That the past six months have been challenging is obvious. And, I would venture to say that for many of us, the past three years have been terrifying as well. It's not just having Voldemort in the White House. That's nightmarish enough. But for me, I have felt a roller-coasterish onslaught of emotions: anger; frustration; disbelief at the ever-increasing divisiveness, and sadness at the lack of compassion and empathy which I see around me. Please don't tell me that we have devolved to a society run by the zero-sum mentality that plays out as every man for himself. Excuse me, every person for itself. Lest I offend someone with gender non-neutrality. I hear so much wildly extreme proclamations on both sides of the political spectrum. I've never seen the like. I blame reality TV and social media, because... I just like to blame reality TV and social media. I mean, Charlie Manson isn't around anymore so you have to look to the villains extant. But, there is enough blame to go around and places to direct it.
In late July, I watched the funeral of John Lewis and listened to what four previous presidents said about this man and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. I have watched the summer's protests with some consternation, wondering how and/or if I needed to adjust my thinking about what was going on in my country. Recently, I heard something that made sense to me. Someone said that it wasn't enough to not be a racist. You need to be anti-racist. And perhaps that sums up the vast support you see for the Black Lives Matter movement. For me personally, our country is about the people. All of the people. It isn't about flags, and it isn't about a song that was rolled out to get citizens riled up about World War I. It's about the freedoms our forefathers set down at the very beginning of our country, concurrent to the revolution that was occurring. We are guaranteed many things including a right to peaceful assembly; a right to protest. And that is something that makes me proud to be a US citizen.
I am a white woman, a granddaughter of a British immigrant and a great-granddaughter of European immigrants. A word I use with admiration: Immigrant. Partly because when I was in sixth grade, living in Maryland outside of Washington, DC for several months while my father worked there, we studied Emma Lazarus' sonnet which is cast onto the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. I remember memorizing the words: Send these the homeless, tempest-tossed to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door. If you've sailed past Liberty Island, you think of those words. And you reflect on the immigrants who came here, regardless of how they accomplished this, as heroes. It's not easy to leave your country, and maybe also your family, to land in another country where you may not even speak the language. I have no idea what my great-grandparents left in their countries in the late 19th century, nor how badly they needed to get away from political strife, maybe poverty, maybe only restlessness. But I like to think that they were so committed to becoming Americans, that they would have done anything to get here. They were choosing this country. They didn't just wake up in it like so many of the rest of us.
My housekeeper, Ana, came to this country from El Salvador. Because her job requires little communication, her English is not great. But she became a citizen in time to vote for Barack Obama. And I greatly respect that. I don't think people should be excluded from coming to this country based on race, ethnicity, nor religion. I do, however, believe that legal residency status should have an expiration, perhaps at a decade. I think it makes sense that at some point, you should make the decision to either commit to become a part of the American political process, or return to the country where you hold citizenship. In the meantime, you're really not part of the family. You're like those splinter relatives. So, while you may listen to us, support us, and even commiserate as we complain, you should not feel entitled to criticize our family. Simply put, you are not a we until you vote. I realize that there are extenuating factors in mixed-citizenship relationships. But that's a personal issue to be resolved, not a civic one. Then again, I am the person who once announced that I could solve all the traffic problems in Los Angeles, by sending everyone who was born in another state back to their state of origin. Sure this meant sacrifice to a great many. For myself, I was going to have to give up a lot for this plan: my husband; my mom, and many friends. Someone pointed out to me that this smacked of totalitarianism. This isn't about politics, I replied, straight-faced: It's about traffic. No one ever gets me when I'm being ironical.
Seriously, a lot of issues, besides racism and immigration, were making me feel angry, frustrated, sad, and worse than all, helpless. But about a year ago, I came up with a plan that has taken the lid off of my almost-boiling-over pot. I call it: Put your money where their mouth is. And what it means is that when I hear something I especially disagree with; something grounded in lack of empathy and compassion toward other human beings, and I find myself on the tipping point of any of the above emotions; I send a contribution to a political or charitable organization which supports my viewpoint. In the past year I have sent contributions, what I call Response Contributions, to advocate against the death penalty; hold up the rights of women to choose; support the NAACP; support voter rights; advocate for gun control; support immigrant rights organizations; and a few others. I don't feel there is anything more important than human rights, so while I am sympathetic to mainstream environmental and animal issues, it's not where my money goes. I continue to regularly contribute to political campaigns, including Mark Kelly's senate campaign in Arizona. I don't have a lot of faith in that landlocked state, but it can only be an improvement to elect him to represent it.
That problem solved, my other dilemma is how to mitigate the feelings I have about all that is going on with the neo-liberals and their distorted 'woke' antics and cancel culture. As well as those millennials... because while they were all protecting us, and a possibly photo-shopped turtle, from plastic straws, and showing up for selfies at Bernie's rallys but not voting for Hillary, look what we got. See, now I'm feeling that anger and frustration again. Time to get the checkbook out. But, perhaps that will wait while I go grab a plastic straw from my abundant stash to stick into a glass of chocolate milk. Don't get me started on dairy...
Meanwhile, back at the funeral for John Lewis. I am that nutcase who gets emotionally overwhelmed when I hear overtures in the theater. I don't know exactly why this is, but when certain overtures are played, I feel this rush of emotion and have to gulp back tears. A lot of Rodgers and Hammerstein, and some Sondheim, slays me. A few Christmas carols can do this to me as well. In addition, there are two hymns/spirituals that will always, always bring unbidden tears to my eyes: Amazing Grace and We Shall Overcome. I think for me, recognition of all that We Shall Overcome means goes back to the PBS documentary, Eyes on the Prize, which opened my own eyes to the civil rights movement that had occured in the '60s before the cusp of my adolescent consciousness. So I wept, all alone in my pandemic-refuge home, when We Shall Overcome was sung at John Lewis's funeral. And, maybe it wasn't just about John Lewis and the civil rights and Black Lives Matter movement. Maybe it is also an anthem for our times. Because if there were ever a time in our lives that we need to overcome, it is certainly now. Reflecting on the pivotal historical events in my life: The Cuban Missile Crisis; Kennedy Assasination; Viet Nam and 9/11, I recall them as scary and/or horrific. But this administration, this pandemic and this year, will top them all. And to respond to all of it we need to hope, we need to pledge, we need to have faith, that we shall overcome in all the ways that work for us. Meanwhile, I will continue to put my money where their mouth is. I believe that in doing so, I am making an investment in the future of a better America, and that is money which is very well spent. And thank you once again for reading my blog. VOTE!
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