A descent into the maelstrom    

There is a short story written in 1841 by Edgar Allen Poe called “A Descent into the Maelstrom.” It tells the tale of a mariner at sea caught in a giant whirlpool.

IMHO we ourselves are currently spiraling downward in a similar predicament. Hard to say when this malevolent spin of events began.

Was it with Reagan, the first “know nothing” celebrity president, who peddled anti-government rhetoric? Things really revved up in 2016 with the election of the comb-over low-life reality show host. His America-first white nationalist bent, allowed all the fringe racists to come out from under their rocks and flow into the mainstream. His what me worry attitude allowed the Covid pandemic to spread and maximize the death toll.

The downward spiral was reprieved when Joe Biden took the Oval Office in 2020.

But the forces of scumbaggery were not done, they festered in the internet chat rooms and certain cable stations. The guy from Queens took on allies with names like Musk, Zuckerberg, Bezos and returned zombie-like to become the exalted mystic ruler in 2024. And so the Maelstrom’s spin increases.

The mariner of the Poe story finding his wooden ship going to splinters around him (as we find ours at the moment) comes up with a desperate plan. He lashes himself to a wooden barrel, and with the ship gone, rides down alone to the bottom.

There, along with the barrel, he’s thrown back up to the surface and rescued by a passing fishing boat.

So for us going forward, the main thing, maybe the only thing to do I think is to hold on, ride it out, find a barrel of some kind, and hang on. And remember friends….

The Midterms Cometh!!

Author

  • Blake Sandberg is an artist, musician, filmmaker, skateboarder, company owner/. Sandberg is known for his painting and drawing; as well as his post-punk band Aliens. Sandberg also founded and runs a skateboard and printed goods company called Severed Leg Productions. While a long time east-coaster, his roots are in Austin, Texas.

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