Making Sense of Now

"Cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of war."

Julius Caesar. Act III Scene 1. William Shakespeare.

Havoc. a military order permitting the seizure of spoil after a victory

We find ourselves in interesting times, and normal metaphors just aren't up to it. I wrote last week that things are beyond complicated. When they are, unintended consequences have a field day.

In the early days of social media, we saw opportunities for direct connection to friends near and far, the opportunity to meet new ones, and the ability to get news and ideas direct from the "horse's mouth" rather than filtered and moderated by the media establishment. Politics at the time was as febrile as always, but there were some basic standards.

And here we are today, with politicians able to circumvent any media moderation to release stories that they choose, targeted with almost military precision to achieve short term advantage. Although America this morning is an obvious example, it's not restricted to that divided countr…