I’ve been avoiding writing about Charlottesville, VA. Mostly because I am completely upended by the events. Angry. Frustrated. Outraged. Livid.
This is something that I cannot understand. It just doesn’t work in my brain. I can’t fathom how someone would feel superior to another human being. Let alone an entire race of people. We are all the same. Each of us comes into this world as a naked, helpless, unbiased human being. But we grow into who we are.
So my writing about this is pointless in an attempt to bring some sort of semblance of order, or reason.
I can only say that this is not what our country’s founding documents delineate. We are a country built on “All Men Are Created Equal.” It has taken a long time for us to live up to this. Wars, and strife, and hardships. But we are getting close to filling those words. And now, more than ever, we need to defend this.
Here is another thing. Clearly this country has shifted in its ability to behave in a respectful and civil manner. We have become a nation of confrontation. Many people believe that it is somehow okay to physically harm others who do not agree with their beliefs. Our current president, while on the campaign trail, encouraged others to… and I quote…. “punch him in the face.”
Many days, I spend my letters and words, writing about the importance of “Looking for the Good”….. … in life, and in others. I talk about remaining in the light. And I stand by this. In my heart, and in my mind. But when faced with the kind of hatred which was displayed in Charlottesville, it becomes difficult to have faith in this movement. It seems to be challenged on all sides.
The other day, I looked out the window, and down toward our meadow. My timing was perfect, as I saw a rather large hawk swoop down to the grass, and capture a “something.” I could not tell what it was he had at first. And then, after putting the “catch” to submission, he grabbed his prey, and flew away.
And there I saw it. A large snake wrangled in his talons as he made his way to the treetops.
A snake in the grass.
And it hit me. The snake in the grass…. the treacherous, concealed danger. Ready to strike at any moment. Quietly, waiting. But the hawk soared high above that snake, and noticed him. That beautiful strong hawk spotted that menace from its lofty position. It dove down and struck. And the snake in the grass was no more.
The White Supremacists are the snakes in the grass. And we, the hawks. Now, more than ever, we need to stay high above those belly-slithering snakes-in-the-grass. We fly high as to spot the danger. Our upright standing. Our humanity. Our loft. And we need to be stronger, and swifter, and wiser…. like the hawk. We need to rise above.
I sincerely believe, to overcome this abominable way of thinking, we truly need to stay in the kindness, in the compassion, in the higher moral ground. We have to defend equality and humanity. We fly higher. Our goodness lets us soar.
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“Use the wings of the flying Universe,
Dream with open eyes;
See in darkness.”
― Dejan Stojanovic
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