Revolution.

It's attributed to George Orwell, but there's no evidence that he ever wrote it or said it. Regardless, it's full of relevance today. And import, too. Perhaps more than ever.

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."

As we sink ever-further into the alternate reality of amerikan politics, I wonder more and more why so many of us continue to give oxygen to bad actors like trump and his nazi-wannabe co-conspirator musk.

Why do we have to re-post the asinine and malign things they say and do. What's gained by posting, once again, the nazi salute? Why do we send their reach soaring when we should be ignoring?

Deal with the affront by pushing it back.

I didn't love the book Humankind by Rutger Bregman. It was too simplistic and too optimistic for me. But I liked this passage very much. And haven't been able to shake it since I read it six months ago.

We are consuming news 24/7 and eating ourselves to death. 

Which brings me back to the very top of this post.

And some Variations on a Theme.

In a time of universal blowhard-ness, ignoring the noise is a revolutionary act.

In a time of universal technological and intellectual filth, ignoring social platforms is a revolutionary act.

In a time where fact-checking has been abolished, checking facts is a revolutionary act.

In a time where mean-ness has been normalized, kindness is a revolutionary act.

In a time where the (slim) majority bullies, standing your ground is a revolutionary act.

In a time where machines are trumpeted as superior to humans, being human is a revolutionary act.

Don't give air to these people.

Don't pass along their lies.

Their cruelty. Their demonic ideology.

Be human.

A revolutionary act.

More from "Humankind: A Hopeful History".

In children, the correlation between seeing violent images and aggression in adulthood is stronger than the correlation between asbestos and cancer, or between calcium intake and bone mass. 

Cynical stories have an even more marked effect on the way we look at the world. In Britain, another study demonstrated that girls who watch more reality TV also more often say that being mean and telling lies are necessary to get ahead in life. As media scientist George Gerbner summed up: ‘[He] who tells the stories of a culture really governs human behaviour.’

Choke them off.