Nick- Send this to My View at the New Mexican. Tom ======================= Tom Johnson Inst. for Analytic Journalism Santa Fe, New Mexico 505-577-6482 =======================
On Wed, Jul 3, 2024, 10:56 AM <thompnicks...@gmail.com> wrote: > My Phellow Phriammers, > > I am frantic about the last week’s events. In a fit of absurd geriatric > arrogance, I have concluded that the attached document contains a good idea > that nobody else has thought of. Beset by this illusion, I asking you-all > to forward this letter to anybody for whom it might make a difference. > Attachment and/ or in line text below. Suggestions, calming comments, etc., > welcome. > > Nick > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > Dear Joe Biden, > > I write to offer some thoughts concerning your decision to continue your > run for a second term. These thoughts come in two forms: (1), A > description of what it is like to live from 81 to 86, something that I have > done, and you have not. And (2), a way to leverage your power as > presumptive nominee to guarantee the best possible solution for all of us. > > > 1. *A Guide The Early Eighties* > > I was born in ’38, you, in ’43, back in the good old days when two numbers > and an apostrophe were sufficient to identify a year. We both were raised > during World War II. We have other things in common, a life-long > disability, yours a stammer, mine a devastating hip infection as an > infant. We both had heart attacks, yours at an early age, mine much > later. I say all this to claim some standing with you as a spokesman for > the early eighties. I certainly have not suffered the awful human losses > that you have endured in your long life. > > The problem of the early eighties is not what a younger person thinks it > is going to be. When I was younger, I worried about the dramatic event > that killed me or left me totally incapacitated, the stroke or the heart > attack. Mind you, these sorts of endings are possible, and the more stress > a body is under, the more likely they are to happen. And mind you, also, > such sudden deaths are devastating to the people you love. > > But rational fear of these outcomes is not the hardest part of living > through the early eighties. The most terrifying feature is the vice-like > squeeze between the time available to do ordinary things and the time it > takes to do them. Please consider a simple example. Once upon a time, I > could spring from behind a desk like a scalded cat, stride quickly across a > room, and plop myself down in a couch, while not losing a beat in the > conversation. Now, such a move requires preparation. Arthritis in my > hips, knees and back makes me stiff after a prolonged period of sitting. > Am I going to lift with my legs, or with my hands on the surface of the > desk. Once up, before I take my first step, I must be sure of my balance > and footing. Is that a fold in rug between me and my destination? My path > must be adjusted to take account of it. When I get to the couch, I must > plan my sitting. I need to sit at the end, so to have the arm of the couch > to let myself down gently lest I collapse on to the cushions like a pile of > old bones. And if I was talking when I decided to make this voyage, I must > pause. Those to whom I am talking feel obligated to stay silent till I am > reseated, lest they endanger my progress. All of this is disconcerting > enough. I can only imagine the discomfort I might feel if my spectators > were generals, congresspersons, senators, or cabinet members. > > The expansion of the time it takes to do such small acts is multiplied a > hundred times a day. Since fatigue sets in a few seconds earlier every > afternoon, this time is deleted from a day that is itself shrinking > inexorably. Sure, adjustments can be made, sure there can be naps, sure, > staff can step up, others can fill in, but each of these people is also on > their own vice-like time schedule. As this vise tightens, there is bound > to be a moment when someone’s life shatters between its jaws. And with > all the devoted people working around you, you can never be sure that the > life that shatters is your own. > > 2. *Make them put up or shut up.* > > Despite these dark realities, I grant that you have many good and generous > reasons to challenge the odds and hang onto the nomination you have amply > earned and won. Ezra Klein’s dream of a orgy of democracy at the > convention is bonkers. Unleashing the competitive instincts of a bunch of > career politicians (and their organizations) at this time would almost > certainly lead to Trump’s second term. > > But there is a way out of this dilemma. I suggest that you go before the > nation with the following proposal. > > *My fellow Americans, * > > *It has come to my attention that many of you are concerned about a > President’s ability to carry on with the job into his eighties. You > should know that most of the work of being president is in hiring the > people who make up the administration. That work is done. The people > around me are extraordinarily skilled and well-informed, and once such a > team is assembled, the role of the president is to keep them moving forward > steadily in a coordinated direction. One does not have to be able to > dance a jig to get that job done. One can do it from a chair. * > > *As things stand, of course, the country has no way to avoid being > governed by an octogenarian. The choice now is between an elderly man with > a loving and hopeful heart and the alternative, a selfish and mendacious > schemer who admires dictators and seeks vengeance all who oppose him. Now > that the Supreme Court has removed constraints against presidential > criminality, this choice becomes ever more stark, * > > *As it stands, that choice seems obvious to me. Still, many of you would > prefer another option. I see that. But I think you all would agree that > if I were simply to withdraw at this late date, without any guarantee of > order and continuity, chaos might follow. * > > *So, here is my proposal. Let the candidates who would succeed me, [all > extraordinarily people in their own right], agree upon an alternative. If > they can, I will release my delegates and endorse that alternative. If, > however, they cannot, then I will continue to pursue a second term.* > > *Whomever you choose, you should be reassured that my team, highly > qualified, steady, and firm in their allegiance to the institutions of > democracy, will be at the service of any candidat. * > > *Good night, and sleep well, all of you. * > > *And when you wake up tomorrow, please think about this proposal, and make > your wishes known to your leaders.* > > > > In closing, thank you for all you have done to stave off this assault on > democracy. > > Yours faithfully, > > A fellow octogenarian. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Nicholas S. Thompson > > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology > > Clark University, > > nthomp...@clarku.edu > > > -. --- - / ...- .- .-.. .. -.. / -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. . > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Fridays 9a-12p Friday St. Johns Cafe / Thursdays 9a-12p Zoom > https://bit.ly/virtualfriam > to (un)subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ > archives: 5/2017 thru present > https://redfish.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/ > 1/2003 thru 6/2021 http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/ >
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