The Handbasket
A resolution to spend less time on the Hell In A Handbasket Industrial Complex, and more on the rainbows.
I don’t do resolutions—when you’re as flaky as I am, it’s a sucker bet. But, if there are no resolutions for the year ahead, there’s at least a sense of being resolute.
About one thing, anyway.
In 2024, I’ll minimize time and attention given to the Hell In A Handbasket Industrial Complex (HIAHIC).
You know what I mean—it’s there every time you open a browser, check X or fire up the AM talk radio. It’s virtually all of cable news, most of the op-ed pages and an increasing, unfortunate percentage of stuff I see coming out of the policy world.
It’s the bullshit that coats nearly everything like a light machine oil; it gets everywhere.
It’s damn hard to wash off. Especially if, as so many prefer, you bathe in it all the time.
The central conceit of HIAHIC isn’t right or left, Republican or Democrat. It’s that things have never been worse, and nothing—nothing!—can fix it except whatever ol’ time religion is being slung in the moment. Tune in. Buy now. Like and subscribe.
It’s the only way to reclaim Constantinople. Or stop the billionaires. Or speak our focus-grouped, market-tested, operators-are-standing-by Truths.
But here’s the thing: I don’t think it’s all burning down.
We’ve got challenges, yes—including too many we don’t talk about while obsessing 24/7 about which geriatric will occupy the White House. But the arc of humanity has been and continues to be nothing short of amazing on so very, very many fronts.
We’re blessed beyond measure, and too blind, greedy or tribal to acknowledge it. (Yes, I include myself in that.)
Because I don’t think it’s burning down, I realize, late in the game, that too much of my relatively little time left on this rock has been wasted on unserious people.
Being serious means waking up every day to solve problems, not scoring points. The HIAHIC—the bullshit—is about scoring points.
I think the future will be amazing.
As the poet said: Along a parabola life like a rocket flies, mainly in darkness now and then on a rainbow.
In 2024, I’ll spend my time—and I guess I’m encouraging you to as well—on the rainbows. On supporting friends, colleagues and institutions solving serious problems.
On hope and humanity. Not the handbasket.
Greg W. Brooks. First published on Facebook, Dec. 31, 2023.