I should know better by now than to set definite intentions for writing output on this thing. When you live in the giant industrial shredder that is the United States, a loose shirt sleeve could very well get you caught in the thing, and then in you go, torn in a multitude of directions.
The only issue with this particular metaphor is that it implies conscious and competent design: a precisely constructed machine that executes its intended task with purpose. As this is only partially true in the case of the US, I'll use another metaphor of a different color, mixing it in like a paint, and maybe we'll get closer to the right hue.
I think also of an increasingly turbulent environment, say like an overcharged river or a chopped up ocean or great lake. It pays to have organized and concentrated energy to have on hand, such as a kayak and paddle and the knowledge and muscle power to use them, or even a small engine on a boat, and one can at least attempt to navigate between the chop and the whirlpools, charting a course through the turbulence.
But when you lack that energy - in my case money is pretty tight - then you're more liable to get sucked into the prevailing currents, and the best you can do is to attempt to go with the flow and see where it all goes. And besides, being a semi-nomadic worker and somewhat free agent, I'm freed up for all sorts of loose requests floating around, unfulfilled in this burning trash heap of a country.
What I'm getting at is that I've gone into some construction work (the money sounded good) offered to me: an extensive remodel that has gone way overschedule and blown past its budget, lending an extra hand to help these poor guys wrap things up and finally get out of there. They're at wits end: they're under constant and mounting pressure to finish a job that seems to never end.
The reasons for this are many. Mistakes and changes on the part of the overworked and scatterbrained contractors and the workers yes, but also changing design decisions on the part of the owners, skyrocketing material and fuel costs, miscommunications and misunderstandings with suppliers, leading to inappropriate materials such as unsuitable water-based paints peeling right off of the steel posts and rails.
The project was delayed for two months because a scattered architect couldn't send through the proper building plans. Crucial inspections that could cause operations to screech to a halt have been delayed by days or even weeks.
I've seen this sort of thing elsewhere too and have attempted to describe it previously: you're getting an enormous wide-ranging and systematic degradation of the country's civic and economic institutions, and this damage begins to accumulate and reveal itself gradually in the operation of the daily life that keeps the country running.
Construction for example is an interesting intersection of the material, legal, political, economic, and domestic spheres. Dysfunction in any one of the spheres can put a project on hold: costs can mount up in supply chain squeezes or gouging for example, and then these cost overruns cause disputes that can get held up in dysfunctional legal systems and so on, so the entire operation can jerk its way down through stops and starts until it finally arrives shakily at its conclusion, presenting the illusion that something has been done while simultaneously sustaining damage that accumulates in people over time.
For that matter, it can get more personal. I've observed a number of anecdotal affairs in which increasingly desperate people are caught up in inheritance disputes in which legal processes get held up with various dysfunctional mechanisms and professionals, and the the increasingly desperate people get more desperate and perceive the dysfunction as back-stabbing and malice - which may be present as well - which destroys those relationships for good.
People get a little weaker. They get a little angrier. Their wallets and bank accounts get a little emptier and less cash is flowing in to contribute to domestic reproduction and the restoration of daily autonomy and dignity. And so they get a little more resentful. And then the New York Times sails by overhead, aloof, with headlines - just saw one this morning - that drawl on: the economy is showing signs of robustness. Well, I suppose the point has been made.
All of that aside, I'm getting tossed around again and seeing plenty of interesting things. Grist for the mill as they say. Lots of partially-written pieces backing up, and hopefully more will be forthcoming soon.
