Is the World Still Spinning? | January 2025
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So much has happened in the United States since January 20th. I'm definitely having a hard time compartmentalizing my life... in other words, trying to continue my focus on travel and content creation when larger concerns weigh heavy. It feels like I'll have to ignore persistent realities and turn a blind eye to flashing warning signs in order to continue to live a peaceful, adventurous life.
I hesitate to even dip my toes into political discourse, but it doesn't feel okay to just go about my life, avoiding or ignoring what seems super important to everyone, regardless of party lines. Wouldn't this be a fair question to ask both my democrat and republican friends: "From a historical context, has there ever been a time when we, as a country, were okay with one leader (and his advisors) grabbing this much power?"
Presidential Power
I believe our founding fathers set up this country to have a strong, carefully arranged system of checks and balances, from the judicial branch (non-partisan) to the legislative branch (holding the executive branch accountable). Some might argue that in this case, no action can be taken because every effort will be blocked, but I am quite worried to see what the next four years will bring with very little, if any, restraints on presidential power.
When a great deal of legacy leadership is removed from a wide swath of important government entities, what chaos and atrocities will ensue? Can freshly appointed loyalists rapidly learn what took years for their predecessors to learn in order to keep important foreign affairs, military, financial programs, etc. in place? I'm not going to wade into the programs that are being completely shut down, because some think they were unnecessary or even abhorrent, but the mass removal of programs that our own citizens and other countries around the world depend on will have an effect.
Coming from Canada, I really don't love the idea of a two party system, in which it seems we swing violently back and forth between extremes every four to eight years, the next president undoing many of the initiatives of the one before. The inefficiency of this, coupled with the potential dividing of a country's citizens into two camps, just seems ineffective and troubling.
Naive vs. Informed
I believe the bottom line to all my concerns is the idea that we are not all similarly informed. Some citizens are making important voting decisions without researching for themselves, but simply listening to others. Some barely listen at all, but follow an impassioned crowd. Some try to do their own research, but realize that many news sources are incredibly biased, giving just one side of the story and slanting their headlines in a way that leaves out any nuance. Finding truth and then making careful judgments apart from bias seems to be something many of us are struggling with.
AND SO.
Do I just hold my breath and continue on, life as usual?
Do I pause and wait to see if the aviation industry is in fact, okay?
Do I stand up against (how?) what might be an inappropriate amount of power in the executive branch?
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Here's what I would have typed previous to January 20th, especially with assurances that our government will be okay:
We decided that this would be the winter of SKIING with the Indy Pass!! The exciting part of having travel benefits is the opportunity to fly to international destinations where we have free lift tickets, so we chose to visit SkiWelt and Axamer Lizum in Austria and Kiroro Snow World near Otaru, in Hokkaido, Japan!! We had a couple incredible, sunny days in Austria and experienced some of the fluffiest powder in the world in Japan! There were challenges, of course, (checked luggage, food, weather), but over-all, these trips were memorable and fun!
We're keeping with the SKI theme for the rest of our trips in February and maybe into March -- skiing at Big White in Kelowna, BC and Apex Mountain near Penticton, BC and hopefully Loveland Resort in Colorado! After that, with enough bravery, some of us might go to northern Finland (Lapland region) for some more winter beauty and sliding on snow.
I surprised myself with a VERY QUICK trip up to Ottawa to skate on the Rideau Canal, something I've wanted to do for years now. It was cold enough, I had two days off work, so I went!! I LOVED the canal skating experience -- ten miles from one end to the other and back!
Currently:
Eating | Tim's masterful sourdough bread
Enjoying | That feeling when you know you did a good job at work and supported your team
Watching | I recently finished the Anne with an E series on Netflix and LOVED IT
Thankful for | Sunny warmer days
Planning | A week in Finland
Anticipating | SUMMER, lol
Should I really make a travel wish list for 2025?? I will probably need to stay close to home for spring quarter (Peter reasons)... I do have some places I would really love to go though...
Bike the Ohio to Erie Trail