Dual Realities
It hit me when I saw someone on Bluesky advertising their shirts that opposed the Venezuelan war. I don't remember the exact phrase, but it was something like 'I Didn't Ask For This' with an eagle on it. Take your glasses off, and it's just a red shirt with an eagle on it. Not too much different from the slop that emerges from the right! I would never have heard about this shirt if I never turned on this social media app. I wouldn't break out in tears because I'm mutually spiraling-out with a friend over text. I didn't sign up for this constant pain, this constant agony about the infinite doomscroll that is life now.
I don't claim to be some sort of oracle, but having two clear windows into both American and Canadian life only demonstrates to me why the current regime is permanent. Most of my American friends have the glasses on and continue to discuss their materialist lives, while people north of the border are paralyzed in fear! Gas is cheap again and I can get a job making >$300k helping program the bombs used in the Western Hemisphere. Living in the heart of Empire really is a luxury, because choosing to be oppressed is optional. Even recognizing the existence of an outside world is a struggle for some, most people don't even possess the ability to cross a border.
I'd be lying to myself if I didn't ponder giving up more than once a day.