Time was short and we were never in this much of a hurry. There didn’t seem to be any explanation why the bustle had begun but as my father got me in the car the sense of urgency was unmistakable. Mother and he had been conversing in muted tones with a noted escalation of anxiety. I’d been watching from the yard at the plume of dust created by his car floated over the field as he sped down the tall hill that led to the driveway. It was a strange time to see him coming home in the middle of the day from farm work that never ended until twilight had waned. His weather worn face was steeled toward some unknown foe with a discomforting tension unfamiliar to him. And again, as the wind took the dust billowing behind us it was mother that turned in the car to announce that there’s an emergency. Explaining that after a long and tumultuous battle with life he had succumb. Turning back there were words like “shame”, “bound to happen”, “saw it coming”, “wouldn’t listen”, which made little sense to me. If he knew what was happening why was it an emergency?
It dawned on me that some emergencies are accidents. The result of some unseen and unexpected circumstance that results in a surprise for which there is no fore-thought solution. Some emergencies are, as the word infers, emergent in nature. This adolescent memory and cognizant perplexity still carry some truth through the waning decades. The world is in a state of emergency. Every day the economic plume of dust appears to surround us and, if allowed, choke us to the point of death. These are frightening times yet they are not the emergency of surprise. This plume of dust has been watched speeding down the tall hill that leads to the driveway. It has been identified for nearly a decade and the tools to keep it from turning up the drive available but, alas laid unused in the tool box. Economists, educators, advocates, and even some bankers and politicians have been pointing to the questionable use of privilege and the lack of accountable oversight allowing some to gain advantage from dubious and short sighted practices. The emergence of the current circumstance is a surprise to some but certainly not an unforeseen state. This dust has been floating over the field for years.
Now that the dust behind us is taken by the wind, we’ve all turned to each other in recognition of this most un-natural state. Tendency is always to examine the dust and quantify the “shame”, “bound to happen”, “saw it coming”, “wouldn’t listen” categories that, though they make good television, don’t help move beyond the extended first finger. Call it moral fiber or stiff upper lip or face to the wind this is the time to remember who we are. “Them/They” needs to disappear and “I/we” needs to re-appear. No matter what views are held this is a historic time in the history of a nation and the world. It is a tremendous opportunity to apply the diligence needed to emerge into a better, stronger, more unified world. As the world watches, America, that’s all of us, has to purpose to take the opportunity to sit up straight, eat our vegetables and do what needs to be done.
