Dear Anarchists

Americans are good people.  America is a good country.  Please stop poking and prodding to try to continually find something wrong.

Case in point:  The people of Texas dealing with Harvey.  These people, many of whom are the “deplorables” and the conservatives who are accused of being bigots, racists, and worse, are out helping their neighbors.  Whites (those called racists) are carrying Blacks on their backs and in their boats.  Conservatives and liberals are stepping forward to help one another without inquiring into race or creed or culture or other politically correct determinations.  Police officers are helping people not shooting them.  People of all faiths are helping people of other or no faith.  The victims of the hurricane are for the most part being kind, civil, and orderly.  The President is standing behind these victims – all of them – with his verbal support as well as that of the federal government. 

This is America – a country of good people all pulling together to help those faced with a tragedy.  And yet, there are those who must find something to complain about, so, what do I read but that Mrs. Trump wore high heels to board the plane to Texas followed by all sorts of name-calling about her and then attaching that to her husband.  These folks did not even wait to see that Mrs. Trump indeed changed into flat shoes by the time she deplaned in Texas (so, apparently, she is not an idiot after all). 

I once had a friend who seemed to never be angry (this was a black man in Detroit in the late 60s and early 70s, so he had much he could have chosen to be angry about).  This man did not give in, and was not shy about standing up for his and others’ rights, but he was not angry.  He said being angry wasted too much time and energy.  Instead, he used that time and energy to see the good in all mankind and work with others to make our world a better place.

There are many today who could take a lesson from that friend.   Instead of fomenting anger – their own and that of others – why not see the good in those with whom they disagree and try working with those others to make this world a better place.  Rather than spend their time looking for things wrong with America and with opposing views and those who hold them, why not look for all the good in all the people around us in this country?  Why, I wonder, is that so hard?

America is a good country with a long history.  Like all history, some of that is good, some not.  But it is the history of a country that respects humankind and encourages the individual to be all that he or she can be.  Please stop poking that history apart to find only what can be complained about.

Second case in point:  In 1892 Italian immigrants pulled together to fund the statue of Columbus that stands in Columbus circle, but is now under threat of removal.  The history of the statue reveals the strength of the Italian-American community, a group that still honors Columbus despite his imperfections.  And, isn’t that the key to understanding this country:  It is not a perfect place filled with perfect people, but it is a place that honors all those people with all their imperfections.   

Yes, Columbus, in addition to awakening Europe to this new world, brought with him much sickness and death.   We can all wish that had not happened and hate that it did; we can blame Columbus for his actions and then for those of many others.  But, if we look fully, we can also see in Columbus an example of someone with a new idea who did not give up in his hope for exploration.  It took him years to convince someone to fund his voyages, and those voyages were not easy.  Here is an example of a relentless human spirit that will not give up.  So, we can simply hate him for the hurt he brought to this land and its native peoples and tear down his statue, or, we can look not with hate but with an open mind and consider his example as one that shows us what the human spirit can do (for if we tear down every dreamer that was in any way imperfect, then we will have no examples of dreamers to show our children what the human spirt can do).  And, should someone dream and succeed in setting off in new explorations, we can look to Columbus’s imperfections to teach how not to behave (for without that example as well, we are likely doomed to repeat the errors). 

Our history is not perfect, but it is our history, and even the darker moments have lessons to teach us.  So, let me suggest that instead of seeking always to find fault and as a result seeing only the bad, that those inclined to do so take a moment to see the full and total picture of America and its people and to view that picture with an open mind of hope, not hate.

America is a good country.  Our history – our full history, not one that is cleansed or one that is shaded only with our mistakes and imperfections – teaches us that;  it should not take a disaster to remind us that America is filled with good people and that there is more to do with our energy and our time than to spend it on hate and anger.