Hello from a snowy town in Pennsylvania,
Earlier in the week we experienced perhaps the most accumulated snow in a single storm here in Bloomsburg since I arrived in 2009. Only one other time did we have more than 12”. We have been forecasted to get something substantial, but seldom does it happen.i must say Punxsutawney Phil had things pretty well spot on this time. I loved watching the snow pile up. It reminded me of being back in the Keweenaw.
I am always somewhat caught off guard in spite of life’s consistency. The predictability is always more likely than we believe, or perhaps are willing to admit. I think the significance of these redux events are more instructive, more helpful, than we often realize. There are two things that come to mind as I write this. First, we are never indispensable; regardless of how well we did; regardless of our seeming importance; “life goes by” with or without us. This is not meant to underestimate our value, but it is being honest with the reality of the world. Too often our self-worth, our esteem, is dependent on the other. Undoubtedly, those are patterns or attitudes we develop early in life, and the revision of patterns or attitudes is difficult. I am not sure those early things are ever completely erased. Indeed, life marches by . . .
The second thing I have come to understand is how loyalty is such a fleeting attribute. I think loyalty is too often misunderstood, undervalued, and often mistaken. Additionally, I believe it is more integrally related to the first thing I noted. Is it because we are so dispensable, disposable, that loyalty is so circumstantial? It would be somewhat logical. In the corporate world, and certainly, in the sports world, the adage of “what have you done for me lately?” Seems to be the order of the day. Again, life . . .
The complexity of loyalty is something I am struggling to understand. Or perhaps it is not complicated at all. Loyalty is unconditional, but incredibly fragile. Much like trust. Perhaps unconditional love and loyalty are more synonymous than one might imagine. Opening oneself to such a possibility with anyone takes profound courage; it requires vulnerability that goes beyond the ordinary. The consequence can cover the gamut of hope and despair. And I am know from experience that counting on the loyalty of anyone else is both foolish, and perhaps more importantly, selfish. Loyalty is given, and cannot be demanded of someone. Much like love. Another connecting aspect might be truth. Truth, understanding the essence of truth can complicate loyalty. Truth mitigates loyalty, which by extension argues the possibility of unconditionality. And as I ponder all of this and the reality of why we are so conditional, I guess it is plain and simple sinfulness. That is an easy way out of the discussion on one level, and yet, there is understanding what sinfulness is. That’s for different blog. Loyalty is often connected to patriotism and yet again, this is not about that – again, another post perhaps. Fealty is also connected to loyalty, but the difference is while loyalty is generally mutual, fealty is not. It is unidirectional; and most often it is required. There is a demand or requirement from someone with more power. If we go back to the founding of our country, I believe that we need to be honest that those incredible founders supported slavery. I also know this comment will put me in the woke category for some.
Earlier today while speaking with my former colleague, a European with Canadian citizenship, he thoughtfully asked, “How have you gotten where we are in our current world?” He often ponders things from his perspective as someone born in the Soviet Union, someone who saw democracy in its infancy. Loyalty and connections to life are something different for him. His reflections and questions on life and the world almost always cause me to rethink, to reconsider how I understand life and myself. His insight into how individual and collective actions have consequences are instructive. As I ponder life I am continually stunned at how those people I have met around Europe (and this is consistent for decades) are seemingly so much better equipped to understand and respond to their world, their surroundings. From the first exchange student I met in my home town to eventual Dana classmates, from seminary colleagues to my own journeys overseas for 2/3s of my life, to hosting my own exchange students, the general rule is European citizens, our fellow human beings, are more gracious in spite of their inherent nationalism; they are certainly more critical in their thinking and analysis of their own life situation as well and their willingness to integrate the actions, the responsibilities and the repercussions of any situation. Life marches on. They understand this and they adapt and seem to thrive.
As I noted when speaking with a young woman for whom I have incredible respect and appreciation, and who has an Eastern European parent, the first thing is to note the differences. Additionally, if I consider my European friends, acquaintances, accumulated for more than half a century, it is rather easy to see why they have developed such a multicultural mindset. Perhaps the more significant question is how is it America did not?
That is, again, the topic for another blog, but my immediate response places is on a number of conceptual attributes that, while on their own, have exceptional merit. However, like many things, one’s greatest strength can become one of our most profound weaknesses, difficult liabilities when taken too far. Some of this concepts are the most basic: individualism, freedom, self-determination, to name a few. From the intentions in the Bill of Rights to 2nd Amendment, the struggle with how those hopes and the employment of those desires have created some of our most contentious incidences. This is not a political response for me. It is philosophical. And yet life marches on, and yet not for all of us. From the Revolution to this week, those who died in defense of the Constitution, in their belief of what America is, or should be, have been simultaneously heroes and villains or traitors, depending on how one interprets. Life marches by . . . it is our reality, and, in fact, it is our human responsibility to care for each other; that is a premise of all major religions. To much to ponder as I march on with it. When Jane and Henry Fonda filmed this movie, it was a real-life struggle because they were estranged. It seems as Americans perhaps we are the same.
Thanks for reading,
Michael
thewritingprofessor55 