[Seth Says] Kiss a Wookie, Kick a Droid
Q: What temperature is it inside a tauntaun?
A: Lukewarm.
Today's subject line comes from the classic Star Wars Acapella Medley, which was in my head because it had been so long since I saw a (good) Indiana Jones movie that when I heard the Indiana Jones theme music, that was the first thing to spring to mind.
"But why were you hearing the Indiana Jones theme music?", you ask (in the imaginary world in which this newsletter follows the course of a logical discussion and is not non-sequitors duct-taped together with parenthetical asides).
Well, dearest imaginary interlocutor (I mean, you're real, the interlocution is imagined)("do you have an imaginary friend?" "Better, I imagine my real friends!")("a man talking sense to himself is no madder than a man talking nonsense to others" "or just as mad" "and he does both"), I've been playing the new Indiana Jones video game, and it's pretty good. Good enough that I even wrote this week's column about it. (Well, not strictly about the videogame, also about nostalgia and the 1980s)(Which were only 20 years ago, 20 years ago)(I know I've made that joke once before, but it is a joke that needs to score twice.)
Anyway, please enjoy:
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Childhood Innocence
(And even if you don't read it, this column is already a win for me because it made Debbie laugh out loud during the test read, which does not always happen.)
...EXCEPT CAVE 76!
As I allude to in the column, growing up watching movies like Indiana Jones and Star Wars can give one a simplistic view of the world where things are in black and white and lines between good and evil are more complicated. But then as we get older and get out into the real world we find out, no, things are more complicated than that and there are subtle balances of power and complex agendas and sometimes people all trying to do the right thing can still end up on opposite sides.
And then sometimes as you get even older you see DAMN it turns out those 80s movies totally had it right, sometimes the bad guys are actually nazis banning books and evil empires bent on subjugation, and the good guys are a coalition of dozens of different races united in wishing everyone were freely living their best lives and not being subjugated. (Good thing they don't hope they'll avoid being subjuncted!)(It's a tense situation.)
I know, I know, obviously this dualism shows a lack of sophistication and reeks of rank tribalism where everyone views themselves as the good guys and opposing tribes as the bad guys, as has been the case since the dawn of history... but sometimes it do be like that.
PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE
As I've said many times before (although not many times in this newsletter - I just checked to avoid being repetitious!)(I just checked to avoid being repetitious!), at this point in my life my primary political belief is that people are people.
Not complicated! People are people, regardless of their race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, favorite music, or weird hobby that you think is a waste of time. Generally, people are just trying to live their best lives, and as long as they’re not hurting anyone else, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be allowed to do so.
This is my yardstick for evaluating any political/moral/religious belief system or movement, and while clearing this low (but frequently unmet)(do you meet a bar? you meet at a bar) bar (bar bar bar)(I'm a barbarian!) is not always sufficient for me to declare a system good, failing it is sufficient for me to declare a system evil.
Obviously it's not like we're short on reasons to declare the current regime evil (destroying public good for private profit, betraying our allies and destroying US credibility internationally, making us have to care what Elon Musk says, etc.), but every once in a while I think to myself, "Self, it's easy to say that a politically opposed side is clearly evil and you are for good, but the there are people on the other side who would say the inverse, so how do you truly know it's more than both sides just thinking they're right?"
And then I get to tell myself, "Oh yeah, they want to classify large swaths of living, breathing human beings as not-people whose lives hold no value and who do not deserve the right to simply live their lives without being attacked for the crime of existing. Evil."
(I realize it's not necessarily helpful for me to say, "Hey, Evil!", so if you wanted something with daily news updates and less editorialization you could also read HCR's newsletter, and if you wanted more depth and suggestions for action you could also read Qasim Rashid, but I will be here continuing to typeity typeity whatever is on my mind at the moment and hope that you find it interesting.)
HERE'S SOMETHING DULL
In a completely unrelated topic, apparently the Dull Men's Club is a massive Facebook group at this point, and has even spawned many offshoots and imitators. This is of interest to me because it was not nearly such a big group 22 years ago when I interviewed the founder for my first published book.
I will also note that of the many dozens of groups I interviewed, the DMC was the only one to offer to send me cool swag, and I got a T-shirt I wore proudly for years and a hat I gave away because I don't really wear hats. I am happy for their success.
And that's about it for this week. As always, I thank you for reading, will be back in two weeks with another column, and don't forget to set your clocks forward this weekend so we can be one hour closer to a better future.
I Just Checked To Avoid Being Repetitious,
Seth