Celebrate Anyway

 

“People of our time are losing the power of celebration. Instead of celebrating we seek to be amused or entertained. Celebration is an active state, an act of expressing reverence or appreciation. To be entertained is a passive state--it is to receive pleasure afforded by an amusing act or a spectacle.... Celebration is a confrontation, giving attention to the transcendent meaning of one's actions."

 ~ Abraham Joshua Heschel ~

 

Four years ago, almost exactly to the day, I sat alone on the front porch of a house I had owned for only three months. Prior to that, I lived mostly in a 28' camper and lived the life of a modern-day gypsy. I had no dog, no cats, no wife, and really no true responsibilities. And by mere happenstance, I came upon a house that literally called out to me.  So, here I sat on the porch of this great little house, in basically a strange place, with no real friends or even solid acquaintances. A fireworks show of epic proportions was about to begin, and I was about to witness it alone. To be honest, I was at total peace with that.

Just last night, I sat in a lawn chair in the driveway of that same house, poised for the same fireworks show, surrounded by my wife, family, and great friends. (Our dog and two cats waited in the house. The dog was not in a celebratory mood). Times certainly have changed and I have so very much to be thankful for; so much to.......celebrate!!

Let's be honest. Our little, infantile democratic republic has given us damn little to feel like celebrating about lately. As if a world-wide pandemic wasn't enough, we've had major unrest in the stock market, a tumultuous presidential election complete with an insurrection, and now, SCOTUS is setting us back to the stone age.

Women have lost the right to control their own bodies, EPA guidelines are being struck down, and now things like gay marriage, equal rights, and voting rights are in the cross hairs of the highest court in the land. Oddly, interracial marriage isn't currently being addressed but we all know why. SCOTUS has literally set our country back 50 years or more. It's infuriating. It's unacceptable. It's frightening.

In the last week or so, I've read so many Facebook posts about people not feeling like America deserves a birthday party. People are wearing black instead of red, white, and blue. And you know what? I get it. As adamantly as people chant "'Murica!" at the top of their lungs, "'Murica" ain't so great any more. We lag behind other developed nations (and some underdeveloped) in almost every category; incarcerated persons being the exception. We lag behind in math, science, and reading. Our impoverished are growing more so. Our birth mortality rates are embarrassing. Our health care is ridiculous, and our government is dropping the ball at every turn.

We have many a reason to not celebrate a holiday like the 4th of July. But celebrate we must. Last night I celebrated good friends, a wonderful partner for life, a wonderful home, and a great village. My wife and I are bright blue in a town, county, and state that are bright red. Not all, but many of our friends don't share our same religion or politics, and we're friends anyway. And we celebrate that every chance we get.

Look, I'm not suggesting we just sit on our asses and ignore the decisions that are turning our nation upside down. We must vote, speak up, get involved, and make our voices heard! But it doesn't have to be one or the other. I'm infuriated by the recent SCOTUS decisions. But, last night I celebrated. I have to. I have to find reasons to celebrate.'

Relatively speaking, our country is still in its infancy. 250 years is nothing. We will go through many, many changes. Honestly, I feel there's an excellent chance our capitalist-based economy will crumble before long. Our democracy and our voting rights are already being threatened to the extent actual voting may make no difference at all. The real elite that are running the show are being exposed for the long con they've been playing, but we've let it go so long we'll not likely recover. And that says nothing of the way our climate is changing. That, also, is nearing a tipping point from whence we may not return. It's a dismal state of affairs if that's on what you choose to focus.

Today, I am grateful. Despite the issues, things could be so much worse. So, make your voices heard! And for crying out loud, BE angry! There's about to be a great burst of reform. It is so very hard to find the silver lining in such dark clouds, but find it we must. Do everything in your power to bring about the change you desire. It's going to be difficult and it's going to get darker before we see light.

Celebrate anyway.

Namaste