Outside The Box

We have strange ways of marking time, and I’ve long believed that we might do better. For example, we begin the year in the middle of winter. January 1st is not linked to any terrestrial or sidereal event such as a solstice or alignment of the stars. It’s an arbitrary assignment linked to Julius Caesar in 45 BC and Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. To add to the confusion, our calendar is so inaccurate that we have to make an adjustment every 4 years in February.

Nevertheless, the calendar works because we universally agree that it works, and we have faith that in x number of days it will be January 1st again. It’s almost like a fiat currency.

So it is that every year about this time, as we approach Christmas knowing that Christ was probably born in March and New Year’s Day knowing that every other living thing at our latitude thinks the year begins in the Spring, we become reflective. We look back on the events of the year and try to put them into perspective. How were they significant and what do they imply about the future? What should I resolve to do differently next year?

Therefore I was thinking, as one does this time of year, of ways to convey the essence of the year we just experienced. It’s almost inevitable that we do this because our brains are difference engines designed to distill and average, categorize and pigeonhole and peg. Since this was an election year, my reflectiveness stretched back a few additional years and my thoughts were beginning to circle around a set of related words: Drama, hyperbole, histrionics, theatrics, grandstanding, sensationalism, outrage, tantrum. In a moment of inspiration, I asked my favorite Artificial Intelligence model to create an image that illustrates how western civilization has become addicted to drama, and how we magnify so many events far out of proportion.

The AI produced a scene depicting a crowd of people circled around a single broken wine glass. The people in the crowd were portrayed as shocked, grieving, and angry. There were network cameras and reporters. All that was missing was the people taking selfies with the tragic scene in the background. Apparently, AI has advanced to the point of “understanding” some important things about our society.

It was easy to add the headlines that might accompany such a tragic event: X says “Occult Symbols Found in Ritualistic Wine Glass Slaying.” MSNBC reports “Trump Threatens to Imprison Winemakers.” CNN, “The Implications of Trump’s Wine Tariffs.” The Daily Mail, “Tragic Wine Incident Reveals Biden Family Financial Ties to Winemaker.” NPR, “The Wine Gap – How marginalized communities are denied access to better wines.” New York Post says “Wine Crime Sharply Up in Dem-Run City.” The Daily Mail again, “A-List Celebrity Sparks Outrage with Comments on Wine Tragedy.” The Epoch Times, “Iranian Drones Target Wine Glass in Major City.” And good old Fox News: “AOC Slams Top Republican’s Reaction to View Host Comments on Wine Spillage.”

Reporting now from Outside the Box, at the end of the day, it is what it is. That’s not a win-win situation going forward. But if you circle back to the new normal, and pick the low-hanging fruit outside the box, it can really be a game changer. Otherwise, you’ll be on the wrong side of history, which is not unprecedented.

In other news, your package is out for delivery.

Thus, we have a concise list of the most overused and meaningless phrases of 2024, and a bit of hyperbole to spice it up. I can’t wait to see how many “likes” this collection will get on Facebook.