State of the Union

This week seems to be one where I hear a lot of muttering (or perhaps louder sounds) about losing the Republic.  From the Super Bowl halftime show to the State of the Union speech to the acquittal verdict on President Trump's impeachment, there's much to make us feel like we've headed off of whatever rails were there and we're spiraling down into the abyss.

But I'm an educated woman, and I know that the country has seen worse.  It's no guarantee that we won't also see worse, but it's a comfort.

During my onground intensive in January, in small group session, I mentioned my approach to bad news.  I talked about how if we could go back to 1984, we would have trouble convincing citizens of the changes that we've seen:  the end of the Soviet Union, free and fair elections in South Africa that led to Nelson Mandela being elected the president, the legalization of gay marriage--I could go on and on.

I saw many faces lighten with relief, and one person who is much younger than I am said, "Thank you.  I never thought about it that way."

Heck, in 1984, I thought that all of civilization was under imminent threat, not just the U.S.  I was deeply concerned about nuclear weapons.

I still am.  And yet I've lived long enough to know that it's often something else that comes out of left field to be a threat.  If we could go back to 1984 and present statistics about sea level rise, I'd have trouble believing you.  But as I nervously look at the lake that's 2 blocks from me and calculate the path of the moon, I'm a believer.

So, yes, there's lots out there to cause us concern.  I return to the question I've been asking for some time:  is it 1939?

That's a less wordy way of asking, is it time to think about leaving?  Who do I know in which countries that speak English?  How open are those countries to immigrants?  Is it time to offshore some resources?

I'm not likely to take action.  But days like yesterday make me want to go out and create my own Lake District with loved ones and artists in a place far away.

I realize that it's hard to find a place far enough away that we won't be touched by any of these developments.  And so I will stay put, ministering to people in the best way I know how, bearing witness to the better life that we could create together.