[It's December Days time! There's no overarching theme this year, so if you have ideas of things to write about, I'm more than happy to hear them.]
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cxcvi wanted a rebuttal to the idea that 2016, as a year, should be elided or struck from the record as a year to be talked about because of all the horrible things that happened.
There's an obvious place to start - if 2016 turns out to be the start of a dark time, then we owe it to our descendants to preserve the year and its activities so that they can find the through lines, the connections, and the parts that came together and created the situation. It's the basic argument that those who fail to learn their history are required to repeat it.
Except in this case, I think it works more like an immunization - experience allows you to prevent a situation like that, or something similar enough to raise the alarm, from reoccurring, and you can pass along enough markers to your descendants that they can also recognize it and prevent it from happening. If, however, there's a strain that looks different enough that you can recognize it, but it's not the one that you're immunized against, you'll still fall prey to it. Eventually, you'll figure out what the common threads are and inoculate everyone against them, only to be struck by the next thing.
So, if you think this year sucked, figure out why, find the underlying aspects of that why, and propagate them into memory, along with possible solutions, if you have them.
But also, there's the second argument, one that's not focused on the long term ramifications, but very specifically on the people who are there, and it has to do with how people get through these kinds of times. Although I haven't yet read any of the works, I've been exposed to the fact that many of my circle are fans of Miles Vorkosigan and the setting in which he appears. From the same author, and with similar interest, is a setting of five gods, four that are acknowledged openly everywhere, and one that isn't. And a particular snippet grabbed me as one of interest.
This year cannot be erased from memory or time because it contains so many good things in it along with the rotten ones. The politics all year was ugly, but it has also exposed a thing that was trying to hide itself and gain power in shadows. Perhaps the exposure and the sunshine will kill it before it can grow or do damage.
I got to meet excellent people this year, through conferences, conventions, and the Internet.
I wrote great stories, one of which may be the capstone of this year's efforts in fiction. They are generally well-received, if kudos counts and comments are to be given the right weight.
There were love memes, haiku fests, December Days, Just One Thing for so, so many days, and the multiple ways that people express the affection, admiration, and respect for each other, even if they've only met each other in text boxes and comment fields and all of the other ways that we connect in places other than faces to faces.
And there were games played, and hangouts made, and problems solved. And even on bad days there were things that were good. You can have your car burglarized and people will be willing to loan you spare tech. (You can curse within earshot of your Executive Director, and they grab a broom and dustpan and some sticky plastic and help you clean up.)
Sometimes, it turns out, cluelessness works in your favor. And other times, knowledge only increases your pain. And there are times where you have to take bold steps to protect what you have or to chase something worth running after.
The nail of the horseshoe.
The pin of the axle.
The feather at the pivot point.
The pebble at the mountain's peak.
The kiss in despair.
The one right word.
In darkness, understanding.
cxcvi wanted a rebuttal to the idea that 2016, as a year, should be elided or struck from the record as a year to be talked about because of all the horrible things that happened.There's an obvious place to start - if 2016 turns out to be the start of a dark time, then we owe it to our descendants to preserve the year and its activities so that they can find the through lines, the connections, and the parts that came together and created the situation. It's the basic argument that those who fail to learn their history are required to repeat it.
Except in this case, I think it works more like an immunization - experience allows you to prevent a situation like that, or something similar enough to raise the alarm, from reoccurring, and you can pass along enough markers to your descendants that they can also recognize it and prevent it from happening. If, however, there's a strain that looks different enough that you can recognize it, but it's not the one that you're immunized against, you'll still fall prey to it. Eventually, you'll figure out what the common threads are and inoculate everyone against them, only to be struck by the next thing.
So, if you think this year sucked, figure out why, find the underlying aspects of that why, and propagate them into memory, along with possible solutions, if you have them.
But also, there's the second argument, one that's not focused on the long term ramifications, but very specifically on the people who are there, and it has to do with how people get through these kinds of times. Although I haven't yet read any of the works, I've been exposed to the fact that many of my circle are fans of Miles Vorkosigan and the setting in which he appears. From the same author, and with similar interest, is a setting of five gods, four that are acknowledged openly everywhere, and one that isn't. And a particular snippet grabbed me as one of interest.
And the Bastard grant us, in our direst need, the smallest gifts: the nail of the horseshoe, the pin of the axle, the feather at the pivot point, the pebble at the mountain's peak, the kiss in despair, the one right word. In darkness, understanding.The small things that make big things, or that join with other things to become big, or provide hope and light in the darkness at the point where it is needed the most.
This year cannot be erased from memory or time because it contains so many good things in it along with the rotten ones. The politics all year was ugly, but it has also exposed a thing that was trying to hide itself and gain power in shadows. Perhaps the exposure and the sunshine will kill it before it can grow or do damage.
I got to meet excellent people this year, through conferences, conventions, and the Internet.
I wrote great stories, one of which may be the capstone of this year's efforts in fiction. They are generally well-received, if kudos counts and comments are to be given the right weight.
There were love memes, haiku fests, December Days, Just One Thing for so, so many days, and the multiple ways that people express the affection, admiration, and respect for each other, even if they've only met each other in text boxes and comment fields and all of the other ways that we connect in places other than faces to faces.
And there were games played, and hangouts made, and problems solved. And even on bad days there were things that were good. You can have your car burglarized and people will be willing to loan you spare tech. (You can curse within earshot of your Executive Director, and they grab a broom and dustpan and some sticky plastic and help you clean up.)
Sometimes, it turns out, cluelessness works in your favor. And other times, knowledge only increases your pain. And there are times where you have to take bold steps to protect what you have or to chase something worth running after.
The nail of the horseshoe.
The pin of the axle.
The feather at the pivot point.
The pebble at the mountain's peak.
The kiss in despair.
The one right word.
In darkness, understanding.
