Twenty-five years after the 9/11 terrorist attack on the US, most of the world reminisces about what that attack meant and how humanity reacted to it. A lot of mistakes have been made since then—like waging war on Iraq, for instance—but a lot of compassion and unity were also ignited as a byproduct of that tragedy. I vividly remember watching the towers fall on television, and I prayed that such a horrific event would somehow inspire mankind to greatness, once the toxic dust had settled. A utopian, Ted Lasso-esque homily, to be sure, but that’s where my head and my heart went. As a point of reference—and inspiration—watch one of Ted’s latest episodes on the evils of cliques and how crisis can unite warring factions where little else can.
Instead of unity, it seems that the US is suffering a backslide of major proportions. Division, hatred, cruelty, and retribution have stepped out of the shadows and into the spotlight, all normalized to an unimaginable extent.
Which brings me to my Parody of the Ballroom, a small but powerful jab at the new world order taking hold, not only in the US, but in countries around the globe. Case in point: the rise of the AfD in Germany? Seriously? And even in remote jungle areas of a second-world country like Costa Rica, a wave of colonizers has indoctrinated the best—and the worst—of their supposedly superior cultural heritage.
So, the Ballroom is a manic obsession of the recently elected “leader” of the free world. His fixation on building a gargantuan, garish monument to himself at the White House required him to engage in dialogue and debate to secure approvals from the legislative and judicial branches of government before moving forward. A slow but necessary process in a democracy. Screw that, he told his inner circle. Following the first rule of Roy Cohen’s three rules for winning, he ATTACKED. Promising that his private donors would pay for every cent required to build his ballroom, he directed his non-bid contractors to bulldoze the entire East Wing of the White House in the dead of night. Oh, and those generous donors? Turns out somehow taxpayers now have to cough up an estimated $1 billion to complete the construction. So far.
And now for the parody. Tucked away in the remote jungles of Costa Rica, a growing population of expats are proselytizing a similar brand of moral depravity in the local communities. K and I hear these stories a lot these days. Some are major, involving conflict with fellow expats as well as with the locals, and others are small but just as significant. Here’s an example of a pequeño (little) incident where a small expat community had to come to consensus on road repairs. No biggie, right? The group’s existing rules of engagement had always been to hear everyone’s POV and hash things out before breaking ground. This mattered because most lacked practical experience to make an informed decision. Much like the scenario of the Ballroom above, a few of the impatient, overbearing residents refused to discuss the important (to some) details of the project, like scope of work, grade of materials and references of vendors. They bypassed the whole process by announcing that a generous donor had stepped up to pay for their plan, as a gift to the community. That was all it took. The next day, the earth movers arrived, and construction started. Within hours, that generous “donor” sent out his Venmo number for all members to pay him back for the money he’d fronted. On a “voluntary” basis. No pressure, though, right?
What a world we live in. If we don’t take an active role in turning the tide of greed, corruption, and rampant hubris, the doomsday prophecies that used to be sci-fi fantasies may very well become reality. And sooner than we ever imagined. We’re killing the planet with impunity to benefit a few billionaires, and we’ve created a superintelligence that may just decide to kill all of humanity, presumably for the survival of the planet? Who knows?
It seems timely to consider the Hopi prophecy that says the Third Shaking, marked by an increase in extreme weather events of all kinds, would come at a time of global division, conflict and disharmony. Are we there yet?
As we mourn the loss of the East Wing, K and I have agreed that all we can do is disengage from the dissonance and be kind, do good wherever possible, and support those of like mind. Just like Ted. Pura Vida.
Judy Richter 