People who are disappointed by elections ought to be careful about what they say — not out of fear of tyrants but out of concern for spreading despair.
Citizens who wallow in despair are not good defenders of their own rights or of the rights of vulnerable people.
If you’re tempted to don sack cloth and ashes, don’t.
Some people are circulating W.H. Auden’s poem “September 1, 1939.” It was written when the lights went out in Europe. The poet might have been afraid, but he took heart in the sparks generated by folks he called “the Just.” Here’s the ending:
Defenceless under the night
Our world in stupor lies;
Yet, dotted everywhere,
Ironic points of light
Flash out wherever the Just
Exchange their messages:
May I, composed like them
Of Eros and of dust,
Beleaguered by the same
Negation and despair,
Show an affirming flame.
I hope the Just will keep exchanging messages and will let their dissenting lights shine. I hope they will not lose heart.
• Source: W.H. Auden, Selected Poems; New York: Vintage Books, 1979. “September 1, 1939” is on pp. 86-9. You can find a copy here:
I agree -- keep the light(s) on and don’t give up.
ReplyDeleteIf you didn't hear Kamala Harris's concession speech (I did not), she made a point very similar to what you're saying here: "There’s an adage an historian once called a law of history, true of every society across the ages. The adage is: only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time, but for the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But here’s the thing, America, if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant billion of stars.
ReplyDeleteThe light, the light of optimism, of faith, of truth and service … and may that work guide us, even in the face of setbacks, toward the extraordinary promise of the United States of America." That's a transcript from The Guardian – I hope it's accurate.
Me too, Michael. I hope that's accurate. That's powerful stuff. I keep thinking about the 1930s, when the country was paralyzed by fear, mainly of economic problems but also of anything that could be labeled "foreign." To get past the paralysis, an awful lot of people had to somehow get past that fear. I don't think it's helpful to see it as a purely political problem. I think it would help if we could somehow persuaded our neighbors that fear-stoking propaganda is harmful. The '30s were a golden age for propaganda. I reckon this is another.
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