Beware Lessons Learned then Forgotten, Return with Bitter Instructions
What has 1912 got to teach 21st century America? it’s not the tip of the iceberg that sinks the mighty, but unseen spurs jutting out, invisible to those who refuse to see – it’s arrogance that sinks the ship of state, when helmed by those who claim, not even God himself can sink, usA.
2019 can be another refresher course for a nation and people ready to do better than the clichés of rented politicians spouting easily remembered, and regurgitated, overly simplistic slogans – yet forgetting, all glory is fleeting when left to the whims of human pendulums swinging between false prophets and anti-American heroes – increasing national demise, individual vulnerability, producing dignity reversing damage to honor, leaving a people seeking hope in historical myths – instead of trusting themselves to a close encounter with courage.
Greatness reveals itself not in braggadocios Base baiting but in the steady, faith-based dreams in the diversity of all life on an earth - once alive with the vitality of a well-ordered Eco-system - now tarnished by believers in all that glitters.
It’s painful how easily, We the People can be swayed by product labels, Madison Avenue advertising, Social Media and Carnival barkers. Sadly, it’s all in the marketing, and too many have succumbed to the call of the herders.
We have been mocked, but not destroyed, as long as we refuse to pity those who envy dictators – because fear, hatred, arrogance and cruelty are both calling cards and legacy.
Knowing, we sometimes squabble when frightened by unemployment, loss of hope or confronted by the truth that hurts: those who cannot govern shut down government – nonetheless, America has produced many great heroes, but has too often overlooked - no gender, race or color owns exclusivity to either heroism or anguish.
Uncle Gino advised, finding what you’re looking for depends on where you look. Blind hero worship makes us prime targets for corporate marketing, corrupt government and loss of memory for America’s calling. Until we regain some focus on our heroism within, we must at least seek better heroes. Even when talking heads block our view, we need see beyond heroes projected upon us, to those who reflect empathy, even in a conflicted world.
It’s not just those who can never be forgotten, like Laurel & Hardy, Margo Kidder, Stephen Hawking, Stan Lee, Aretha Franklin, John McCain, Penny Marshall, 105-year-old Connie Sawyer, Neil Simon, Tom Wolfe, Jamal Khashoggi – and all guides, among them, Tracy & Hepburn, who now know what follows: It’s the heroic examples living among us, like...
- Christine Blasey Ford
- Every Woman who ran for elective office in 2018
- Beth & Liza James
- Those lost to political lies, uncaged lions and racial Lynchings
- Teachers, Social Workers, Nurses, Caregivers and Veterans
- Medical student Claudia Martinez
- 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Students
- Immigrant children abused by staff at Trump’s zero tolerance prison camps for minors
There is no security against our internalized walls of diversity anxiety, fear of being gone with the wind, and hate, inviting the fall of America at the hands of an unindicted conspirator.
For the New Year, Pope Francis reminded us, God Himself needed a Mother. My Grandmamma constantly affirmed, God, however we conceptualize that, is always whispering, love thy neighbor as thyself, but it’s on us to listen, and follow through.
In 2019 truth is, as nation and people, aren’t we walking a tightrope, strung out, across yet another perilous crevice, potentially to the very precipice of perhaps America’s final chance to prove, we hold these truths to be self-evident?
This is not the time for timidity, for wherever our heart resides, in whatever we house our confidence, at the end of the day, it is what we allow to touch us that determines whether we trash national parks, poison consumers with chemicals, prove our manhood by tear-gassing human beings in need or, embody our Gettysburg Address, and be Joshua to Trump’s wall - scaling the mantle such men can never attain.
Whatever next steps we take, we will see the promised reward for our choices. Let us surmount hype and myth, being instead, the Keepers of the Flame.