I keep writing posts and not sharing them. Posts about international relations. Posts about domestic politics. Post about social issues. All with a somewhat negative slant as to the direction of our society, our nation, our culture.

I have written a few travel posts that also haven’t seen the light of day. They just seem too frivolous in these chaotic times.

Am I getting old and cranky? No more so than before. However, I do feel the wight of the world perhaps more than I did five years ago. Maybe I’m finally getting the COVID depression all Canadians seemed to come down with in 2020.

Those posts will show up eventually, once they have had time to percolate a bit more. That’s one of the blessings to not having a daily deadline as I did when I was in the news business. I can take time to reflect, not just react.

Last week’s murder of American activist Charlie Kirk got me to thinking. Not so much about him (I was only vaguely aware of his organization) but about the differing reactions to his death. There was a lot of finger pointing, but not much acceptance of responsibility for the toxic climate that make people think murder is an acceptable political tool. Apparently violence is always the other person’s fault. No wonder it never stops. Where are the leaders willing to break the cycle?

The violence between nations and cultures mirrors the microcosms of individual conflicts. Russian and Ukraine. Israel and Hamas. Civil wars in Yemen, Sudan and other countries. It is the disagreements between two people magnified, with neither side admitting any responsibility for the disagreement. It is always the other person’s fault.

It has been this way for time immemorial – but it seems to be getting more intense. Maybe it is just that as our methods of communication improve the gaps between us grow wider. Once I was optimistic about the future. Now I am beginning to wonder.

Sometimes though you need to take a break to preserve your sanity. That is why today’s post comes with a photo of a baseball game. I went to the game, enjoyed the sunshine and watched two teams compete. No earth-shattering issues to deal with. No-one demanding time that I didn’t have. Just a chance to relax. We all need that from time to time. Especially when reality seems depressing.

Even though they are not ruled by the clock, baseball games do eventually end. Like with a good novel, the escape from reality can only last so long. Back in the real world, decisions have to be made.

Is it time we collectively turned our backs on the negativity that confronts us and worked together to bridge the gaps that stop us from understanding and loving our neighbors? They way we have been doing things isn’t working.

What can I do to turn things around? What can you do? Should we be doing it together?