*A term borrowed from the movie GASLIGHT,
meaning to make one believe she’s lost her mind and what she sees and knows
just isn’t so.
I’m sitting by my window and watching yet
another deluge, blessed rain though it is. I’m wondering about reality and
perception. What else is a writing person to think about, under these wet
circumstances?
The State of California officials tell us we’re
still in drought, even with the snow-pack twice the normal average and the rainfall
more than twice the normal pre-drought.
So much for trusting these governmental
agencies. Brings up the Yiddish saying: you can’t pee on my back and tell me
it’s raining. In this case, it is you can’t tell me we’re parched while
we’re drowning.
Oh,
I know. I’ve read the explanations. I’ve considered them seriously. I tried to
respect the experts who said that maybe one percent of the state is still in drought.
Maybe the snowpack will melt too early. Maybe April showers just won’t be.
And
maybe my cats are not crying for food, but telling me they’ve decided to run
for the presidency. Oh, wait. That last one could be true.
It’s
never a great thing to manipulate the reality that's right in front of our noses,
even for “good” or “noble” intentions.
One
such explanation "for the good" is that if the drought-watch agencies say the drought is over
for now, people won’t conserve water in the future.
News Flash: California has had droughts cycles
for as long as I’ve been here, (that’s a very long time) and we have shown we
know how to respond.
What
is more likely to happen is that the next time we have a real drought, we’ll not believe
what well-intentioned government agencies say.
Even worse, we won’t believe
our own eyes.
Gaslighting
is only all right in fiction, where it is a requirement. Outside of creative storytelling,
it’s not okay. OK?
Tell the truth, Ruth.
