Whatever Will Be, Will Be

While I do admit to being a worrier, I don't worry about world events. I worry about minor things, like will Ben end up with a girl who will convince him to never visit home again. That sort of thing. 

Han has been brooding over the news, while I haven't at all. I'm too acquainted with history to get hysterical over who will become president because of this. History marches on, and it will be what it will be. It's fine. 

Mark Lilla delightfully calls out the modern "prophets" in "No One Knows What's Going to Happen." He even references Iyov: 

The history of humanity is the history of impatience. Not only do we want knowledge of the future, we want it when we want it. The Book of Job condemns as prideful this desire for immediate attention. Speaking out of the whirlwind, God makes it clear that he is not a vending machine. He shows his face and reveals his plans when the time is ripe, not when the mood strikes us. We must learn to wait upon the Lord, the Bible tells us. Good luck with that, Job no doubt grumbled.

While a potential pandemic may have been predicted by some, none was able to claim when exactly it would happen. 

Cable news brought with it an army of talking heads that usually prophecy doom and gloom (I don't think any of them ever have anything cheerful on the horizon). 

I think the biggest ha-ha moment was when Trump was elected. No one saw that coming. Like, not even Republicans.  

If we knew what the future would bring, what would be the point? Sure, it would have been nice to get a telegram before my first date at 19 and be informed, "Don't bother. You'll be over 30 when you get married, so you might as well spare yourself." The agony and angst and whatnot had its purpose, or so I believe. 

History has its own way of unfolding. The people who predate historic events, chances are, did not see them coming (I really feel bad for the Pompeii population, though. Predicting horrific natural disasters should be a priority). 

But as for who will be president, who cares? He'll be in office four years, which, trust me, is not long enough to blow this country sky-high. Check your history. Someone else will come along and clean up his mess.