Saturday. In the Park.
I think it was the Fourth of July.
While wishing I’d started my walk earlier in today’s Texas heat, I contemplated the celebration of our nation’s 250th birthday. It quickly occurred to me that I’ve been alive for a not-insignificant percentage of that history. Dandy. I then flashed on the cheap carnival celebrations that have recently engulfed our nation’s capitol and the pseudo-patriotism of our country’s current leadership. As depression was setting in, a voice in my head began to remind me of my own American Experience.
My father was a career Army officer who served from the start of WWII in 1941 until his retirement as a Colonel in 1974. During my childhood, our family was stationed in Indiana, Georgia, Washington D.C., Texas, and Germany. This privileged incarnation of American citizenship gifted me early exposure to varied cultures, environments, and educational systems.
I grew up in a family where morality, kindness, education, and respect for others were highly valued concepts. I listened to excellent bands (including Chicago) on 8-track and cassette tapes. I wrote long letters (in longhand) to distant friends from prior homes. On special occasions, we splurged to make long-distance calls on our family’s rotary phone.
At 6pm, we’d manually turn our black-and-white TV to one of three stations where the whole nation watched Walter Cronkite, Chet Huntley, and David Brinkley step us through the major events of our time. From the assassinations of JFK, RFK, & MLK to the Apollo 11 moon landing. From the paranoia of the Cold War to the carnage of the Vietnam War.
My father subscribed to numerous newspapers and magazines which he would read every night in our living room. Wanting to be just like my Dad, I’d pick up whatever he’d completed and would flip through the pages myself. Over time, I advanced from just looking at the pictures to reading at least some of the articles.
Even at an early age, I somehow found myself drawn to stories about government. Okay, I was more drawn to stories about the space program… but there weren’t as many of those. Anyway, the idea that people with very different opinions could work together, compromise, and define something that everyone could support seemed interesting and, frankly, rather obvious to my young, naïve brain. Government was a force for good.
Eventually, when I learned the differences and overlaps between statesmen, politicians, opportunists, and grifters, the political circus became much more fascinating than any TV show. Government could still be a force for good. It was just going to be messy.
Some circus performers were always more gifted than others. I was (and remain) in awe of the great orators I saw on TV. Others were better with the written word and I learned to respect a well-constructed argument even when I disagreed with it. Across the political spectrum, the most effective members of government championed education and science, showed a willingness to compromise, and made intelligent appeals to the best of human nature. Of course, there was always a contingent of clowns in the government circus. In my youth, I mostly remember them being ignored or ridiculed – with McCarthy being a notable exception, at least for a while.
In recent years, however, the clowns have multiplied and have become the ringmasters. More and more government officials have led assaults on education and science, have suppressed dissent, and have made ignorant appeals to our baser instincts. Putting on a decent show of effective governance took a distant back seat to guaranteeing their continued employment in the circus. Government in this form was no longer a force for good nor was it simply messy. It became dangerous.
I realize that my own American Experience was a moment in time that will not be repeated. This is as it should be. Time moves on. People can now communicate instantaneously across the world from a hand-held device. Music and news from around the world can now be readily consumed on that same device.
But the speed with which we gather information and communicate with each other does not negate the need for an underlying value system that puts everything in context. Indeed, the increased speed and volume of available data makes those values even more important. Without constant vigilance, the now omnipresent voices of fearmongers and false prophets can easily blur the distinctions between right and wrong. When given a moment of reflection, I have to believe that the vast majority of Americans are good, decent people who have the intrinsic ability to recognize good vs. evil – even when their government tells them otherwise.
Listen, children. All is not lost.
My father fought wars to preserve the American Dream. I honor his service by remembering that America is not its government. At the moment, many of our leaders foster a distorted reflection of America at its very worst. That is not who we are. The “funhouse” mirror image of America is merely a circus mirage. We have never needed an unprincipled charlatan to make America great “again”. At our core, we’ve been great all along. Eventually, we will exit the dystopian funhouse in which Americans are currently wandering. It won’t be a walk in the park, but we will find our way out.
I wrote a speech entitled “Our Time” way back in 2008 during Barack Obama’s first campaign for the presidency. I reposted it on this blog in 2020 and I’m referencing it once again on this American anniversary. While the speech remains unspoken, I believe the words still apply.
Happy Independence Day!!