I continue to await news about being on the ballot. While I also continue to work on things that will need to fall into place when I hear that I am, the situation in Ferguson is on my mind. In that context, I woke up this morning thinking about my mother and father. Theyve both passed on, but I remember how they had said over the years that certain things about the world had become too fast and too big. My dad, born in 1918, was a veteran of WWII. He served his time on an air base in India repairing planes used to wage war. As I was growing up, I heard him say many times how passenger planes had become too big and carried too much fuel and too many people. I thought he didnt understand progress. After 9/11 happened, I thought about what he said in a new light. One time when my daughter was a teenager, she wanted to take my mother to see a movie. Mom hadnt been to a movie theatre in many years and my daughter thought it would be fun for the two of them to go on an outing together. She suggested the animated movie The Prince of Egypt, figuring it wouldnt be offensive and that her grandmother might enjoy a familiar biblical story. My mom was mostly unimpressed. Everything was so loud and too fast, she said. I think about Ferguson as a community. Aside from the worst of what were seeing -- the violent agitators and those who have moved far beyond protesting the tragedy which sparked the initial unrest -- there is a family and a community struggling to recover. People with jobs and obligations. Kids needing to go to school. Stores not open, some likely out of business for good. In a way, Ferguson is a town thats seeing the worst of what too big can mean. Many things in this country have succumbed to the bigger is better and necessary myth to the detriment of our society. Bigger mergers, bigger conglomerations and bigger money in politics. There are bigger fears which have led to bigger government agencies, like the NSA which is constantly over-reaching in areas of privacy and the Department of Homeland Security which has tried to frighten us all into thinking theres an enemy so big lurking around every corner that even small communities need to be outfitted like the military. Like in Ferguson. For the past several days, drawn guns, curfews and tear gas have become the norm along with unrest. This serves to create a big divide between law enforcement officers and the communities they are sworn to protect and serve. Highway patrol officers and members of the National Guard are there in a bigger effort to restore peace. I believe Ferguson is engulfed in a wave of what happens when situations get not only out of control, but too big. With mainstream media attention at a frenzy level and social media presenting a nonstop flow of information, the situation has exploded to such a degree it has gained international notice. If someone wanted to seek attention, if he or she had an agenda and wished to create a spectacle, to be seen on Twitter feeds or maybe even on television, why not go to where the world is watching every move? Its widely reported that many of the troublemakers in Ferguson are from out of town. And in the midst of it, I think of what our children are seeing, hearing and learning. All children but especially the children of Ferguson. Every mother wants to keep her children out of harms way and wants them to be happy. Mothers want safe streets and to live in a place where neighbors look out for one another. At the heart of most situations there is a small and simple solution. And it has to start with the people who live in a community taking control on a small scale in spite of a world which seemingly endeavors to make everything bigger. I hope the citizens of Ferguson can find their way toward reclaiming their lives, their community spirit, peace and a sense of purpose. Its what I hope all of us can do. Strong communities which can take care of their own are the best hope we have for a bright future.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 12:12:45 +0000
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