IN LOCO ESSE  

19 September 2020 | What to Do After


Today is the first day of 5781, according to the Jewish calendar. You take the bitter with the sweet, as the tradition goes, and it is bitter indeed with the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Selfish people like myself are more worried about the future of the Supreme Court than immediately with the loss to her family. I’m not that much of a monster, but I also know what likely went through the minds of tens of millions of Americans: why now? Fate does not operate on human schedules, but the timing is terrible. It is likely that the most corrupt and criminal ”president” in American history will get to seat a third Supreme Court justice. In any universe with a semblance of fairness, it would seem that there really is no justice here, but gifts are bestowed on petty, vicious and immoral people who never suffer any consequences for their depravity.

But perhaps Fate plays a long game, as it were. It might be no use to try to divine singular acts against a larger pattern in the tapestry. Cliché sentiments aside, what panicky liberals and Democratic supporters should remember is what to do after. That’s all that really matters in these terrible times.

Assume the worst and plan accordingly.