Here's what I think

I was thinking, as one does, about what my Wikipedia entry is going to say about this newsletter. Probably, I thought, something like: "Though Wimmer initially said Having a Normal One was 'for people who want to be better informed about politics,' he abandoned that tack almost immediately." (And maybe also: "Past celebrity guest editors of Having a Normal One include MacKenzie Bezos, Anne Hathaway, and Kermit the Frog." But I was more focused on the first thing.)

Politics matters, and the upcoming election matters, and I have plenty to say about that. But what I keep coming back to is that we have to establish some larger principles, as Americans who want America to be a place where life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness really matter. We can't just hope to restore the America of the past, because that's not possible. We have to start talking about what the America of the future looks like.

And I have pretty strong, arguably crazy ideas about that. If what I write in this newsletter is going to make sense and be compelling, I should probably tell you about those.

Here, an incomplete list of things I believe about life, the universe, everything, and your mom:

America and the rest of the world do have a future. Climate change, inequality, fascism, police brutality, school shootings with no end in sight—things feel dark right now. But I believe we are experiencing the natural consequences of still living in a system—call it white capitalist patriarchy, if you want—the human species has outgrown. There are powerful forces deeply invested in this system, and they're fighting back, but they are at a disadvantage because their philosophy is fundamentally incompatible with everything we know about living well. Furthermore, because the old system is at the root of all the big problems we're facing, we don't have to tackle them all individually. We just have to figure out what a new overall approach looks like.

We're growing a brain for the planet right now. The internet qualitatively changed life on Earth when it went mainstream thirty years ago, and will continue to do so. It's still a young technology, and we don't appreciate the capabilities it has granted us in terms of understanding and organizing our communities.

Cooperation is key. Our culture reveres competition to such an extent that even suggesting it can be unhealthy will piss people off. Well: Competition can be unhealthy. A system in which we're all primarily competing against one another is less effective than a system in which we're primarily helping each other.

Despite what politics suggests, most people are fundamentally decent. Among people of my political persuasion, it's pretty common to hear about how conservatives are racist, misogynistic, stupid, and hateful. I've written things myself that imply as much—because I've seen an abundance of evidence that right-wing politics demonizes nonwhites, mistreats women, and generally finds bad excuses to hurt people on the margins. But I also know a lot of folks who consistently vote Republican and who do show up for others unlike them, so I am pretty invested in believing that for a lot of conservative voters, those politics are driven more by propaganda, inertia, and fear than by deep-seated animus toward other human beings.

We are suffering from so much trauma. Complex post-traumatic stress disorder is different from regular PTSD. Regular PTSD is the result of a single traumatic event—nearly dying or seeing friends die during war, an assault or rape, a car accident. C-PTSD is more, y'know, complex. It's the result of much less dramatic, but regularly repeated traumatic events, frequently inflicted on children by their caregivers (even if the caregivers don't realize it). That can mean something as simple as a tired parent constantly shushing their kid. I'm not an expert, but once you learn how easy it is to traumatize a child this way, and you think about all the people who were screamed at, hit, teased, and neglected as kids—even if they had pretty good parents!—it begins to seem reasonable to assume a lot of the anger in this country is coming from people who have been hurting for years and don't know why. Or people who can't help but feel as if something is missing inside, as if they need something bigger. People like your mom. Hey-yo!

Our present way of life is unsustainable. I don't believe human children inevitably grow up traumatized. But when they grow up in a system that doesn't prioritize rest, or respecting each other, or ensuring that basic material needs are met, they do. Today in America, we don't prioritize those things. And it's not just about kids. If we don't start prioritizing our collective well-being, we will be grievously unprepared to deal with threats like climate change that strain our resources and disrupt our ways of life. We will find ourselves competing with each other and the rest of the world to survive, and this is a world with nuclear weapons. We shouldn't scare ourselves, but we should take that seriously.

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All right, I've given you a thousand words now, most of them perfect, and here is what you can do for me, if you are so inclined.

Email me with a thoughtful question about one of the ideas above, or a thoughtful reaction. Just make it thoughtful, whatever it is. No pressure or anything. I have really appreciated the kind, supportive messages I've gotten from you this week. But at some point, I'm looking forward to people telling me why I'm wrong or insane too.

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Hit me up with questions, thoughts and feelings, suggestions, and politely worded corrections and criticism at at joshwimmer@gmail.com. If you think someone would be interested in this newsletter, forward it to them. Then call to make sure they got it. Keep calling until they agree to subscribe. Keep calling, it's fine. Please, do not let me down. My whole family is counting on you.