I like to think that our diverse nation of many cultures and peoples from all corners of the planet will not only prevail but be an inspiration to other nations. I sometimes think that MAGA are our modern day Mongols destroying what we have accomplished and paving the way for Dark Ages 2.
Storytelling provides hope. Whether that is fiction or non-fiction, our brains need to make sense of our lives/world. Anand is a word artist, dare I say a word magician, and as such, plays an important role inspiring collective Hope. My wish is that each of us reflect on some event in our lives in which we persevered despite the odds and came thru on the other side, a future that was wished/imagined (ie, an illness resolved, a relationship healed) and then use that hopeful perseverance to create our collective future.
I live in Silver Spring, MD, just north of the District of Columbia.
Proudly, we are one of the most diverse places in the United States. A Catholic church in downtown Silver Spring, St. Michael the Archangel, has parishioners from over 80 countries.
For the past six years, I have driven Uber in and around DC and provided transportation to people who live and work here as well as visitors from every state and almost every country.
While I welcome everyone into my vehicle, I consider it a personal responsibility and honor to welcome visitors and those who are new arrivals.
I believe it is especially important that that these new arrivals hear and hopefully feel acceptance, respect and encouragement.
While most people aren’t fortunate enough to drive Uber and meet and engage with as many people as I do, I encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunities their life provides to say, in their own way, “Welcome”!
We never know the effects small acts of kindness can have but we can feel fairly confident the more we do, the more likely someone might benefit.
While I remain hopeful, suffice to say that it’s worse than we thought. Four years later over half of the voters in this country condoned that terrorist attack on the Capital.
Storytelling provides hope. Whether that is fiction or non-fiction, our brains need to make sense of our lives/world. Anand is a word artist, a word magician , play an important role inspiring collective Hope.
This is a most EXCELLENT perspective-- and it sure made me think- and become heartened and determined. And we’ve proceeded quite far down the path already. What worries me is that -as references to and support for democracy and freedom disappear from our daily life, how do people remember enough to fight for it-- especially since they (due to corporate strangling of our adult lives) have not TASTED it?
Your hope is catchy Anand. Holding both hope and despair is a maturity that is natural to human beings, adult human beings that is. To my mind we’re living in a spiritual poverty reaction to the materialism and greed that has surfaced with immense power with plutocrats around the world. It might take a spiritual revolution to bring about the change necessary to create harmony out of chaos.
Those of us who were appalled at the election of 47 must confirm our determination to resist him at every step, even before he is inaugurated again. "Once bitten, twice shy" is a common watchword. Progressives might be surprised to find common cause with conservatives in the old sense of Edmund Burke, who love liberty and hate tyranny. He wrote, "In a democracy, the majority of the citizens is capable of exercising the most cruel oppressions upon the minority."
After the Orange Menace was elected in 2016, it was Gloria Steinem who said (something like), "I feel like this was a vote against the future, but the future is going to happen anyway." Our unique American status as a nation comprised of the entire world gives us unique strength and unique perspective--our diversity adds tremendous value, even if some of us refuse to admit it.
A) thanks for giving us an audio version. B) I think about these things a lot, and listen to the different opinions of people like yourself who I see on MSNBC and YouTube. At age 75, I have come to believe that Americans periodically need to be reminded of the benefits of living in this experiment, and how much earlier generations gave up to allow us to be where we are today overall. I think that the desire for money and power is innate in humans, and if the circumstances are right, we get monsters who systematically take away rights and carve away at our expectations and self-confidence, so when we finally arrive at the place we are now, most of us are worried about money, find that higher education is unaffordable, the bills are piling up and we're just angry to find we're the lobster in the boiling pot. We feel betrayed and look for excuses and/or someone to blame. On top of that, societal interaction has completely changed, really in the blink of an eye. Social networks have been around less than 30 years, but for people younger than that, it's all there's ever been. Long(er) story short, it's all happened before, many times in human history, and every time, once those who feel oppressed figure out the ones who promise them the moon and give them a dead rock get taken down. Maybe it means some kind of revolution. I would hope without violence, but DT's followers may be showing us otherwise.
