Today is a cold, cloudy day with forecast for rain and maybe a little snow. So, we went for our walk a little earlier to avoid the rain. And as we were walking the clouds rolled back and the sun came shining through. A beautiful walk with the streams cascading over the rocks with the extra runoff from the lake from the recent heavy rains we had. A beautiful walk with the birds singing and chattering and the crows talking about whatever crows talk about with each other.
When we got back to the car, the clouds rolled back over the sun and a few drops fell. But the clouds and rain were too late. The walk had done its magic. The mood was set and the day began the right way with optimism and energy triumphing over bad news and laziness.
And then I get home and I see that article about Lynyrd Skynyrd writing that song and I listen to the song and I think, that’s not a bad campaign song. And DeSantis doesn’t have to hear any left-wing hippy musician telling him he can’t us his song because blah-blah fascism, blah-blah-blah. And I thought, “Here’s optimism and energy triumphing over bad news and laziness. Here are people doing something instead of just laying down and complaining and getting nothing done.
Of course, this is just the tiniest ray of light in a world of darkness. Everywhere you look you see the wreckage of all that was good. I won’t repeat the litany but let’s save time and say almost everything. And the prospects of three more years of this misery with that imbecile in the White House.
But that’s what makes that light even more important. Holding on for three more years of this is going to strain the morale of normal Americans to the breaking point. We need victories, no matter how small. Ron DeSantis succeeding against the COVID lockdowns, that was a victory. The legislation against kindergarten grooming, that was a victory. And even this silly song by some old Southern Rockers, even that is a tiny dose of hope.
By my reckoning we’ll need about another thousand hopeful things to get us through the next three years. That’s about one a day. I guess if we had to, we could get away with a hundred. That’s a shot of hope every week and half. I doubt that DeSantis can manage that all by himself. Some other folks will have to step up and deliver. Unfortunately, I think that means all of us will have to do something to make things better.
And maybe that thing that we all will have to do is suck it up and move forward with our lives and make things happen the way we want them to. Take the time to educate your children about the propaganda they are being fed. Make sure they won’t be confused by the messages they are being given. Support the right people in your community and boycott anything that stands against what you believe in whenever possible.
Do the little things that are important and maybe someday we’ll see all this madness swept away. And to torture this metaphor to the end, just like the clouds can be swept away and the sun shines through.
Not trying to make more work for you, but maybe you could set up a regular part of your site for good news. Call it a daily ray of sunshine. (Avoid the term: “Points of light”. Bad memories with that one.)
I like that idea. I should divide out the good news. I’ll come up with an appropriately over-clever name.