Looking Out
-OPINION by D.E. BENTLEY
During a recent email exchange a long time friend commented that we are living in “Dark Times.” This is most evident to me when I look out from here, toward other places. There are so many people globally who are living in war zones, with lack of food and water, domestic and global hatred and violence threatening their very existence, interrupting their daily lives, enveloping them in devastation and grief. The issue truly is survival.
Yes, we have had very dark times here in the past (all of which must be remembered to keep these current times in perspective). Near my childhood home there was an old family cemetery and one row had family members from infant to the 90s who had all perished within a couple years of one another, likely from an epidemic of some sort (although my adult self wants to return and tie that event to a distinct time and event). People, like many other animal populations, often had large families to plan for loss. We need only look at the legacy of the First People to be reminded of the harm we have inflicted on others as a nation although there are many intermediary examples as well including our current assault on the less fortunate.
Right now in the United (or less than united) States, we live in relative peace; most of us do not daily fear for our lives and the lives of our loved ones in the same way people do in so many other places. For most of us (at least those who are not refuges from more frightening realities) a plane is still a mode of travel, a jet streak fading on the horizon, and a firework display is a chance for celebration rather than noise that summons memories of war, of lives lost.
Still, here, now, is a time of war in many ways and many do live in fear. Anxieties are high as people reflect on global and domestic acts of violence and social and economic instabilities, some of which are hitting close to “home.” So many in the US can’t find jobs that pay a living wage, or affordable housing and live from day to day. Some have family members in the armed forces, getting called to serve. Others have family members, friends, neighbors who have not yet gained citizenship who are now losing the chance; individuals that have lived here for decades, contributed to the social and economic well being of others, are being torn apart, displaced and disappeared.
As I am going about my daily routine I reflect often these days on the “others” who are spending there days hiding in fear, running for cover as the next bomb rains down. During a recent walk in Letchworth State Park, I was able to forget, momentarily, as the power of this magnificent place dominated my being as it had those of it’s first inhabitants (displaced by colonization from this place they cared for and called home). I reflected on how positive change is incremental, inspired and carried forward by insightful people, including William Pryor Letchworth, the park’s benefactor, who gifted the (once stolen) land and spent much of his later life improving the lives of others. Fighting for what he knew to be just and right.
These are dark time and yet, there are glimmers of light, places we can turn to for refuge. There is beauty in the simple things, in the opening of a flower, the flight of a bird (or bee). There is beauty in our fellow citizens. Most people are good people who just want the best for the people they love and care about. They recognize when harm is being done. They reach out to others in need. There are divisions, but we remain one in so many ways. We will not forget the past and we cannot, will not go back to the darkest of times.