It’s a banner season for travel. After a couple of years of staying close to home due to the pandemic airports are swarming with passengers in spite of the high cost of flying. Europe is overrun with visitors. People are on the move hoping to forget the difficulties that have engulfed so many of us. Nonetheless, underneath all of the joyful return to freedom and normalcy there is still an undercurrent of anxiety, sadness and sometimes even anger that feels palpable. It is as though we have simply reached another phase of coping with the effects of the virus and the non stop political rancor. Somehow we sense that full healing will not occur unless and until we find ways to make peace with one another, a goal that seems hopelessly unattainable in the present atmosphere on a worldwide level.
I’ve long been an old soul who spends much of my time observing people. Virtually everyone that I know has been impacted in some way by the upheaval of the virus and the ways in which we humans responded to it. In the meantime our differences seemed only to create ever larger divisions between us as evidenced by ongoing wars in different parts of the world and mass shootings in places that were once safe havens for learning and worship and fun. Groups across the globe are taking advantage of our difficulties rather than closing ranks in a spirit of unity to carry us past the hurt of the past three years. While we quibble our young are reporting epidemic levels of melancholy and anxiety. Just attending school has become a kind of horror for them as they grapple with social skills, catching up on learning and wondering if the bang of a door signals their imminent death.
Our teachers are exhausted with many of our best educators opting out of the profession at least for a time. They feel unsupported by a society that is questioning their every utterance and that prefers that they lock themselves into fortresses at work rather than addressing the issue of having more guns in more hands than anywhere else on earth. They are worried about how their lessons will be perceived by a public that is quick to accuse them of infecting the minds of children. These same teachers who juggled their time and their energy to keep students learning during the worst weeks and months of the pandemic are feeling betrayed by politicians who seem intent on dismantling the public school system rather than supporting and improving it.
We have legitimate problems that are taking a back seat to silly issues that are of little to no importance. Their only reason for even discussing them is mostly for garnering attention to turn us against each other. They are being used as political cudgels to stoke our fears and our anger. They are aimed at minorities and vulnerable groups while issues like climate change are set aside at the very time when rivers are drying up, fires are burning and winds are destroying lives. We have no unified plans to prepare for the future. Instead we see far too many of those who should be uniting us instead quibbling and throwing shade and insults like bullies. Once beautiful relationships have been impacted because of an unwillingness to see and hear and understand each other.
Most of us are still reeling from loneliness and loss during the last three years. Some are still unable to join us in our attempts to become normal again. I suspect that all of us dream of a time when when will once again be engaged in fellowship. It’s more important than ever for each of us to check on those who appear to be struggling to readjust because it does not seem likely that many of our political leaders are willing to take the time to be concerned about each person’s needs. We can send a clear message to those who make laws that it is important for the moment that we rebuild our trust with one another, not haggle over debts that must be paid, or infringe on the rights of even those that we do not understand.
I have lived through years of tumult before, times when we disagreed mightily with one another. I have witnessed the horrors of prejudice against races and lifestyles and people from certain places. Watching a return to such practices is as disheartening to me as it is to our youngest citizens. Calling those who want to make our lives more equitable “communists” is an old trope that oversimplifies the intentions of those who are concerned with the neediest among us. We should be tearing down walls instead of building them. We should be joining hands in compromise rather than getting nothing done. Our current state of anger is hurting real people and is setting our nation back in its forward progress.
Perhaps it has always been inevitable that we would reach this point in time. We managed to put a bandaid on a few of our national and world problems and then ignored the reality that there was still much to be done. We have been unwilling for some time now to address pressing issues. Our neglect has filled our national house with situations that are toxic to us all leaving us in a state of ill health both literally and figuratively.
I’ve been writing about the cadence of my life for weeks now. In thinking back on my journey I have realized how fortunate I have been and how often I have settled into a kind of laziness and indifference toward those not nearly as lucky as I have been. I know from experience how much we have neglected the mentally ill. I am certain that we have not always supported our educational systems as much as we should have. I have seen our reluctance to address the violence in our country with solutions beyond platitudes and prayers. I have watched in horror as I continue to see prejudices leveled against so many of our citizens by those in the highest offices of our land. I have watched young people working incredibly hard to live the American dream without support for their efforts. I have watched our great scientific community being ridiculed by uneducated blather. I have been saddened by unravelling of the generosity of spirit after 9/11 and during hurricane Harvey that has all too often been replaced with a selfish competition for money and favors.
My experience nonetheless tells me to remain optimistic. We have been in difficult times before and we have found our way back to a cooperative spirit in the name of all people, not just some tribalistic base of like minded beliefs. We have the power to bring change but it will require some heavy lifting and sacrifice. It’s long past time for doing what we know is right and just.
I highly recommend the new book by Dan Rather, What Unites Us! It is the memoir of a gifted journalist who grew up in my own hometown of Houston and then went on to report on world events. Through his own story he highlights the American characteristics that promote the best of our nation. It is a reminder of what is so good about we the people. It’s all still there. We just have to bring forward once again. I do believe that we will.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 