Quarantine entry #75 - June 4

Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks. Why? It does not matter – for some, it may suck because of its unpredictability, for others – because of routine, but it does not matter. Life sucks. For humans, life can go for several decades, over a century, even, for some; for hedgehogs – just a few years; and for the spruce tree, (and its’ cousin, the fir) – for several centuries, easily. Pause.

Here is the thing. Do we want to talk about trees, of all things? Yes, since we began to talk about the woodpeckers, it is only logical that trees come up next, since the woodpeckers both feed on (and in) the trees, and nest in their cavities, (natural or created/augmented by those birds). Ergo, taking about trees makes sense.

But! The truth is that real world does not always make sense, (that is one of the reasons as to why it sucks). Just look at what the US is going through right now. Really, it is the ‘Tiger King’ phenomenon, gone badly, out of control, and wrong. In both cases, the American people were so starved for anything exciting that once it happened, it got out of control.

…Incidentally, this situation is not typical for just the Republican governments – during the period of Obama’s more Democratic reign, especially in the last years, the situation on the streets was pretty much similar what it is now; now it may be more violent, but that is all.

…Yes, the current political situation in D.C. is making the situation worse, relatively speaking, but this brings us to free will – the Americans have it, they are using it, and they are apparently abusing it, seeing how the situation is getting worse rather than better. Pause.

Yes, the last statement was unkind and probably wrong as well, but the thing is that since the Cold War ended, USA did its best to become the standard by which freedom in our world is measured; it is like the Gold Standard of Freedom or something, and once it starts to fall, then the rest of the world is affected. Yes, this is the ‘global village effect’ in action. Yes, USA tried to get out of the ‘global village’ for this reason as well – their power was waning, they could no longer control it/run it/be in charge, but it is too late, and the ‘global village’ system cannot be dismantled without some fallout at least, the end.

Only it is anything but, as the US is experiencing the effect of the ‘global village’ that they helped the rest of the West, and the rest of the world, create in the post-Cold War years, (i.e. 1990s and the early 2000s), when their power was at its latest peak. Back then, the current situation was unimaginable, apparently – USA honestly didn’t expect that Americans would be fighting, killing, looting, shooting each other and etc., with the rest of the world facepalming: like, what else those crazy Yankee yahoos are doing now?..

…Yes, something similar had went down at the end of the 19^th/the start of the 20^th century, before the WWI, and the WWII, and everything that happened between them, but only those that don’t learn from history, repeat it. The Russians get a lot of dissension for doing just that, but in reality? It seems that at least some people in the RF are trying to change their future, while in the US? It is another story.

Anything else? Here is a drabble about the woodpecker, since we are apparently not done with the bird:

What is this loud drumming in the forest? Who is drumming so loudly here? Why, there they are, all mottled, with a red cap. It landed onto a pine tree, grabbed the bark with its’ talons, supported by the stiff tail, and began to jump upwards. It found a spot where there was a grub beneath the bark, and began to drum with its’ beak... It ate the grub, flew on and drummed on the bark some more... – and then it flew away even further, its’ drumming is barely audible now... It still sounds like a drum, but that is no drummer, but the woodpecker bird.

…Well, this is it for now – see you all soon!