Joan and I recently started to watch “PLUR1BUS” on Apple tv, a new series by Vince Gilligan, the mind behind both “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul.” Its lead is portrayed by Rhea Seehorn, who played Bob Odenkirk’s companion in “Saul.”

The premise is basic post-apocalyptic dystopia: an extra-terrestrial virus takes over all but 11 people on the planet, killing more than 800 million folks in the process. The show leans heavily on the feelings we all experienced during the pandemic: isolation, fear, wariness of “other people.” Joan wondered out loud if the pandemic set the stage for the current president’s re-election and I couldn’t actually find a reason to disagree with her. More later.

I’m pretty sure we are entering a decade of post-pandemic art, shows like “Severance” and films like “One Battle After Another,” in much the same way as novels were written after the plague, or films released following 9/11. Those feelings I listed are universal, regardless of circumstances. We all feel them.

The title “PLUR1BUS” is derived from the Latin saying meaning “Out of the many, one.” Aside from the 11 unaffected people, the rest of the world acts with a “hive mind,” able to share information by thought. Young women fly cargo planes. Nine year olds comment on gynecological issues. It’s a frightening world.

The hive mind reacts very badly to anger. Seehorn’s character regularly explodes and folks around her seem to experience seizure-like behavior, shaking and falling to the ground. Because anger, among other things, often frees you to speak your mind and rattle somebody else’s cage in the process.

Which brings me to the “more later” portion of this column. I promised to explain to a reader what BBS stands for.

No…not that! Get your mind out of the gutter! BBS is the opposite of TDS. TDS stands for “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” the perception that somebody will blame everything wrong with the world on our latest president. BBS stands for “Blame Biden Syndrome.” This is the belief that a person will automatically blame our former POTUS for anything that happens now. Neither are classified officially as mental disorders, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that from the way they’re used. Each one seems an easy out for folks that don’t want to continue to prove their points to someone who disagrees with them. Advocates on both sides swear they’re right and that the other side is deluded.

But, are they? One can seriously question why somebody would advocate for a man (because no woman has been elected president yet) who has been found guilty of multiple crimes, a man who recently stated that he could “just kill” certain people without the approval of Congress. But, one could also question the validity of voting for a man who had a dalliance with an intern while in office, or a person from a different culture who was or nearly was elected to that same office, or a man of questionable morals or varying ethics. How could we possibly vote for somebody like that?

Party loyalty often is a deciding factor. If your family votes a certain way, sometimes you do too, until you’re old enough to make an informed decision. Some folks forget that, prior to Nixon’s second election, the voting age was 21, not 18. Many kids who couldn’t vote yet were sent to die in Vietnam. And Nixon still won in a landslide, only to step down later due to his involvement in Watergate. Those times seem almost innocent now.

Another factor is beliefs. If you seriously believe that “immigrant hoards” who eat cats and dogs are coming for your job, your daughter, your family, I guess you would vote for a strongman type who vowed that only he could protect you from them.

And the old saying is true… even paranoids have enemies. Even if you think “they’re” out to get you, somebody may actually be out to get you. It just might not be who you think.

After 9/11, this country pulled together in a way I had never seen before. We all stood behind George W. Bush’s efforts, no matter how wrong (weapons of mass destruction) or wrong-headed (attacking a country that had nothing to do with the bombings) they were, because we needed to stand united or fall for anything. We were actually focused on the survival of our country for once instead of our individual goals.

In the “Outer Limits” episode “The Architects Of Fear,” Robert Culp is transformed into a monster in an effort to give the world a “common enemy” to fear and hate. Things go sideways and the plan fails, costing Culp’s character his life. In a similar way, in the recent “Wicked” series, the Wizard opines that Oz needs a “common enemy” to unite it.

I can’t help but wonder, and feel free to call me naive, if we need that. Why, exactly, can’t we seem to find a happy medium and focus on what we share in common rather than what tears us apart? Are we incapable of seeing each other, truly, as brothers and sisters, or have we allowed the media, our political leaders, algorithms and technology to decide our side for us?

It seems to me we can do better. So let’s try. Maybe take politics out of the discussion and focus on commonalities. Winter is coming. Time to hibernate. But, while our bodies remain indoors, perhaps our hearts and minds can wander. It’s worth a shot.

Hold those magnificent grey heads high. Love one another.

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