The new year has not even reached the end of its first month. Nonetheless, America has endured more than its fair share of transgressive politicians and the riotous actions of their deluded followers. The knock-on effects have been far-ranging and shocking, if not necessarily surprising. But surprises come to those that wait.
One consequence of our political maelstrom I didn’t see coming was that the virtual exercise studio would close its doors. This happened following the first week after the Capitol mob-scene; the reasons were complicated. Just about anything involving “politics” is these days. Nonetheless, the fallout from the brouhaha struck me as unfair. I mourned that our little online band of stretchy-bendy yogis would be (virtually) homeless.
Over the years, I’ve rescued cats, off-the-rails projects, and friends facing seemingly unsolvable domestic problems. While I’m good at offering sympathetic shoulders and cups of tea, I’m much better at coming up with solutions.
My friends laugh, kindly, at the memory of the big fundraising event I cooked up back in California. I wanted to help a colleague make his home wheelchair accessible as his wife’s disability progressed. The event involved auctioning off the usual items like fine dinners, wine and a full-size billiard table… Oh, and wagering on which of the gentlemen would win the hammering and sawing competitions. Then there was the event to celebrate a big-deal civic anniversary — that one involved cajoling some local naval bigwigs into dressing up as historic figures and rowing ashore in a Zodiac on a cold, misty morning.
I couldn’t supply the carpentry skills, nor dress up as a Spanish explorer, but I could solve the gap between problem and action. I’m no fitness instructor, still less a yogi, but maybe there was something I could do about the gap…
Reaching out a hand
Our newly inaugurated president, Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., knows some things about bridging gaps. Disdaining his immediate predecessor’s inaugural message, which brimmed with out-dated visions of “American carnage,” President Joe’s inaugural address spoke about seeing our neighbors’ humanity in a spirit of good will.
First, he identified the problems for us all to see and study:
I ask every American to join me in this cause. Uniting to fight the common foes we face: Anger, resentment, hatred. Extremism, lawlessness, violence. Disease, joblessness, hopelessness.
Then he showed what he believed we could do, with unity: “We can right wrongs. We can put people to work in good jobs. We can teach our children in safe schools. We can overcome this deadly virus. We can reward work, rebuild the middle class, and make health care secure for all. We can deliver racial justice. We can make America, once again, the leading force for good in the world.”
We can see each other not as adversaries but as neighbors. We can treat each other with dignity and respect. … For without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury.
Towards the end of his inaugural speech, Biden said, “Because here is the thing about life: There is no accounting for what fate will deal you. There are some days when we need a hand. There are other days when we’re called on to lend one.”
Hey, I could do that!
And so, even though I’m no yogi, I can operate the heck out of a Zoom call. I know how to search for free online fitness classes, then press ‘play’ when my friends join me from their living rooms in four time zones. I can create a space for them to brag about the duration of their planks, or to show off the downward-facing-dog skills of their cats on yoga mats.
I doubt this informal camaraderie is going to win any of us presidential accolades. (Although we might get a wink from Amanda Gorman, the inspiring National Youth Poet Laureate.) But it makes me feel, even if just a tiny bit, that I’ve lent a hand where Joe Biden thinks one might be useful.
I also heard his call to service on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. I’m still too nervous of covid-19 to go out and make myself really useful, but I can research, and I can write. So one Sunday a month in 2021, I plan to write a little Civics Sunday blogpost.
I’ll look into issues around the Voting Rights Act (and why gutting it was such a bad idea), and gerrymandering (and why neither party should do it). I’ll share a bit of what I learned during a Braver Angels training session, and how motor-voter laws work to add more Americans, more easily, to certified voter rolls.
Check back on the third Sunday of each month, starting January 24. If there’s a topic that interests you, leave a message in the comments and let me know. Like Joe, I’ll make a promise to bridge that gap between ignorance and learning as best I can.
Banner photo: Karolina Grabowska from Pexels