Maslow's Hierarchies of Matters - September 2025

What were the MAIN things that mattered in September?  What was, and wasn't, worth our valuable attention?

Major: Very important, will be impactful.

September 10th-12th, the time between the assassination of Charlie Kirk and arrest of Tyler Robinson.  When a political assassination happens and the assassin remains free, that's got to take center stage.  A society that ignores political violence is one that will not survive long.  But now there's nothing to do but wait for the trial.

Appreciable: Good context to keep in mind, but don't sweat the details.

Tarriffs!  The details depend on your spending.  But whoever you are and whatever you think we all buy things and many of those things involve at least a bit of importing, so those prices will go up.  But also maybe the courts will say something like 'these have never been legal'.

Was and remains appreciable: The ongoing genocide in Sudan and China.

Incidental: Good to know, but of limited use beyond its own topic.

Trump's court lossess (national guard, tarrifs, Harvard).  It's good to see the law working.  I think all of these can be appealed to the Supreme Court, so it ain't over yet, but the process is, so far, working against Trump.

Government shutdown, but that began at the end of September, and the way out is unclear.  But these fights don't usually matter much, but of course some people are impacted more directly than others by the actual shutdown or by the funding arguments which are causing it.

Was Incidental in June, will remain Incidental: The Ukraine V Russia and Israel V Hamas/Hezbollah/Houthis wars continue to burn on, and there is lots to learn about if those conflicts interest you..

Negligible: Ignore this as much as possible.

Pete Hegseth's big anti-woke military summit.  It's silly.  Saying you may need to invade American cities is scary.  But then later that week the government that pays them shuts down?  They have to keep working, and they'll get paid eventually, but what a poor vote of confidence!  Fortunately, the whole thing isn't worth our attention.

Most Charlie Kirk news isn't important any more.  Obviously, his assassination was a tragedy for his family and everyone who came to see him speak and instead saw him die.  It's a wonder there weren't more injuries, either from a less-precise shooter or from the panic of so many people trying to escape.  Trying to make him into more of a martyr isn't a good use of time, but nor is trying to make him into more of a villain.  It's great the assassin turned himself in.  But as I said, now there's nothing to do but wait for the trial.

Was and remains Negligible: Continued anti-immigrant actions.  We're still nowhere near the level of mass deportations, and still within the realm of "individual stories which can be tracked," which means these are tragedies, not statistics.  It can get worse - save your outrage for if it does.  If you know or are an unauthorized immigrant, or are in one of the cities with a lot of ICE activity such that even American citizens and authorized immigrants are getting detained, obviously this becomes a Major story for you which should command a lot of your attention.

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