…it’s semantics; often how we interpret an event is in our orientation.

Orientation as in, ‘the house faces west,’ or, where one is located on the sliding loop (generally thought of as a sliding scale between left and right wings), pretty strong and solid in the middle, where most of us are, a bit sketchier and more broken up as it heads toward, and close to,  a final connection at the place usually thought of as the lunatic fringe.

That’s where the shaky and tenuous bridge, the point of agreement, and possibly the only one, is distrust.

I usually say it’s a shared distrust of the government, but, more recently, I have to believe it’s distrust of all of the various groups considered ‘other’ or ‘them,’ or ‘they,’ and a disbelief in (or denial of) arguments and positions ‘they’ state as if they were facts. Facts?

Again, it’s orientation; which corner one backs him or herself into.

All right, I almost took a stand on only one of the issues that have become screaming points; one set of zealots, possibly jealous of the traction the opposing zealots appear to be making, steps a bit closer to the edge, yells a bit louder.

You and I have worked our way into positions on the same issues. Then, constantly, there are new events and new tragedies. Too many. Too constant.

No, actually, most are repetitions of the same events and the same tragedies we’ve seen before, but happening to or with different players, different victims. Maybe we’re shocked, maybe we’re numbed. Maybe, occasionally, we should stop listening to the screamed accusations and echoes, look back toward the middle.

I’m happy to talk about almost any issue. Happy to listen. I have a loud voice, but I try not to yell.

HEY, this is something I wrote for my blog, “Stuff That Goes On,” at ptleader.com

I do have some surf stories I want to tell, but, I figured I might get a few more people to read this if I also posted it here. The cartoon is another one submitted to and rejected by “The New Yorker.” Thanks for reading.