Rueful and Raging on a Rainy Day

The world has gotten increasingly hard to navigate. Hard? No, exponentially impossible. This could be an age-related phenomenon...or not. But it seems that all the increased and upgraded technology suits those under thirty far better than someone in their seventies, eighties, or nineties. For my part, all the many "improvements" defeat me. Is this a hint that the world is no longer my oyster and that I'd best "shuffle off this mortal coil" to a simpler, more suitable place? For example, this morning I had to spend 90 minutes on the phone with my bank just to get them to send me the statements for an account that they somehow failed to send my way for the last six months. I've been trying to get them to attend to this matter for at least three weeks now. The woman on the phone was very pleasant (once I could persuade the automated system to switch me to a live human being), but, oh, the sheer number of questions and commands was unbelievable. The number of security codes, personal information, social security information, secret codes, pin numbers (which I do not have and was one of the reasons I called) was incredible. Mother's maiden name? Number of pets? All now mandatory because there is so much real fraud and even more alleged fraud, as well as thefts of all kinds, that banks cannot afford to trust anyone without examining their DNA! Would this very painful transaction have taken less time had I gone in person? Nah. It once took far, far longer in person. And, since I am walking disabled, doing this on the phone seemed preferable. However, the process is not yet over. There are more texts from the bank to come, documents that I must docu-sign and others that I must sign and mail out. This may all take up to two or three more weeks to finalize but only if I'm lucky. I concede the point: The internet has made so many more connections between people possible--at least virtually. At the same time, it has driven people farther apart. Those who are sane and non-violent and who walk the city streets no longer see or speak to each other. Everyone is on their cellphone or on the internet. And the disinformation and misinformation on the internet is impossible to "deconstruct." It is so widespread, omnipresent, continuous that even experts are at a loss as to how to present objective or fact-based information that can even minimally prevail. And yet, I would be loath to give up the opera vignettes and classical piano concerts that I receive on Instagram. So: What have I avoided mentioning? The weather of course! And the traffic everywhere. America's 250th anniversary on July 4th was largely rained out in many cities. And then there were one too many car accidents, road closures, bumpy roads. OK. That's life in the fast and lucky lane, right? But then there was the "dark and stormy" night of July 4th itself. Lightning bolts, thunder, drenching rain. Of course, we lost power. Darkened bathrooms, the hunt for flashlights, etc. But, courtesy of a generator in one large room, we were still able to watch all three parts of The Godfather. (God, is it good!) What exactly is the charm and wonder of fireworks? Well, perhaps that is what the Revolutionary War sounded like in each battle. But I can think of many other ways to remember and memorialize the birth of America. But that's me. Many thousands of Americans waited until 11pm in Washington DC for a full hour of storm-delayed fireworks. And, although they were all asked to evacuate, some stayed on even in a drenching rain. I was far luckier than my friend who drove back to the city from the Hudson Valley, where he went to view Frederic Church's paintings. He told me that trees were falling everywhere; at one point, it sounded like a large branch had fallen on his car; the rain was terrifying, the traffic often at a standstill. "I thought we might die," he said. So: What else have I avoided mentioning? The matter of President Trump, oil, Iran, Turkey, China, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, and the West's surrender to radical political Islam, country by country, city by city. It's simply too crazy. NYC Mayor Mamdani's "in your face" Jew and Israel hatred, the ascension of those like him to political power...and the fate of women and dissidents world-wide. I note daily, actually hourly, the world's exceedingly hard heart towards Israel and its choice to scapegoat the imperfect but largely innocent Jews for the very crimes being committed by Israel’s enemies--and by practically everyone else around the world.

And by the way: Check out how Mamdani's Shia forebears came to Uganda--brought there by the British colonialists, together with Hindus from India, to lay the railroad tracks, but soon enough they came to dominate both Uganda's economy and the indigenous Black Africans. Mamdani's family wealth is based on precisely this history. Check it out. See if I'm wrong. Perhaps my work on this particular subject—Antisemitism/Anti-Zionism and radical Islam—is done. Many "newbies" have come forward. A good number are excellent and as obsessed as I've been. I'll always weigh in when compelled to do so, but perhaps it is time for me to turn to other subjects. I am finishing two new books (The Complete and Utter Palestinianization of American Feminism and Talking to the Dead, a family memoir). I am eager to get back to editing my diaries (1958-2026). A chunk of personal, literary, political, sexual, history that no one but I can remember. Film, opera, and book reviews--yes. Torah study, of course. Archival work, absolutely.  In truth, it has gotten a bit too challenging, even boring, jumping on the breaking news each and every moment. There is always another moment and more breaking news. It is time for me to contemplate eternity, eternal verities, such as they are.