Isn't it a Pity

You'd never know we're all on the same flight.

Many years ago, I gathered seaglass from beaches around the Bay Area and got pretty good at recognizing the best tides for finding it.

One section of Ocean Beach just south of San Francisco yielded a steady harvest of the blue, green, brown and white specimens, and there was another nice spot on one edge of Angel Island.

What I liked about seaglass was how it had been smoothed and polished by the waves, sand, sun and transformed into something resembling jewels from what had once been considered trash.

You might say that that is the way of all garbage, indeed of all life. After all, from a biological perspective, the sum total of all of our ancestors and all other organic life forms is a few inches of compacted topsoil clinging to the surface of a planet hurtling its way through space.

Wherever we are headed, we’re all going there on the same flight.

As much as we try to see ourselves as distinct individuals, we also are part of a much larger unit. And our own sharp edges and rough places will get smoothed over by time just like pieces of glass, whether we like that or not.

We could still add up to something nice, something pretty.

But for now, bad political winds have shattered us into jagged shards of glass, all too good at cutting each other rather than coming together. We’ve broken into tribes of one; even families have shattered. We are like a thousand rough pieces more than any kind of perceivable whole.

Acts of random cruelty outnumber the ever-present acts of kindness. Extremes dominate. Hate is on the loose. Killers on the road. Isolation rules. Collectivity is disparaged. There is no common square to be found, only acres and acres of silence.

As a result, there can be no “us” at this moment in America.

Isn’t that a pity?

HEADLINES:

• Why finding the suspected CEO killer is harder than you might think (CNN)

• Killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO spotlights complex challenge companies face in protecting top brass (AP)

• Appeals court upholds nationwide TikTok ban (WP)

• TikTok’s loss is Meta’s win (Yahoo)

• TikTok’s future uncertain after appeals court rejects its bid to overturn possible US ban (AP)

• Naval Academy can consider race in admissions, federal judge rules (WP)

• China Steps Up Trade War With US (Bloomberg)

• Elon Musk spent $277M backing Trump and other Republicans, filings show (WP)

• How South Korea’s army was rattled by president’s martial law order (Financial Times)

• Opposition Grows to South Korea’s President as He Faces Impeachment (NYT)

• South Korea's ruling party leader said President Yoon Suk Yeol needs to be removed from power for trying to impose martial law. Yoon was already grappling with controversies before this week's crisis crushed his approval ratings to a record low 13%. (Reuters)

• Syrian rebels challenge Assad regime on two fronts as new uprising emerges in south (CNN)

• Inside the Sprawling Military Zone Israel Uses to Control Gaza From Within (WSJ)

• Breakingviews: Months of chaos will cripple France for years (Reuters)

• Russia’s LGBTQ+ community is living in fear following new laws and court rulings, activists say (AP)

• Jack Sawyer's words come back to haunt him after fourth consecutive loss to Michigan (SI)

• Amazon Makes Big, Bold Push Into AI — Leaves Experts Amazed (Forbes)

• Trump Names David Sacks as White House AI and Crypto Czar (Bloomberg)

• AI infiltrates the rat world: New robot can interact socially with real lab rats (TechXplore)

• OpenAI launches full o1 model with image uploads and analysis, debuts ChatGPT Pro (VentureBeat)

• AI friendships claim to cure loneliness. Some are ending in suicide. (WP)

• Nursing Home Hosts Depressing Walker-Decorating Contest (The Onion)

LYRICS:

“Isn't It a Pity”

George Harrison

Isn't it a pity now isn't it a shame
How we break each other's hearts
And cause each other pain
How we take each other's love
Without thinking anymore
Forgetting to give back
Isn't it a pity

Some things take so long but how do I explain
When not too many people
Can see we're all the same
And because of all their tears
Their eyes can't hope to see
The beauty that surrounds them
Isn't it a pity

Isn't it a pity isn't it a shame
How we break each other's hearts
And cause each other pain
How we take each other's love
Without thinking anymore
Forgetting to give back
Isn't it a pity