Two Rights

As published in The County Times (countytimes.somd.com)

By Ronald N. Guy Jr.

July 4^th: a day for chests to swell, let our American pride shine and stand in awe as Old Glory flies.  It is one of the precious few days on the calendar that transcends individual differences and focuses attention on a common history and cause. 

That all happened last week.  Fireworks were lit.  Hot dogs were grilled.  Rumor has it many, many beers were consumed.  But this 248^th birthday for our great, powerful and fragile nation landed with a heavier-than-usual conscience. 

America’s might and bombast too often conceals our democracy’s uniqueness and vulnerability.  We have formally split just once, a conflict that, for some, retains a peculiar significance.  Our unity however, has waxed and waned many times over United States’ nearly quarter millennium of existence.  Truth be told, our stitching is now strained. 

The flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812, the one that Francis Scott Key observed and that inspired his writing of the Star-Spangled Banner, resides at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.  It is enormous, majestic, awe-inspiring; it is also a very delicate piece of cloth, sewn together long ago by Mary Pickersgill in Baltimore.  It is the perfect symbol of America and the perfect metaphor for the “handle with care” warning that should adorn the Constitution’s footer. 

Something big is going to happen in November.  Regardless of your chosen side, if either just yet, it is difficult to feel confident about the next four years.  If you do, you’re either in a fog or have gotten into enough of some special bootleg Independence Day elixir to make sense of things (please share!).  For the vast majority, particular those who have had the privilege of voting for many candidates over many decades, this is a sobering time.  Like any moment in history, we are confronted by an assortment of complex challenges: Ukraine, the Middle East, China’s ambitions with Taiwan, the border, climate change, sticky post-COVID inflation and a higher interest rate environment, wealth concentration and Social Security solvency.  Quite a list.  And it would be completely understandable to conclude that, no matter the election results in November, we will be left with leaders who will fail to meet the challenge – a troubling reality that will have many searching for respites, if not our passports.   

Referring to his concerts, Tom Petty once said, “If people forget about their problems for two hours, I’ve done my job.”  For anyone who’s been lost signing a song while cruising a quiet road, absorbed by a killer album or mesmerized by a live performance, Petty’s quote perfectly captures the power of music.  The jazz of New Orleans.  The blues from the Mississippi delta to Chicago.  Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry.  Rock and Roll.  Motown.  Reggae.  Soul.  Pop.  Punk.  Metal.  Hip Hop.  Any and all genres across decades and generations.  The most fantastic of diversions.

Sports wield a similar power to transcend all differences in race, gender, creed, or political persuasion, to distract from petty differences and offer a brief opportunity to bond with fans of similar allegiance.  Attend any game.  Look around – young, old, black, white, suburban and urban dwellers, people from all walks of life.  Is there any blue v. red?  Do any of those differences matter in that moment?  No and no.  All that matters is getting the “W” and dishing the “L” to the other team.  Thousands of people, all divisions stripped away, perfectly united: it’s the version of us our adversaries despise.

Humans…Americans…we’ve gotten a lot of things wrong.  Many mistakes have been made.  We’ve succumbed to ignorance, fear, hubris, power-lust and greed too many times.  Politics are terrible and politicians, a profession requiring comfort with masks, alt-realities and truth-bending, aren’t much better.  Our history offers much to celebrate…and much to learn from.  Someday, hopefully many moons from now, an advanced species will study our time on Earth, note our enormous potential and be puzzled by our failings.  But the final report will conclude that we absolutely nailed two things – music and sports.  In both, humans, and especially Americans, discovered their best selves, but curiously missed the opportunity for broader application.