I haven’t written as much as I’ve wanted to over the past two months for several reasons. I don’t want to go all Zoe Quinn on you guys, since at the end of the day everyone on planet earth struggles with this thing we call life, but I’ve been down since I’ve been back from London. It’s hard being away from the person you love more than anything every single day. This long distance shit isn’t easy for that reason, although I’ve been blessed enough to make it across the pond twice now. It’s important for me to keep that, along with the rest of my good fortune, in perspective.

The other reason it’s been tough to find full motivation is because the country is going to absolute shit. I’m as snarky as the next guy, perhaps even more so, but things have really taken a turn for the worse as of late. I should point out that things seem even darker nowadays due to the prevalence of social media and the general interconnectedness of modern-day society. Even so, I think it’s hard to deny that we’re at a perilous time in our nation’s history. I’m starting to sense that people feel like civil society is breaking down.

There’s a very good reason they feel that way. Police are being gunned down at an alarming rate and the hate associated with political dialogue is at the highest point it’s ever been during my lifetime. Speaking of politics, the election year is one of the things that’s kept me going. Since I’m a degenerate political junkie, an election year is like a nonstop festival of fun for me. Most regular people see this somewhat farcical display and are revolted, though. I think it’s probably having a negative impact on things in general but at least it’s giving me some juice.

Things are definitely not good right now. Answers are tough to come by, so it’s easy to retreat back into our corners or say fuck this and stick to video games (as I did yesterday). But that’s not what we need right now. I talk shit online and on this very site all the time and will continue to do so, but we have some very fundamental problems as a nation that shit-talking won’t solve. Nothing will get done this year, since as I just alluded to, it’s election season. However, I’m hoping that whoever takes over the Oval Office get us back to some sort of reasonable place.

Obama has proven that he’s incapable of bringing balance back to the nation. In fact, he’s made things a lot worse, whether you blame him for that explicitly or not. I’ve endorsed Donald Trump on this site and I want him to win, but even if Crooked Hillary Clinton ends up as our president next year, I truly hope we can solve some of the issues that have festered for years and get back to looking forward rather than backward. I know faith is at a low point for some, me included. It is easy to be cynical about all this and think that no matter what happens we are on the road to Rome-status.

All I will say to that is: Do not give up the ghost quite yet. America has shown that we can make it through almost anything and end up even stronger before all is said and done. I really do believe that we still have that capability.