Do You Believe in Ghosts?
The allure of an afterlife. Plus, the pedophile who loves Edgar Allan Poe.
An Unrelated Prologue
Last weekend, I did what I typically do when I have a driver on my trips—I chatted them up. Some of the most difficult yet enlightening conversations I’ve had in recent years have been with my drivers. This guy was a local Wisconsiner and former veteran, probably a bit younger than me. We were talking about how divisive the country has become and we got on the topic of the Israel Gaza war. I was lamenting over how social media has become a performative platform for hollow activism. He responded with equal fire, but a different POV: the Israel Gaza war is meant to divide us. At first I thought he meant metaphorically. I asked him to explain. He said, the whole conflict was a ploy to get Americans to hate each other … 😳.
In moments like these I can be a bit reactive. So without thinking I responded, “I’m pretty sure no one in Israel is thinking about you or Americans in Wisconsin right now.” He then went on to relate the situation to how …