A War Memorial As Antidote To Fear

I admit it, I've been hugely over-indulging my interest in politics lately. Sometime after I watched the candidate forum on public service and before the Rachel Maddow hour last night, I noticed that familiar mental queasiness. Too many words pointing to too many ideas, and behind it all that driving feeling. I knew then I should turn off my TV. Do you think I did? Of course not. My love of this year's political season, first blush happening that night in Iowa, has now degenerated into compulsion. And what drives any compulsion but fear.

I am afraid it won't happen. I am afraid this fresh moment of possibility, where a candidate is speaking directly to my interests and doing so in a way that is inherently optimistic, will pass unrealized. I fear this avenue of hope will be steered away from by enough voters that all of us will be forced to endure another Bush-like administration. I fear we, as citizens, will be led again by people coming from a place of deep cynicism and the desperate grasping onto personal power that desperation seems to motivate.

I believe I have seen this fear expressed in the demeanor of other Democrats and liberal commentators. The magic of inspired democracy isn't manifesting the poll numbers we were expecting. A shrill church lady whose utter ignorance about the very policies she supports has been found out and broadcast across the nation. And yet her addition to the Republican ticket continues to be seen as a great victory for her party! It doesn't seem to matter how shabby the product, millions of Americans are buying it because they like the advertising campaign.

But in this moment, I am reminded of a memorial to the American soldiers in WWII who fought in France, which I saw a few years ago at a cathedral in Strasbourg. I remember the beauty of the bronze work and the earnestness of the inscription. This earnest gratitude was expressed by a friend's father who lived through WWII as a boy in the Northern part of France, Alsace Lorraine, next to Germany. The American soldiers were unexpected heroes in that war. As a group, they were considered brave and clever. Many were farm boys from the Midwest with an uncanny ability for finding creative solutions to novel problems. Many of those smart, young men died to protect the people of France from the unprovoked brutality of the German army. And this older man I spoke with was, sixty years later, grateful and impressed.

This cleverness is demonstrated in the very tool I use right now. The Internet was developed by the American military as a form of safe communication. It has been adapted for consumer use and has entirely changed the options for human communication. Millions of people around the world are not even literate. But because I was born in this country, I have enjoyed the public school system that taught me to read and write. I am enjoying the use of the Internet as both a place to get information and a place to express my opinions about this information. I am a beneficiary of our innovative political and economic system which was born of the clever, brave mentality shared by those, now legendary, farm boys fighting in France six decades ago.

There is reason to hope. We are people who have evidence, historical and current, that supports the sanity of hope. However, it is important to be honest with ourselves. This is a fragile time in our country. Our political and economic systems have made many, many wrong turns, and we,the citizens, will have to endure the fall-out. Millions of us see the emergence of a political movement that could change the direction of our country in a positive way. But many of us are anxious, keeping the pulse on this campaign, fearful the pulse is growing weaker.

It is clear those of us who support this movement must act in whatever ways we can to strengthen it over the next several weeks. We can blog, canvas, do phone banks, give money, do voter registration, or even talk to anyone and everyone who will listen about this upcoming election. American soldiers from the past and currently serving give their lives for what is believed to be for the good of this country. The rest of us need to at least give our time. "Enough," as Obama keeps saying. We've had enough.It's time to act.