Usually I take time on these pages to review the outrages of the day. And rest assured, the next time I take to my keyboard, I will be right back to reviewing whatever current news should have you reaching for your pitchforks and torches and singing “La Marseillaise”. But for tonight I thought I would offer a breather.
As I was returning home on Saturday from running the usual weekend errands, I noticed two things. The first was a wreck on the highway that runs past my house. That in and of itself is not out of the ordinary. Wrecks are fairly commonplace on that stretch of road, and I think it is because we have become such an angry people in recent years that roadways have become the new town squares. They are where we air our grievances–personal, political and social. We may not be able to fix the government, and we may not be able to get the guy down the road to take his sign or flag down, so we believe that by passing the jerk in front of us and beating him to the next stoplight, we have at least accomplished something. For that 100-foot stretch of road, give or take, we were in control. And I’ve seen it happen with cars with MAGA and Black Lives Matter bumper stickers so it does not adhere to party lines. Aggressive driving has become so commonplace where I live that an unless a wreck has resulted in a loss of life, it is almost business as usual. You just have to plan for the eventuality when you pull out on to the highway.
The second thing I noticed was the cause of the wreck. As I pulled into the driveway, I saw someone pull up to the neighbor’s house. The husband got out bearing a small bundle and laid it at his wife’s feet. Their six-month old puppy had gotten loose and wandered down to the freeway. And although a driver tried to swerve to avoid him, there just was not the time or space to avoid the puppy. Fortunately, no one was killed in the two-car crash, but the family was devastated at the lifeless little body on their lawn. And if you have ever lost a dog, you know exactly the kind of misery I am talking about.
Scroll through the various pages of PJ Media or any other site out there. You will find plenty of things that will turn your hair white, send your blood pressure through the ceiling, and set your teeth on edge. And you aren’t wrong to be alarmed and to want to do something. But at the same time, you can become so wrapped up about the state of the world and hammering out angry responses in a comment section that you miss the big picture.
Will the Democrats destroy America as we have known it? If not, it won’t be for lack of trying. Will unjust laws be passed? Will taxes and prices go up? Will privacy and free speech continue to decrease? All very likely. Will America continue its decline on the world stage? Probably. Will wicked people continue to use race to divide a county and amass money and power? Sounds like a safe bet to me.
And believe me, that crap keeps me up at night just like it does you. But by letting it eat your lunch, you hand the progressives another win. You give them a piece of your soul. And they don’t deserve that.
As I watched my neighbors understandably weep over their dead puppy, I thought about all of the moments and people that we take for granted. We naturally assume that we will see our families at night. We think we will always see that friend again or hear their voice over the phone. And six-month -old puppies are not supposed to die. In raging against the dying of the light, it is easy to forget the very things the light is supposed to illuminate. Things that can go away in heartbeat.
In his piece “The Red Wheelbarrow,” American poet William Carlos Williams wrote:
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens
At first blush, it may sound like absurdist trifle. But Williams points out the beauty and value in the everyday and the seemingly mundane. And we ignore those things at our peril. The mundane makes us human and gives our lives meaning.
I see very little of my wife these days. She is an ICU nurse and by necessity, much of her energy goes to the sick and dying and their families. But on Sunday, we both found ourselves with a day off and not a damn thing to do. So we got out of Dodge. We went up to the mountains and saw the leaves change. We found an out-of-the-way restaurant and had burgers. And I knocked back an IPA, got reacquainted with the woman I married, and forgot about all the garbage for a few hours.
Look, the Left is going to be there tomorrow. Take a day and recharge. Take a day to get back to what matters. It will not only be to remind yourself what you are standing for. It will also give you back your joy. Joy is something the Left cannot understand or appreciate, and it is what sets you apart from them.
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