From Kristin Schwab and Sofia Terenzio on Marketplace on New Year’s Eve:
Uncertainty, underappreciated, bumpy, resilient-ish, steadfast, moderating, slowly normalizing, hemiprosperous, dynamic, and tragically underrated. I think the last one is the best.
This is the kind of “dry humor” that is one of the things I love about the blog. But it also begs the question, “What or who was tragically underrated??” I wager people have differing answers, even those adjacent to each other on the political spectrum.
I always appreciate some good wordsmithing, especially when it comes to seeking for the soul of wit. I also like the last phrase because of the adverb–it captures some deep ironies of our times. Might I even suggest “comically” as more appropriate because of the way history is being set up for a repetition? Perhaps save that for the end of 2025 if we make it that far. If it was a republic, not enough people tried to keep it.
Speaking of this New Year, I’m going to try to manage my affairs and expectations based on an observation from a departed journalist:
“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.”
But, I feel like a rank amateur, so I expect to just get steamrolled by people and events. Thanks much to Menzie, James, and the six or seven people who read this blog and comment on it.