My car ride today wasn’t entirely vicarious.  I did leave the garage.  And I did get a car wash at nearby Circle K (thankfully it was operating). But a hurried glance up the Appleton Side Road was bleak. I rely solely on All Season tires (it is doubtful that I shall ever get winter tires). And I don’t trust the drivers coming in the opposite direction. Many of them in my opinion are recklessly bent upon undue speed in the circumstances. There were only narrow tracks to follow to avoid jumping the parallel lines of packed snow. The conditions invited disaster. My final resolve was to heed the peril.

Meanwhile, on this solemn wintry day, I reflected upon a number of things. One, the global political scene.  I began with a podcast from Al Jazeera.  The central theme was Mark Carney (the latest Canadian political exclusivity on the internet); and then, naturally, the United States of America. The suggestion was that America is attempting to claim dominion of the entire hemisphere – which includes Canada and Greenland in addition to Mexico, Latin America, the Panama Canal and South America. From a purely strategic view it has its attraction. The mechanism to accomplish the task would be primarily strong-arm or force of other sort.  Given that America is hopelessly in debt – and that indebtedness invariably ends tragically – the Americans are awakening to the need to monopolize at least the western hemisphere. If so, the frequency of conversation with Russia makes sense – at least for the time being – to ensure a “peaceful separation of powers”.  In the end it all boils down to control for business purposes. Hence the vital interests of those who already hold monopolies of particular elements of society – technology, war machines, pharmaceuticals, banking and insurance. Armed with those key ingredients of power, they control the need and price of capital resources like fuel, gas, lumber, water and plain geography. How exactly a submissive and obsequious EU responds is questionable because the rule of law is already threatened to be displaced by the rule of power both abroad and possibly closer to home (including England). As far north as Norway the populace is reacting to demographic threats. The niceties of freedom and equality have little appeal to the more rudimentary claims to superiority.

From this speculative domain I drifted to the more immediate granular focus upon travel. It is only a matter of time – and not a long time – before Canadians overcome their knee jerk discomfort upon hearing that the Americans wish to overtake Canada. Soon – that is, upon the evaporation of our putative worldly character and psychological liberties – the possibility of being able to travel southward to escape the cold will assume astronomic appeal. Once again it is the evidence of the masses that will predict the outcome.  Trump’s MAGA appeal is far more pervasive than toothless and uneducated southerns with a drawl. There is a reason Republicans stand behind him: clarity, familiarity and recovery. Text book analysis of this uncompromising stream throughout the “greatest nation in the world” is not likely to reveal anything other than its conclusion; that is, reason is overtaken by objective.

As the U.S. prepares to celebrate Independence Day, Americans remain overwhelmingly positive about their nation’s relative standing in the world, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

Practically speaking – that is, as an old white man with resources – the characterization of America in this manner poses little if any consequence other than acquiescence. I am not about to march for anything (getting to the bathroom from my desk is enough of a challenge). Most of my friends are either dead, decrepit or solitary. I have been removed from the map of democracy; instead I prefer the tranquility of my desk looking upriver. Irrelevant doesn’t begin to capture my identity.

From here it was but a minor leap to the authorization of my amateur hobbies. I have overcome the presumption of thinking that I pine for meaningful social interaction. Certainly occasional outings are welcome; but predominantly I savour most agreeably the thrust and alignment of my motor vehicle.  Yesterday – exactly 6 months following the purchase of my car – SiriusXM quit.  It was the end of the introductory subscription. I have survived the deprivation by learning that my car, although not compatible with Apple Car, nonetheless allows bluetooth connection to my iPhone (and I have already discovered that Siri responds to my telephone instructions). The bluetooth capability enables connection to my catalogue of Apple Music so I can listen for example to my Favourite Songs which presently include 76 songs, 4 hours and 51 minutes – more than adequate to complete a drive in the country.  And I can change the Playlists constantly. This constitutes the modern expression of vicarious: indirect, second-hand, secondary, derivative, derived, at one remove, surrogate, substitute, substituted, by proxy.