Ric spent some of his formative years in South Texas. He also spent a little time in Uvalde, Texas. The scene of a horrific school mass shooting. In this special episode, Ric tries to make sense of the situation. He also tries to understand what it was that happened. Join him for a bit of therapy if you need to find the things he's looking for, too. This is the episode that aired on Radio Memphis on 25 May, 2022.
NEXT WEEK: 6% of You Are Stupid
If you have ever spent any time with someone from a previous generation, they might tell you that "the whole world has gone to hell." For some younger people, that is rather off putting. Ric gets it. Here is a little secret. EVERY generation says the same thing to the younger generation. Surprise! Nothing has changed.
NEXT WEEK: Uvalde, Texas
Perhaps an interesting test of the power of an unfiltered internet comes in the everyday coverage of a war. That is precisely what is happening now. Among the cat videos, self-affirmation memes, and random political falsehoods one can find fascinating threads of the war in Ukraine being posted by those actually participating in the thing.
The important thing for anyone to remember is the fact that most large events portrayed among the feeds of any social media may either be too much information or merely a reflection of the facts at hand. Ric's advice to anyone cruising this form of coverage should beware, it's like trying to drink out of a fire hydrant.
NEXT WEEK: The World is Always Going to Hell.
In a sort of continued thought from last week, Ric talks about the notion that forward progress can be a good thing. However, for that to work, people should lose the things we no longer need. Nostalgia is fun to think about, but sometimes things last only for so long.
Drawing from the example Netflix is setting up, some decisions are easier to make than others. If there is one takeaway from all of this, don't let others tell you what you like.
NEXT WEEK: War, Social Media Style
Part of an advancement of society means some sort of progress, ideally. Never ending references to the way things used to be have become tiring to many people. Now, we must look to the way things are going to be. In that the world is approaching a post-pandemic situation, the old thing of "the new norm" is now.
Most of the world has changed. Some changes are not so great while others are pretty good. Here, Ric takes a look at how the inherent resistance to change tends to slow things down. We aren't going back, and that is not a bad thing.
NEXT WEEK: Not all things are worth keeping.
