The greening of the trees is complete, flowers of every hue are blooming, the skies are so often azure you forget their grey preponderance, and every little creature appears playful and replete
May you be content, may you be buoyant, because the month of May has bounty to share, after winter’s mean, cold spell. In the western hemisphere, more than at any other time of the year, nature is at its finest. The greening of the trees is complete, flowers of every hue are blooming, the skies are so often azure you forget their grey preponderance, and every little creature appears playful and replete. What a wonderful world, you may be inclined to declare, à la Louis Armstrong, yet knowing all the while, in tune with that wise man, that our own savage species is forever bucking the trend.
That sagest of sonneteers, Shakespeare himself, warned that embedded in this efflorescence were hints of decay, “Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, and summer’s lease hath all too short a date.” But that whiff is now an almighty pong and has long been in the offing. As wars continue unabated, and murder and mayhem proliferate, every obstacle to the unbridled greed of our political and business classes have been swept away, filling many with dismay. And not just dis May but every month preceding it, and those to come as well!
The co-existence of blossoming with blight is in this month’s very name. Signifying potential, May has a pretty ring to it, and is naturally, therefore, given to sassy girls born in late Spring, be it actress Mae West, astronaut Mae Carol Jemison, or comedian Daisy May Cooper. But the word is also loaded with uncertainty, capturing the upending zeitgeist of our present, which may or may not have stirred you yet. But when the catastrophes facing us are so colossal, economic devastation and climate disasters amongst them, none of us will eventually outrun them.
So, won’t you turn your scrutiny away from your skin blemishes, neighbours’ shenanigans, and what have you, to take a closer look at the architects of our impending doom? Former British PM Theresa May springs to mind as one such. Far from the breath of fresh air that all things called May should be, she ramped up aggression against communities of colour in Britain by creating the “hostile environment” of her tenure, leading to the violently racist riots of last summer. Yet, compared to the British politicians we’re lumped with now, growing in malignance with every Reform, she seems nearly benign, even merely may-opic, in hindsight.
Most of all, it’s us (not US, though they are BIGly to blame), and our logic-defying acts of Hara-kiri when cleaving to autocrats, that’s put humanity on this path to The End. May or mein means I, me and myself, along with so many of its international variants — mi, moi, mish, mim, mij, ami, and fittingly, the apathetic Italian meh. Our truly ‘meh’ contemporary culture, revolving around navel gazing and narcissism, make not just this month of May, but every day, our Epoch of Mein. But this me-first energy, or me-nergy (with a great deal of understandable insecurity underlying it), can actually be harnessed to save our steadily sinking planet (and not just from the rising seawaters).
Yes we can! If our own thoughts, feelings and experiences, count for more than anything else, including expert knowledge, or the tested wisdom of ages, let’s be brands we can be proud of — influencers instead of sheep being led! Many of you’ll be undoubtedly doing this and more already, but if you’re feeling lost, here’s a starter for ten:
1) Let’s do our own independent research on the issues that speak to us, without being waylaid by demagogues, religion, entrenched community or family inclinations, celebs that shoot their mouths off, or Insta and Tik Tok. Towards this end, consider reading a range of newspapers with differing worldviews — just their online editions will do. Nor is social media a no-no for information, but stepping outside your echo chamber is crucial.
2) Once you’ve absorbed a selection of arguments, share them all with at least another three people. Request them to read, mull over, and pass on too, never holding back the views that don’t chime with you.
3) And now, having had a peek at a slightly wider view of the world, please get out there and vote. The options are rarely great but if you’ve done your research, you’ll know the pros and cons of each candidate well, and can make a properly informed decision for a change. When we see the bigger picture, we become less susceptible to manipulation undoubtedly.
Never thought I’d say this but hey, look at what Australia and Canada accomplished this month. Canada voted to retain their more socially responsible current government, the one that wouldn’t capitulate to Trump’s avaricious bullying. Australia, amazingly, also impressed, sweeping away their own unhinged ‘strongman’ to put back in power the party with the steadiest steering hand. Neither the parties backed, nor the people who did their bit, were saintly or heroic, because sensible is all the world needs from us this minute. And sense you have in spades, c’mon!
In the meantime, make the most of the magnificence of May, won’t you? Be a gour-may, dine al-fresco in a blossoming garden or well-maintained park, lick every gem of kebab may-rinade off your fingers, chomp juicy, cooling strawberries straight from their stalks. And think to yourself, in a glorious mashup of Louis and William, “What a wonderful world, I will NOT let your eternal summer fade!”
