therelevantrhino

There’s a saying about growing old and making it- “If the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise”. Although religion and I have our differences, it’s still a pretty damn good saying, as far as sayings go. We all want to make it, and we want to watch our children grow and do better than we did, and we want them to have every chance and opportunity available. We are at a turning point in history. I say that in all seriousness, and I hope the gravity of that statement is taken as such.

In seven days, we have the choice, and the opportunity to seize this moment, and use this opportunity to think beyond ourselves. When we are older, and our children or our grandchildren ask us about this time, this blip on history’s radar, will we say to them that we were brave? That we saw this as our chance to be better people, better parents, better Americans? That in the face of extreme fear and mindless hate, and seemingly insurmountable odds we rose to the challenge and stood up? That we shed generations and centuries of prejudice, and bigotry, and an eroding morality we replaced with greed and instant gratification? Or will we cast our eyes downward and gaze off into the corner?

It has always been easier to be spectators to history; to refrain from standing and being counted among those who were willing to risk anything and everything for a better way of life for people they had never met, future generations of family, friends, and strangers, even ideological opposites. It’s always been easier to accept and even welcome complacency; to say “sure, things are bad, but they’re bound to get better.”, and simply hope or pray that they will.

In the last several weeks, we’ve seen what an ideology of division, and complacency, and fear has to offer. And we’ve borne witness to the hope of tomorrow, the challenges of the future in a modern world. In seven days, we have the opportunity to come together. We can leave the practice and politics of the past where they belong. We, the people, can shed what seperates us, and find the common ground that unites us all. And we can say to our children, and our grandchildren, “Yes. I. Did.” I believed in the future. I believed in hope, and I believed in the collective spirit of America. I chose what was right over what was convenient, and I never looked back. I didn’t let hate stop me. I didn’t let fear stop me. I didn’t let the past drag me down. I looked to the good in my family, friends, neighbors, and country, and I rose. I faced the challenges of the immeadiate to enjoy the rewards of the future, and I met that moment unafraid and grateful.

I know I’ll be able to say that…if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise…

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