Hard Times. Those two words have accompanied American history through many a decade. When used by a noted historian like Howard Zinn, pay attention. The quote below is currently making its way around social media and for good reason.
Aside from offering hope in the midst of the current malaise, Zinn reminds us that courage and kindness exist concurrently in even the most difficult of circumstances. Perhaps the real message here is to not freeze up, don't lock yourself away. All around me today people are wondering how much more they can take. With the pandemic, climate crisis, and the brutal invasion of Ukraine, which gives life to the specter of nuclear war, and perpetual racism, no wonder folks are trying to find a literal and figurative hole in which to hide.
Find the humanity, Zinn seems to say. Like Mr. Rogers, who urged children in a crisis to find "the helpers," we must seek out those people and experiences where human life is valued above all else.
Like the ancient Greek philosopher, Herodotus said, "We can never step into the same river twice, for fresh waters are ever flowing upon us," the world we currently inhabit is changing daily.
An old spiritual I like to hear now and then reminds us that "Now is the healing time." That healing can take many forms and is best accomplished by many taking small steps. There is another chip of philosophy running all around my brain. I think it might be Thoreau. Anyway, that bit of knowledge goes, "If you would prevent others from doing wrong--Do right." This is what got me to make personal decisions that affected my own life. Decisions made while holding a moral compass.
The first step in doing the right thing is to acknowledge that morality exists. Some folks aren't sure, at least that's how they act. Except for the sociopath, of course, who recognizes no moral authority. Who has the incapacity to feel what other humans feel and is often ill with malignant narcissism. The trouble is, of course, there have been ard currently are national leaders who are carrying this disease. Still, we must remember that they do not rep[resent the mindset of the countries they purport to lead. Their mental flaw is, of course, that they do not realize that when the mass of people unite, and when an idea's time has come, there is very little they can do to stop that. Of course, in this atomic age, that could have devastating consequences, but fortunately, more often than not, it is them and their false idols who end up on the trash heap of history.
Comments