The Daily Valet. - 5/24/22, Tuesday

✔️ Spiraling Out of Control

May 24, 2022

Tuesday, May 24th Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Who’s in New York this week?

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s Big Story

The Spiral of Polarization

The U.S. is dangerously divided at the moment. But there may be a way back from the brink.

We’re a deeply divided nation. How many times have you heard that lately? A lot, I’m guessing. And the alarms aren’t wrong. Political polarization in America may be at its highest point in decades. Sometimes, it seems like Republicans and Democrats hate their political opponents more than they support their own.

The data backs that thought up: An independent research institute in Sweden that covers 202 countries and goes back more than two centuries, recently concluded that “no established democracy in recent history has been as deeply polarized as the U.S.”

According to the researchers, this “us versus them polarization” has been increasing since 2005. They don’t try to explain the causes, though the rise of social media is obviously a contributing factor. According to The Atlantic, to live in a country where political disagreements turn into personal vendettas is no fun, but a growing body of research reveals more systemic effects. “Pernicious polarization makes good-faith efforts to tackle social problems such as public-health crises harder and bad-faith efforts to turn them into political gain easier.”

And suddenly, it seems like we can polarize over anything. Masks. Guns. Whether or not Elon Musk should buy Twitter. The overturning of Roe v. Wade. And boy, does it get ugly. I guess they don’t call ’em culture wars for nothing.

But that’s not to say that all hope is lost (phew!). A new study from the University of Pennsylvania found that hatred doesn’t run as deep as many may think. The results show voters are far more interested in supporting their own political beliefs rather than hurting someone else’s. Moreover, the study’s author made a good point: “If there’s this gap in how much you like your side and dislike the other side—and it’s all motivated by emotions—you’re less likely to hold presidents accountable for things and more likely to vote for your side no matter what they do, even when it’s corrupt.”

There is also some good news in the fact that while politics got nastier in recent years, the divisions between race and religion have actually continued to weaken. The Atlantic points out that America’s comparative competence at managing its ethnic and religious diversity might be a sign we can handle this too. If we’re all willing to work on it with visionary leaders and the necessary institutional reforms.

↦ Some relief: Meditation could actually help combat the stress and strain of political polarization around the world.

Monkeypox? Really?

Experts are cautiously concerned, but this is fundamentally different than COVID

First a fresh wave of COVID infections seems to be threatening another hot vaxx summer. And now we're throwing another obscure illness into the mix? Monkeypox, a virus usually confined to parts of Africa, is suddenly turning up around the western world.

Since early May, more than 250 cases have been detected in Europe and North America: 100 in Spain, 37 in Portugal, 56 in England, and 23 in Canada, as of yesterday. With multiple cases popping up in different countries, public health officials' immediate questions are whether the cases are related, and whether monkeypox is spreading in other communities undetected.

It's spread through contact, but it's worth noting that it's not as highly transmissible as smallpox or measles, or certainly not COVID. The CDC is currently investigating four suspected cases in the U.S. All of the cases are in men and related to travel, but there is no evidence the virus has changed to become more contagious, officials said during a media briefing Monday.

Yes, President Biden said monkeypox is “something that everybody should be concerned about,” and that, “We’re working on it hard to figure out what we do and what vaccine, if any, might be available for it.” But, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that the U.S. already has vaccines available to address an outbreak, should it occur.

↦ FYI: Belgium has become the first country to introduce a mandatory 21-day quarantine for monkeypox patients as cases of the disease.

“Tedcore” Is Here

The self-help wave has changed the way we live, speak and think

We're living during an amazing time, aren't we? We have access to an infinite amount of information. Of course, anyone who's gone down a WedMD rabbit hole in the middle of the night will tell you that all that info can be a blessing and a curse. Perhaps it's the age-old phenomenon of too much of a good thing.

