Reclaiming
America
“I
have an idea that the only thing which makes it possible to regard this world
we live in without disgust is the beauty which now and then men create
out of chaos. The pictures they paint, the music they compose, the books they
write, and the lives they lead. Of all these, the richest in beauty is the
beautiful life. That is the perfect work of art.”
W.
Somerset Maugham (The Painted Veil)
I
watched the “Presidential” debate last night between Donald Trump and Joe
Biden. It reminded me of the cafeteria scene in Animal House. Reflecting on it
this morning just made me sad. Is this what we’ve come to? Brawling, bullying,
and nothing of substance. That may have a place when it comes to ice hockey or
rugby, but it has no place in a presidential race during a pandemic, when two-hundred thousand people have died, and millions more are out to work and have no idea how they will keep a roof
over their heads or feed their children. This is not about “Winning the big
one!” This is about figuring out how we can retrieve our country from absolute disaster.
I realize
that invention often comes out of chaos. We make some of our best art and music
in the worst of times, and we have learned a great many things about ourselves
in the last four years that we would not have learned otherwise. Painful though it is, turbulence generates creative responses.
However, chaos is not a place one wants to live, and most of us are exhausted
with the constancy of it. Chaos is not indefinitely a productive or desirable lifestyle; it is meant to be
like stirring the soup to keep stuff from sticking on the bottom of the pan.
To
anyone out there who believes that Trump has been good for America, I send you prayers
for grace and a change of heart. I, for one, am tired of the chaos, and the lies.
I want to move on from his derision of science, his disrespect for the earth
and its peoples, and his bullying, which is like a spoiled 10-year-old who
knows no other way of dealing with his peers. In his face, and in his behavior,
one can clearly see how he must have been treated as a child. He literally
knows no other way to get what he wants than to stomp someone else into the
ground. It’s sad. And it’s dangerous.
I pray
that America can learn the lessons from these four years of chaos, and move
into a better, brighter future for all her citizens. Perhaps we can use our
wounds to create that beautiful life Somerset Maugham wrote about and extend it
to “all our relations.” May it be so.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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