rather than intellect. Any one can publish any thing and make it look like fact. Any one can find something to support their personal delusion about the world, no matter how implausible. This is nothing new, of course – humans have reacted this way throughout history – we are just seeing it on a much larger, faster, and more pervasive scale.
That will be our downfall.
We are living in increasingly eventful, interesting, darkening times – and that, Dear Reader, is why I won’t be celebrating today. Well, that and the fact that I am stuck at work until after midnight…
On a more personal note:
I have been quiet here – too quiet – though only partly for the obvious reason: adapting to family life. We have actually established a surprisingly successful routine – one that sends to be holding up decently even to Junior’s whims. So far.
No, the main reason for my absence has been my creative pursuits. I just finished the first draft of a short story which will soon go out for consideration, and I have been busy with preparations for a much bigger project. I’m not sure when I will be able to post about that, but hopefully it will be soon.