Tilt!
Tilt!
Tilt is poker lingo.
For poor and irrational play.
Brought on by unchecked emotions.
Ones that interfere with a player’s ability to think and act strategically.
Many factors can lead to tilt.
A bad beat.
A prolonged losing streak.
Trash-talking opponents.
A feeling of invincibility.
Bodily influences can also increase the likelihood of tilt.
Stress, lack of sleep, alcohol, drugs.
Going on tilt costs players.
A lot.
So they naturally try to stay aware of, and overcome, tilt.
America is presently on tilt.
Caused by a collision of factors.
Fear of the virus and the prolonged effects of social isolation.
Anger at political gamesmanship and unjust economic and judicial systems.
Poorly informed ideologues and trash-talking leaders.
And the resulting stress, lack of sleep, alcohol and drug use.
All of which is manifesting in poor and irrational “play.”
Identity politics and cancel culture.
Hateful speech and violent outbursts.
Overall confusion, anger and irritability.
An atmosphere that’s ruining the “game” for all of us.
But here’s the thing.
We choose how we play the hand we’re dealt.
And those choices are what determine our destiny.
We can either allow ourselves to be triggered by the world.
Or we can slow down and be more conscious of our choices.
So please step away from the table and calm down.
Stop posting and tweeting divisive rhetoric.
Relax and breathe.
Take a walk in the woods.
Sit quietly and write a poem.
Be judicious and fully aware.
Yes, be responsive to the work to be done.
Of course, work to restore a sense of objectivity and fair play.
But do it with integrity and class.
With a sense of curiosity, caring, and respect.
By doing so, you’ll eliminate our collective experience of tilt.
And that’s the most constructive thing you can do right now.
Because as the American poet Charles Bukowski pointed out,
”We’re all going to die, all of us, what a circus! That alone should make us love each other but it doesn’t.
We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities, we are eaten up by nothing.”
Tilt!