It’s a comfortable feeling when you have an anticipation of what may happen. It gives one a sense of control, although that can surely be an illusion. If there are multiple possibilities then it becomes fraught with some uncertainty. Even that can be manageable. We give thought to what might happen and then envisage our reactions to them. That sort of thing happens countless times every day.
What we are facing in the next weeks certainly strains that sense of orderliness. It is hard to recall a recent time when there has been so much unanticipated violence, such instability in government institutions, and so much unrest in the world. Add to that the vagaries of individual lives and it’s enough to make one wish for “the good old days.” That is, of course, a figment of our imaginations; we selectively exaggerate the positives of the past while pushing the negatives into a dark corner of our memories.
Setting aside the chaos that seems to be a rolling tide, let’s turn our attention to the upcoming political tsunami. The best we can hope for is that insanity will be held at bay, that some sense of calmness and rationality may quell the possibility of real mayhem.
While we consider the wild rhetoric that has led up to the political conventions, one of the most disconcerting aspects is the wide acceptance that ridiculous proposals have gained. Let’s deport 12 million illegal immigrants, let’s build a wall to keep them “where they belong.” I don’t recall the last wall, built in 1961, being marked with success. It finally collapsed under its own tyrannical weight taking the Soviet Union with it.
There’s a darker side to what may happen in Cleveland than laying the groundwork for the unimaginable. Remember the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968. That was year of assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. That was the time that the realization of what we were doing in Viet Nam was coming to light. Across the nation, cities where going up in flames as the Civil Rights movement was laying bare a century of hypocrisy in unspeakable racial injustice.
The protest against those tragedies caused the riots in Chicago that summer and set the stage for Hubert Humphrey’s Democratic nomination and subsequent defeat. We need not dwell on what followed with Richard Nixon.
Those terrible things happened when sensible and thoughtful people looked the other way. If reasonable people do not stand up and be counted then we may face a time that will be equally as soul-destroying. Nothing could give aid and comfort to our enemies more than to see that happen.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke out against the dangers that we face in this political quagmire and was immediately pilloried for injecting her thoughts into the coming weeks. Since when does being a member of the Supreme Court curtail a Justice’s 1st amendment rights? Since she was quick to apologize, she compromised her right as a brilliant American. We understand the separation of powers doctrine, but this was not a case before the Court. This was an honestly expressed view. Would that more people in power had the courage to stand up for honesty, decency, and common sense rather than being a political parrot for their personal gain.
To top off the impending problems of what might happen in Cleveland, Ohio is an “open carry state.” Weapons can be taken into the convention area. In Roanoke, ladies have to open their purses to show they have no weapons when they go to the symphony. Violence doesn’t frequently occur at classical music concerts, but this week in Cleveland we aren’t talking about a performance in Severance Hall.
If there is a God in heaven who intervenes in human affairs, we certainly can pray he’s going to give guidance to freedom of will which has so roundly been abused in every corner of the globe.
Hayden Hollingsworth
