FLASH POST: Political Party Implicitly Accepted as Religion in the United States?

CONTENTS

1. FLASH POST: Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Out Identity
2. Personal Status as It Relates to The Lextopia


Anybody read Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity by Lilliana Mason yet? I haven't, but it sounds interesting.

Interesting interview of Lilliana Mason at In A Minute with Sam Sanders podcast about how our political party affiliation has reached the level of religion. Per the interview, Mason makes the hypothesis that since the passing of Equal Rights legislation in the '60s, affiliation with a political party has become a strong aspect of our identities; so strong, in fact, that party affiliation has become analagous to religious affiliation. I wonder if this implicit understanding/acceptance of party affiliation as religion contributes to "gerrymandering protection" in which initiatives against maladaptive gerrymandering has creating "competitive districts" as one of its goals.

I've put this book on my to read list, but I'd be interested in hearing other peoples' thoughts on this phenomenon. Does such a phenomenon feel true? Does party affiliation analogous to religious affiliation contribute to the tension in America today? Does this phenomenon contribute to our media consumption bubbles? Any other thoughts that this possible phenomenon brings up for you?

Back to Top

PERSONAL STATUS AS IT RELATES TO THE LEXTOPIA

I haven't written in about a month and a couple weeks ago. At about that time, I had started physical therapy. I had fractured my heel in a bike accident in which after a complicated sequence of events, a delivery van-truck had rear ended me. I got flown over the handle bars, landed on my right foot, then stumbled to the ground. I tried walking around a bit. Feeling enough discomfort in my foot, I decided to stay on the ground until I got picked up by my wife and brought to urgent care. Other than my heel getting fractured, I had maybe a scratch or two.

I've been lucky with this injury. Most people who get this injury are contractors or people in the construction industry who fall off ladders, roofs, or some high-up location. About two weeks ago, I asked the orthopedist how long I should expect pain even after I'm walking fine. His long explanation cut short: I'm such an outlier on the side of good luck (just cracks and no displacement of bone in my heel), the orthopedist didn't know how much longer I'll feel pain. Most people who get the injury have their heel all cracked up and scattered around their foot, requiring surgery, screws, and largely never able to work in their industry again, hoping to get onto workers comp disability or something. In the long run, even though this experience hasn't been a fun ride, I've had a comparably minor injury (though humbling since I needed crutches, have had to use my body in ways it wasn't built to be used, and IT'S SO DAMN EXHAUSTING!).

The orthopedist had initially prescribed bed rest but still fine for me to work for the first month and a half. The orthopedist also told me to take off the protective boot when in safe locations and move the foot around to cut down on how much physical therapy I'd have to do later. Other than soreness from using my arms and crutches to move around and sadness at my leg atrophying a bit from disuse, I didn't feel much pain. Exhaustion and soreness from moving around, yes, but not much pain. I could even do some occasional writing, especially on The Lextopia when I got up about some social or political issue.

Once physical therapy had started, though, the pain and extreme soreness started. Getting an atrophied leg and foot working again takes some hard work. My best comparison is like the day after taking a stretching or dance class for the first time, except physical therapy feels like that first class EVERY TIME. So upon initally starting the physical therapy, the pain from it made thinking straight for a length of time difficult. I got caught up a lot on some backlogged television, but I really couldn't concentrate well enough to do much more, and I've got plenty to do!

About a week and half ago, I started walking again without crutches, on my own power. I started the day after an orthopedist appointment. The doctor told me everything looked fine enough that it's up to me and the physical therapist on how much weight to put on the heel, how much not to use the crutches, and when I can finish the physical therapy. I started taking the bus because I could walk that far. I admit with the snow storm this weekend and the ice that could have accumulated on the sidewalks, I may have to reconsider my own capabilities. Balance and pain still cause issues, especially with suprise movements (when I could easily balance myself or trip myself into a balanced position without trouble when fully able).

I make progress every day. I don't walk perfectly and balancing on one foot still remains difficult, but I'm getting there. Hopefully in a couple weeks, I won't have to think too much about how far I can walk before I will get exhausted and frustrated from both weakness and pain. Maybe I'll be back to walking to the grocery store and feeling the compulsion to walk around to expend some extra energy. Nonetheless, without Lyft, Instacart, or the elevators at work and home, I don't know how I would have made it through the last two to three months!

Suffice to say, I believe that my cognitive abilities will return to enough of a baseline that you'll see more at The Lextopia. I'm working an essay about the basic emotion/instinct of disgust and bigotry, which I hope to publish soon. I also have a backlog of personal stuff and paperwork to gather together for the claim on my injury, so hopefully that stuff won't get too much in the way.

In the meantime, I plan to integrate more "Flash Posts" like the beginning of this section into The Lextopia. Flash posts will be things that just grab my attention throughout my days that I think my readership will find interesting. Hopefully you will! Don't feel shy about commenting or even "Buying Me a Coffee"! The more I'm "bought coffee", the more I can hopefully post.

Back to Top

If you like what you see here and in the past and want to free me up for more, support my endeavors by Buying Me a Coffee!