If we really want to understand our times and ourselves, we only need to take a good, long look at our local newspaper—assuming we are lucky enough to have one. On page one and on later pages, we often see stories of people caring for people: clubs, churches, fire companies and more. Often youth are showcased standing near remarkable projects they have just completed, or maybe, depending on the season, dressed way up, standing with a partner and about to head to the prom as king and queen. School plays and of course, in section B, the ups and downs of all the local teams are highlighted. On page two, among the obituaries, the mood may darken a little, but we also read there story after story about good people serving their communities, living lives that made a difference for others. It’s only on page four, the editorial page, that things sometimes get a little ominous. Not always, but sometimes. That’s where, in a sense, clichés can run wild and we see ourselves—sometimes, not always—in a funhouse mirror: a nation divided, addicted to social media, addled by disinformation, or drunk on dread of what comes next.
In the aftermath of the election on November 5, and especially now in the season of Thanksgiving when many Americans take time for reflection, the question of what comes next does seem highly relevant. The Red team won and the Blue team lost at the national level. But what about those of us who continue to see Americans as one people despite our differences? The fact is that we may have some serious work to do: heavy things to lift, bridges to build and conversations to face up to. Maybe the heaviest thing to lift will be our own spirits. From where I am a sitting now, it looks like a challenging period ahead. But what if we rise to those challenges?
Tradition divides us into left and right. This framework comes from the French revolution where those loyal to the old regime sat on the right of the assembly and those advocating new ideas sat on the left. But what if a great new idea needs a touch of old regime savvy to make it actually work? On the other hand, what if a gun-toting mountain man wants to love his neighbor and make sure that neighbor has affordable—and comprehensive–health insurance? What if we actually need more immigrants to process the chickens and get the fruit picked? Many farmers are certain we do and worry about what will happen if many workers are suddenly deported.
Maybe we need some new stories, some new ways to think about who we actually are, about what’s really a problem and who might be part of a solution. Right now, with so much unsettled, I am drawn back to my local paper, and it’s got me thinking not so much about two kinds of people but about two ways of being in this world. On the one hand, I see people caring and the organizations that support that caring, neighbor love in high gear, and on the other, back on page four with the op-eds and cartoons, I sometimes notice the darkness we all sometimes feel now in the background of our lives. But it’s not darkness exactly, it’s selfishness. It’s narcissism running wild.
Now, narcissism isn’t just some poor soul admiring himself in his reflection on a car window. It’s a state of mind that assumes privilege and rejects responsibility, putting our satisfactions as consumers above our obligations to one another as citizens. And, for the narcissist there is often only one way to think, one way to be right. Might be that dude at the party—so politically correct. Might be that my-way-or-the-highway preacher, so full of what everybody else should do. Might be me, actually, and—with all due respect—might be you, too, now and again. We’ve all got a piece of the demon in our hearts to contend with.
Bottom line: it looks like we need to talk!
