Upon returning home and reflecting on the state of things, several thoughts dominate.

First, this is going to be a pivotal week for America, if not the world. I think this might be the most important week in my lifetime. If Trump is re-elected, chaos and division will reign for another four years. I truly don’t think our democratic system can survive under an unleashed Trump. Trump has made it clear that laws and norms don’t apply to him, and is tearing the democratic system down to his sole advantage. We would become an autocracy, basically a third world country with first-world technology and resources. Hard to believe, but here we are. And it gets decided this week.

Second thought is that I have a lot I still want to experience and accomplish, so it’s time to get healthy. I’ve taken health for granted and have been lucky, but I can’t count on that forever. So I intend to put the some serious willpower into getting healthy.

I had already made this personal resolution about health, and then I heard some bad news from one of my best friends about a surgery gone wrong. He’s had a serious health setback and will need help from his friends and family to recover. I’ll be there for him, but his misfortune is a stark reminder not to take good health for granted. Consider me reminded.

Third thought is that it’s a big country. There is sooooo much open space between CA and KY. Millions of square miles of unpopulated or very lightly populated land. Given that, why do we have such an immigrant-hostile attitude? I’m not saying we should just open up our borders, but a rational immigration policy would select people willing to settle in some of these vast unpopulated areas and make something of the land and of themselves. I would love to see our immigration policy and process revised, top to bottom. Immigrants could once again become the engine of our growth.

Fourth and final thought is that it really is a great country. We take so much for granted, and we’ve accomplished great things in the last 250 years. Our technology, our national infrastructure, our vast national resources – we have all the ingredients we need to accomplish great things as we did in the past. But we’re about to lose that by dividing ourselves politically. We need a common cause, maybe a common enemy, to get reunited as a country.

Maybe it’s time for some hostile aliens (and I don’t mean immigrants) to land. I’d prefer the uniting force be something less militaristic, but…so far a pandemic and ecological collapse haven’t managed to be that uniting force. But an invasion by ugly, merciless, baby-snatching insectoids – that might just do it.