Maybe the middle of chaos it certainly had its seeds before that. It’s interesting to look at the present and being as old as I am thinking back to the 60s and 70s and some of the chaos and resistance and but I think right now it is a culture war. It does not seem to be a revolt exactly altho rhetoric online with 20 somethings and upper teens is trending with fiery tones. I think it is a search for where to go and a lot of looking to the past thinking how much more easier it was when in fact, it probably was not we’re having a rejection of globalism a return to nativism a fear of dangling with no direction. We have no real leaders to give us what it is that we really need which is a way forward the Republican party has even bigger tent and no direction. The Democratic Party has lost itself in too many factions separating and not relating, I wish I were smart enough or a seer that I really know what direction we are going to finally take what is our pathway Unfortunately, government tends to look backwards and fix rather than look forward and thrive, but we have had times in our histories where that has been the pathway we have chosen, and we need that again someone mentioned to me recently that the trade between north and south rather than our being hemispheric east and west might be something to be following and is it a possibility that we are going to be looking at Chinese influence, Russian influence, and American influence and when I say American influence I’m referring to the northern hemisphere in the southern hemisphere
January 6 insurrection was a shock out of the norm out of comprehension and quickly wanted to be buried by many people because it was uncomfortable and frightening. My hope is that we don’t become so afraid that we turn inward and quit living and thriving and striving for a way forward, Unfortunately I do not think that we are past the chaos. On this end tho there is not a paralyzing. Cool heads attentiveness and open minds with an eye for change acceptance discernment in options.
Thank you Anand - perfect words for the beginning of what will be a challenging time for all of us and yet we have hope and inspiration on our side as well as 50% of the people who didn't vote for the incoming administration. Here we go - count me in!
I like to think that our diverse nation of many cultures and peoples from all corners of the planet will not only prevail but be an inspiration to other nations. I sometimes think that MAGA are our modern day Mongols destroying what we have accomplished and paving the way for Dark Ages 2.
Storytelling provides hope. Whether that is fiction or non-fiction, our brains need to make sense of our lives/world. Anand is a word artist, dare I say a word magician, and as such, plays an important role inspiring collective Hope. My wish is that each of us reflect on some event in our lives in which we persevered despite the odds and came thru on the other side, a future that was wished/imagined (ie, an illness resolved, a relationship healed) and then use that hopeful perseverance to create our collective future.
Thank you, Anand
I live in Silver Spring, MD, just north of the District of Columbia.
Proudly, we are one of the most diverse places in the United States. A Catholic church in downtown Silver Spring, St. Michael the Archangel, has parishioners from over 80 countries.
For the past six years, I have driven Uber in and around DC and provided transportation to people who live and work here as well as visitors from every state and almost every country.
While I welcome everyone into my vehicle, I consider it a personal responsibility and honor to welcome visitors and those who are new arrivals.
I believe it is especially important that that these new arrivals hear and hopefully feel acceptance, respect and encouragement.
While most people aren’t fortunate enough to drive Uber and meet and engage with as many people as I do, I encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunities their life provides to say, in their own way, “Welcome”!
We never know the effects small acts of kindness can have but we can feel fairly confident the more we do, the more likely someone might benefit.
Pace e bene,
John
An excellent reflection for today.
Agree! Beautiful perspective about American aspirations.
While I remain hopeful, suffice to say that it’s worse than we thought. Four years later over half of the voters in this country condoned that terrorist attack on the Capital.
Not to be a pessimist when Anand has offered a more inspiring perspective but this piece I read this morning, of all mornings, featuring Officer Fanone is heartbreaking. Imagine how those officers feel today knowing that millions of Americans "just don't care about an assault on the Capitol." https://www.huffpost.com/entry/michael-fanone-jan-6-anniversary-donald-trump-immunity_n_6778641ce4b03c84a28dacc5?ncid=APPLENEWS00001&fbclid=IwY2xjawHouOdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHY_cWbh-pV_MLq_KjlzcC1qchCI0ogSbSBB6CSbxzD8Vrb8qUNheuMicug_aem_46r30aw1q2CRA0AOd2awIQ
Thank you Anand for these enlightened words of encouragement. It is a salve for my soul.
