7SvenFeb 20

Too Much

There seems to be an avalanche right now, a never-ending tide.
I wonder whether it’s only social media, an unhealthy awareness of a reality we’re not used to seeing every day. A desire for attention that ignites fire and fury. A fundamental emptiness. Are our eyes too wide open right now?

#Essay #Reflection #Society #Media #Buddhism #Writing #stoicism

Show thread7SvenFeb 20
Just this afternoon my feed on Instagram floated a clip from “Eyes Wide Shut” into my timeline, the last film of Stanley Kubrick, who directed our gaze again and again toward things that were coming, but that we chose not to see.
The madness of the nuclear standoff in “Dr. Strangelove”. The dystopian future in “A Clockwork Orange”.
Show thread7SvenFeb 20
And in “Eyes Wide Shut” he showed us this degenerated elite in a huge mansion far out of town, doing whatever they wanted, using female sex slaves for their parties in a dark cult.
Sounds familiar?
The film is from 1999. None of us knew the name Jeffrey Epstein then.
Show thread7Sven
In my daily job in the automotive industry, we’ve been heavily hit by Trump’s tariff policy, which has caused significant disruption.
This afternoon the US Supreme Court deemed them unlawful.
We’ve been rearranging supply chains, demanding compensation.
Now we’re facing great uncertainty about how to go on.
Feb 20 at 5:21pmWeb
Show thread7SvenFeb 20
I’m also planning a business trip to the US.
There’s been an internal alert to be careful about posts, likes, reposts — because customs might check them and refuse entry.
An invasion of privacy and free speech unheard of so far.
I’m worried because I haven’t been overly careful, to say the least…
Show thread7SvenFeb 20
Just two examples of how a seemingly distant reality sinks into our daily lives, even here in Europe.
Breaking news hits us with such frequency that we tend to get distanced from reality itself.
It’s just too much.
And underneath it all hovers the ever widening Epstein affair, growing so large it won’t fade like the other noise.
Show thread7SvenFeb 20
We’re only at the beginning. I don’t know what the consequences will be.
Maybe some good ones — some immoral elites losing reputation and influence.
But most likely this “QAnon becomes reality” nightmare will lead to more people losing trust in democratic institutions and our shared moral framework.
It’s just too much.
Show thread7SvenFeb 20

One thing I’ve learned: many corrupt elites longed for too much — privilege, money, power.
They got it. It didn’t bring happiness.
High on the mountain top they had to face their own void. Some snapped.
Buddhism teaches humbleness, simplicity, compassion.
Maybe this grim knowledge helps us embrace those friendly thoughts from the shadows.

Of them there can’t be too much.