Case in point: “Tedcore”, (named after Ted talks), which The Gaurdian identifies as a genre of books or materials which peddle feel-good “Marvel movie versions of philosophy that don't challenge our conceptions, but validate our feelings, often backing up their circular logic with dubious ‘research’ and ‘experts’—they cajole and condescend, opening neural pathways that lead directly to the author's paywalled Substack.”

That's not to say that all advice is bad advice. But like any multi-billion dollar industry, you want to make sure your bullshit meter is tuned. Dr. Steven Stosny, in Psychology Today, says good self-help teaches you to acknowledge the trouble and focus on improving. Bad self-help keeps you stuck in a feedback loop where you feel validated but only for a short time before you need another dose of validation in another self-help book, video or meditation plan.

↦ FYI: Filmmaker Matt D'Avella is a self-avowed self-help addict, and has read over 100 books which purport to make readers happier, healthier and more successful.

Not Your Average Pop-Up

Louis Vuitton’s exhibit is a chance to ‘commune with Virgil Abloh’s vision’

I really wish that I was in New York right now. Because I'd love to see the Louis Vuitton x Nike Air Force 1 by Virgil Abloh Exhibition in Brooklyn. It's open to the public (only through May 31) and seems really special.

It'd be something of an overstatement to say that the exhibit is the polymath designer's swan song. But it's certainly more than just another brand collaboration. It's more personal and blends fashion, art, dance-music culture, and design—basically what Abloh spent his career mastering.

Inside the warehouse space (painted orange like a Nike shoebox), you'll see all the shoes the two brands produced, of course, but there's also a 3-D form of the hybridized LV and Nike swoosh logo Abloh designed. Large screens, activated by motion sensors, allow visitors to digitally disassemble a pair of sneakers to witness its savoir-faire. The show culminates with a treehouse, the inside of which reproduces elements of Abloh's atelier in Paris. Vogue calls it a “chance to commune with Abloh's expansive vision.”

Meanwhile, for those who can't bear the lines, installations have gone up around the city like beacons, from a large etched glass box at Grand Central Station to a water tower across the street in Brooklyn that reads “Dream Now.”

↦ Dig Deeper: See all 47 iterations of the legendary French luxury fashion house’s collaborative Air Force 1s.

In Other News

↦ Wall Street Ends Higher Following 7 Straight Weeks of Losses

↦ Kendrick Lamar Becomes Seventh Artist in History to Debut Four Songs on Top 10 Simultaneously

↦ AAPI Heritage Month: 100 Ways Asian Americans and Allies are Fighting Hate Crimes, Violence

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

This insane Rolls Royce

Ted Lasso’s third season

Common phobias

Boost Your Bravery

Five ways you can summon your courage

Strength is a universally admired quality. But more than brute force, courage is often seen as a true marker of strength. Bravery comes in many forms. And while many of us will likely never need to use it to rush into a burning building, we will rely on our courage to push us out of our comfort zones.

You need a certain amount of fearlessness to stand up for your beliefs, to spark up a conversation with someone new, to move to a new town or change careers. Or to simply speak up at work or ask for a raise. Bravery isn't something you're born with.

Chögyam Trungpa, the meditation master and author of the popular book Smile at Fear, wrote that fear can either hold you back or motivate you to awaken your bravery. We spoke with Trungpa and few other experts to put together a game plan to help you supercharge your courage.

↦ Read: Five smart ways to boost your bravery.

Laid Back in Linen

Todd Snyder Block Print Linen Camp Collar Shirt

Block print linen camp collar shirt,$158 by Todd Snyder

A lot of men have a love/hate relationship with linen. For some, it's a tad too “flowy,” and yes, the crease-prone fabric almost always looks wrinkled. But the fabric's reliability in the heat is undeniable. And surprisingly, the airy fabric is more resistant to wear than cotton. Thankfully, the linen sartorial universe has expanded over the past few years, so these aren't your grandad's vacation clothes. Our picks range from elegant to vacation-ready and everything in between. So grab some linen and catch some rays.