Apologies, Pickles, and Idealistic Notions

Echoing a comment made by my friend Chris, I “[apologize] on behalf of all the crazies who think Obama is the antichrist.” Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if a few “Dems” out there might have nursed some similarly outrageous perspectives of McCain as well. In all likelihood, both men (neither demigods, nor devils) believe that they can do right by this country and make it a safer and better place.

I remember eight years ago and how I was under the impression that if Al Gore became president, the country would be headed to Hell in a handbasket (I’m almost positive I used that exact cliché’ several times). I had my doubts about the Texan candidate back then too, but I had been convinced by the predominant cultural voice that Gore was an agent of the dark side. Eight years later, and despite “A Shameless Ego Trip,” …uh, I mean “An Inconvenient Truth,” I still think Gore was the wrong choice, though Bush was, of course, the wrong choice too.

I love the earth and my combustion engine, immigrants and national security, tofu and beef. I sicken at the thought of abortion, gay marriage, and turning a blind eye to genocidal tyrants but also become incensed at the idea of any governing body that seeks to take away my inalienable right to choose and asserts its capitalist values on vulnerable foreign countries. I‘m proud to be an American and feel like we are the luckiest citizens on Earth, but I’m also ashamed of our government leaders, fear-mongering media, profiteering CEOs, and blatant disregard of how dramatically our quality of life is dependent upon the abject poverty of third-world nations. U.S. citizens are in a deliciously dressed ethical pickle.

Neither candidates eight and four years ago, nor the candidates of today match my ideals. In my opinion, none of them are qualified to be a world leader. For that matter, no man or woman is, and there doesn’t seem to be much that we can do about this conundrum.

Though, despite the maniacal and en-trenched status quo, I still see hope and a solution for our political-economical-global problem. And no, it’s not who we choose to be our president.
In the highly acclaimed book Man’s Search for Meaning, Dr. Viktor E. Frankl summarizes his experiences in the Auschwitz death camp through the eyes of a psychologist. Though I hardly feel our nation’s situation compares to the direness of his, he shares a valuable lesson that I think applies to any of us who harbor unhealthy levels of fear for our country’s future:
“We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” (p. 75)

In a nation composed of individuals, as long as there are those among us who, whether metaphorically or literally, give away their last piece of bread to buoy up their fellow countrymen, the United States will remain the place I want to live. I believe the “bread givers” are the unassuming leaders of this land, and you and I can choose to join their ranks.
I also wonder if the solution to most, if not all, of the perceived problems in this country lie more in each of our attitudes and courage to serve within our stewardship, and less in the lap of our president.

Whatever our feelings are about the newly elected officials, the least we can do is try to give them the benefit of the doubt, hope they don’t disgrace our nations values, and resist emotion-driven urges to put the fate of our nation in anyone else’s hands other than our own.