Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of June 25, 2023
I recently ordered sushi in English off a Hebrew menu while sucking back a German Pilsner. Tell me again why we can’t figure out world peace?
![I Believe… [Can I Just Eat My Omelette?]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/579fa3912994ca0eff850271/1539874376916-H3RK97KUNVD8YO76CHH9/ibelieve....jpg)
I Believe… [Can I Just Eat My Omelette?]
…that once you’ve hit a point of notoriety in town when people who know who you are but have never met you already have a negative opinion of you see you in a local restaurant and feel strongly enough about it to make a scene, perhaps its time to run for office.
![I Believe… [Go to the Gym Anyway…]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/579fa3912994ca0eff850271/1537880974914-54ZH7AK5W3AXJPOQ95NI/ibelieve....jpg)
I Believe… [Go to the Gym Anyway…]
…that the days you really don’t want to go to the gym — making excuses, promising yourself that you’ll fast that day if only you can skip — but do are the days that matter most.
The Transactional Life (and How to Get Around It)
If one does X, then one receives Y.
Couldn't be simpler. If one mows the neighbor's lawn, the neighbor will reward you with some money. If you clean your room, you receive an extra Twinkie. Punch the bigger kid, get clobbered. Do the crime, do the time. Quid Pro Quo. If X, then Y. Call it The Transactional Life.
The difficulty in growing older or up or however you choose to look at the passage of time is that you start to see that this contract with the world, this Transactional Life, is not fair. Most of the time, the value you place on X is not in equal proportion to the perceived value of Y.
Anxiety is the thing that’s ripped our country apart. It has divided us, caused us to fear and hate those who think and live differently than us, and even caused us to hate those who only slightly disagree with us. It has led to panic and overreaction. And I worry that American Anxiety is only going to exacerbate the social and political divide in this country to the point that there is no coming back.