As I have noted before, the world does seem to be in a parlous state. Yes, it has always been in a pretty bad way and communication is now instant and omnipresent. So we get to hear a lot more, much faster. The 24 hour news cycle seizes upon and then spits out any piece of bad news. Perceptions are different. People can consult their smart phone to get a hold of any tidbit they desire.

My mother's generation relied upon the wireless radio and newspapers, not to mention that curious thing called the telegram. My first teaching appointment came by telegram and that was the 1980's. I suspect now I would simply check my inbox. The waiting game is over but something is lost in the process. Patience? the act of waiting itself? I don't know.

In all this blink-of-the-eye fastness we are left with a hydra of stories and story fragments. The underlying narrative of each is essentially lost. Of course, if you have the time and the interest you can pick up those threads and unravel them, though as for that, when I have actually chased a story down, it is more the case that the unravelling reveals a lazy sameness of story fragment. Many news services run with an almost identical news bite.

One way I have of remaining sane is to read history. The reassurance that 'things have always been thus' cannot be underrated. We have been to hell in a hand-basket so many times now. Somebody has lost count, if anyone has been counting.