Bridgegate and the plot to overthrow America
Alternate Realities. Bridgegate Revisited. And…a plot to overthrow America.
Context is Everything!
Context: The circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed.
I love learning about history of all kinds because, besides just being interesting on its own, it informs and provides context for so much that we experience in the here and now. To truly understand anything you need to know from whence it came and the pressures and motivations that led to what it is, otherwise, all you have is a snapshot in time that’s most likely not representative of the full story.
Ironically, I have no such affinity for looking back at the past experiences of my own life. The old stroll down memory lane has always seemed a bit tedious to me, save for (of course) those few, very special and defining occasions (my marriage, for example) that help define who I am. That’s why those Facebook memories that pop up daily always prompt a cringe and a quick scroll down to move beyond. Insensitive though it may be, I don’t want to be reminded that one of our dear puppies from the past is no longer with us, or that we’re not, at this moment, looking out over a beautiful vista (Hello Bar Harbor, Maine!) that a vacation from 7 years ago provided. It just makes me feel, well, bad. Jealous of my former self. I know…therapy beckons, but let’s move on.
This week, clearly slow on the scroll, one of those shadows of the past not only caught my attention but prompted a full and painful revisiting of the noted event. The year was 2013 and Neva and I were in the middle of the worst commute of our lives – which is saying something, by the way, cause there have been some doozies! We had left our Manhattan office and headed home around 6:30pm, a trip that would normally last about an hour. On that fateful night, however, it would take in excess of four, count'em, four hours, most of it spent inching our way along one of the most frustrating stretches of road in America…the infamous West Side Highway. And yes, so intense was my frustration and boredom I began documenting it in real-time on Facebook.
Besides the general anxiety of being stuck in a largely motionless vehicle for that period of time there was also hunger, the inability to, um, perform certain normal bodily functions, and, as I recall, really bad music on the radio. The combination led to more than a few irrational thoughts and emotions like growing to hate the sight of the Ford Escape SUV directly in front of us and resenting its occupants for just being there. Imagining our own car equipped with a powerful laser or attached rockets that would, literally, let us clear the path ahead and rid the planet of that annoying Ford Escape with its multiple dings and dents (14 to be exact, but who’s counting?) on the rear bumper. Or, openly (and loudly) cursing the ghost of Robert Moses, designer of this god forsaken stretch of road, for not having the foresight to see the bottleneck and source of unbearable angst it would become just a few short decades later.
In retrospect, the most amazing/frightening thing about the evening was the rapid decline and then complete disappearance of any context in our thinking. At the beginning of the ordeal our conversation focused more on the events of that day and what we might have for dinner. A half-hour later we were antsy and angry, cursing our plight and desperately searching for an alternative reality (similar to alternative facts?). A half-hour after that our world had been reduced to the confines of our car and the lack of freedom, food, and facilities. Nothing else mattered. Life had no greater meaning. We began to doubt our ability to escape the fresh hell that had descended upon us… convinced that life as we had known it was effectively over. No dinner, and oh my god, no facilities. Soon we would be discovered dead and rotting in the front seat of a still idling, motionless car resting just inches behind that damn Ford Escape…underscored by really crappy music on the radio.
History Repeats…
Ironically, just a couple of days after seeing that un-welcomed reminder on Facebook we had a similar emotional experience, although this one had nothing to do with a traffic jam. While petting Gracie Lou, our eight-year old Tibetan Terrier, Neva felt a lump. Now to say we’re hypersensitive about such things would be a gross understatement. Losing two of your furry kids to Lymphoma will do that to you. We were able to schedule a visit to the Vet for three days later but try as we might to not go there…the lump became the center of our universe, creating a gravitational pull that dramatically affected our moods and overall outlook on life. Even quicker than it had sitting in the car that night nine-years ago, our perspective narrowed to a fine point with only our growing fear remaining in focus. We became consumed. Not much else mattered.
I am pleased to report that Gracie is fine. The lump was a benign fatty tumor, an outcome we had quietly - not wanting to jinx it, piss off the gods, tempt fate - suspected and hoped for (In the immortal words of Michael Scott (aka Steve Carell), we’re not superstitious…just a little stitious). The amazing thing is the second our Vet uttered the words - benign fatty tumor - just like the moment we finally escaped the West Side Highway and stepped into our home that night in 2013, the world began to spin again. The limiting blinders fell away. Moods were elevated. Context restored. As per usual, once all was said and done, we marveled at how irrational our reactions to each had been. How easy it was to lift anchor, chuck it all and float away in our own bubble of alternative, irrational reality.
My Point Is This…
Context, for all the value it brings, is quiet, unassuming, and fragile. It lives in the background of our existence and is easily overridden and abandoned in favor of a strong emotion, a rushed deadline, a distraction, or even a lazy impulse. Too often, in the heat of battle, we absolutely forget about it and perform our tasks or go about our day without any consideration to it at all. The problem, is that absent context, the world doesn’t really make sense. What we see, what we experience, is a flawed alternate reality reliant solely on the events and circumstances of the moment for definition. That’s never a good idea 100% of the time. Even worse when we’re operating that way on behalf of others. Imagine your doctor making a critical diagnosis without the benefit of knowing your past medical history or a judge ruling on a case absent consideration of past precedent…a journalist reporting a story based solely on the events of the day. Each is a recipe for disaster. An invitation to catastrophe.
News In a Vacuum…
“Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” Winston Churchill in a 1948 speech to the House of Commons, paraphrasing philosopher George Santayana
I very recently learned over a three-month period back in 1940, multiple linked plots to overthrow the U.S. government were uncovered. Evidence surfaced of heavily armed militias strategically located around the country. A large number of U.S. military and law enforcement officers were involved. It was learned that the Nazi government of Germany had established a massive infrastructure in America supporting those organizing the insurrection and providing coordinated disinformation campaigns that involved at least 24 U.S. Senators and Congressman who had been paid for their participation. There was widespread and very public antisemitism, and even acts of major domestic terrorism. Oh, and for good measure, the most popular radio show in the world, hosted by a Catholic priest by the name of Father Charles Coughlin of Detroit, Michigan, regularly called for the ousting of President Franklin D. Roosevelt “by any means necessary” and the immediate installation of a Fascist dictator along the lines of Hitler or Mussolini. I had no idea…
Hearing about this, courtesy Rachel Maddow’s podcast Ultra, was a reminder of the incredible lack of context offered in the reporting of the events of January 6th - the storming of the Capitol. It seems more than a little meaningful that our country had experienced something like that before and managed to survive, and yet, in my informal focus group testing since listening, I haven’t found a single person aware of the events of 1940.
We need to know about things like this. It’s the only way we won’t fall victim, once again, to the pitfalls and failings of the past. The only way we’ll begin to realize that events of the day are rarely fresh and new but instead shadows of times past whose lessons have gone unreported or ignored.
Who, What, When, Where, Why…and Context
Finding context requires effort and discipline. It requires a more scientific and methodical approach to fact-finding. It requires a conscious effort to seek out broader meaning - as an equal priority to the facts of the day - while remaining tethered to an unbiased reality no matter what your instincts or emotions are telling you. Context is hard. Context is essential. Context is truth.
One More Thing…
Speaking of contex…the lifetime spent on the West Side Highway that night in 2013 was courtesy something called Bridgegate which involved, allegedly, politically motivated shenanigans in the form of lane closures on the George Washington Bridge. It seems then New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and/or his minions, had a bone to pick with the mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey for not supporting his candidacy in that year’s gubernatorial election and thought creating a traffic jam in his city would be, uh, fun? Ugh.
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