Storytelling provides hope. Whether that is fiction or non-fiction, our brains need to make sense of our lives/world. Anand is a word artist, a word magician , play an important role inspiring collective Hope.
This is a most EXCELLENT perspective-- and it sure made me think- and become heartened and determined. And we’ve proceeded quite far down the path already. What worries me is that -as references to and support for democracy and freedom disappear from our daily life, how do people remember enough to fight for it-- especially since they (due to corporate strangling of our adult lives) have not TASTED it?
Your hope is catchy Anand. Holding both hope and despair is a maturity that is natural to human beings, adult human beings that is. To my mind we’re living in a spiritual poverty reaction to the materialism and greed that has surfaced with immense power with plutocrats around the world. It might take a spiritual revolution to bring about the change necessary to create harmony out of chaos.
Those of us who were appalled at the election of 47 must confirm our determination to resist him at every step, even before he is inaugurated again. "Once bitten, twice shy" is a common watchword. Progressives might be surprised to find common cause with conservatives in the old sense of Edmund Burke, who love liberty and hate tyranny. He wrote, "In a democracy, the majority of the citizens is capable of exercising the most cruel oppressions upon the minority."
After the Orange Menace was elected in 2016, it was Gloria Steinem who said (something like), "I feel like this was a vote against the future, but the future is going to happen anyway." Our unique American status as a nation comprised of the entire world gives us unique strength and unique perspective--our diversity adds tremendous value, even if some of us refuse to admit it.
A) thanks for giving us an audio version. B) I think about these things a lot, and listen to the different opinions of people like yourself who I see on MSNBC and YouTube. At age 75, I have come to believe that Americans periodically need to be reminded of the benefits of living in this experiment, and how much earlier generations gave up to allow us to be where we are today overall. I think that the desire for money and power is innate in humans, and if the circumstances are right, we get monsters who systematically take away rights and carve away at our expectations and self-confidence, so when we finally arrive at the place we are now, most of us are worried about money, find that higher education is unaffordable, the bills are piling up and we're just angry to find we're the lobster in the boiling pot. We feel betrayed and look for excuses and/or someone to blame. On top of that, societal interaction has completely changed, really in the blink of an eye. Social networks have been around less than 30 years, but for people younger than that, it's all there's ever been. Long(er) story short, it's all happened before, many times in human history, and every time, once those who feel oppressed figure out the ones who promise them the moon and give them a dead rock get taken down. Maybe it means some kind of revolution. I would hope without violence, but DT's followers may be showing us otherwise.
Maybe the middle of chaos it certainly had its seeds before that. It’s interesting to look at the present and being as old as I am thinking back to the 60s and 70s and some of the chaos and resistance and but I think right now it is a culture war. It does not seem to be a revolt exactly altho rhetoric online with 20 somethings and upper teens is trending with fiery tones. I think it is a search for where to go and a lot of looking to the past thinking how much more easier it was when in fact, it probably was not we’re having a rejection of globalism a return to nativism a fear of dangling with no direction. We have no real leaders to give us what it is that we really need which is a way forward the Republican party has even bigger tent and no direction. The Democratic Party has lost itself in too many factions separating and not relating, I wish I were smart enough or a seer that I really know what direction we are going to finally take what is our pathway Unfortunately, government tends to look backwards and fix rather than look forward and thrive, but we have had times in our histories where that has been the pathway we have chosen, and we need that again someone mentioned to me recently that the trade between north and south rather than our being hemispheric east and west might be something to be following and is it a possibility that we are going to be looking at Chinese influence, Russian influence, and American influence and when I say American influence I’m referring to the northern hemisphere in the southern hemisphere
January 6 insurrection was a shock out of the norm out of comprehension and quickly wanted to be buried by many people because it was uncomfortable and frightening. My hope is that we don’t become so afraid that we turn inward and quit living and thriving and striving for a way forward, Unfortunately I do not think that we are past the chaos. On this end tho there is not a paralyzing. Cool heads attentiveness and open minds with an eye for change acceptance discernment in options.
Thank you Anand - perfect words for the beginning of what will be a challenging time for all of us and yet we have hope and inspiration on our side as well as 50% of the people who didn't vote for the incoming administration. Here we go - count me in!
Thank you, Anand.
SO well written. Thank you.