Today is very quiet. It is almost as if the world was paused to catch a breath. I think sometimes the news just gets too much and there is a necessary lull. It is universal perhaps. It is argued that empathy is in decline. Studies offer alarming indications that children of privilege aren't averse to police states. We get into a groove of unbroken crises, if not Alexandria San Francisco, no wait London.

Whew

So what happens when the lull hits? Exactly what you might expect. A general sort of penitence, bad word, how about "we gotta do something"?

In other words, the pause is a Reset moment for all concerned. It is reality's way of suggesting a rule of creation itself. When things could get out of control, we can and sometimes do stop.

Reset

It may not be time to dismantle the health system no matter how much we may not like it. Let's not go too far. Let the muse in. There is no need to get anything done just now. But when we do anything at all, we may reflect that we are people dealing with other people. I suspect that the current health matter will not get done -- there may well be a pause to reset the effort.

Could Trump pause?

We do not think of Trump as likely to break stride. But even he managed to give a brief reaction via video to the Scalise shooting events, with only the barest hint of his most dog-whistle chops.

Even Nancy Pelosi could hold her peace without too much fanfare.

Peace can deceive

Ever since 9/11, I have regarded peaceful, bucolic moments with suspicion. I can remember no more delightful morning than the sunny, fall day when the planes were a few miles away from changing the world.

The towers were not far from where I live. I also remember the eerie silence that I sensed as Sandy was on its way to Manhattan. So there is no guarantee that a time of apparent peace will remain so.

But we need something

Just now, I think we all need to remember that we go on as the world. It belongs always to those who are coming.

Those who run it are stewards. We need to see that. We need to reconsider our binary conflicts and suggest that if there are no better options we need to create them. How we have always done things has not always worked out for many.

Liberal anger

The guy who created yesterday's nightmare out of liberal umbrage chose the same approach as the Charleston shooter who chose the same approach as Al Qaeda. Violence is always controllable by the person who does the deed. The Alexandria shooter was lucid and normal the day before. For him and Steve Scalise and others, the pause came too late.
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