Did you ever take a long car ride with kids? Despite their iPads, cell phones and countless bags of gummy bears, eventually you’ll be asked: “Are we there yet?” Your answer: “Soon,” will only last a few minutesbefore the question is asked again.... and again, and again.
“Are We There Yet?” is not a question only impatient little kids ask; we grown-ups ask it too. In so many instances, as we travel through, life we want to know if what we're expecting is coming soon, especially if it’s something good. We want to know when will our wait be over? When will what’s been promised — often with some hype and great anticipation built-in — finally arrive?
With New York City’s recent elections, so much has been already been written and so many pundits have already said — the obvious: "Elections have consequences.” We know that! But with time left to go before there are new faces in City Hall, some folks are already wondering: “Are we here yet?"
The “Soon” answer will be met with eager anticipation for some, while for others, it would be hard to hide their trepidation.
For the next question on the minds of many, “Where we do go from here?” (...once “here,” or “there,” of course), maybe we should consider looking for advice from someone who, no doubt, has quelled riotous children successfully (from time to time) through the words of the great Grinch (who, of course, stole Christmas):
“Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store; Maybe Christmas means a little more... Christmas Day will always be, As long as we have ‘WE.’” (That is, of course, Dr. Seuss.) We, is the American voter. That “We” understands that the principles of the American democracy derive from documents like the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and the hard-fought-for values of the American people. That is the we. And we is... almost “there, yet.”
In this recent election, locally and nationwide, millions of “we"s felt a sense of duty and the obligation to stand up for those values and make our opinion(s) known. No, democracy is not a glitzy holiday gift. And it’s so much more than a bumper sticker that peels off or a 30-second ad, almost immediately forgotten. It’s a long road trip, bound to have its... annoyances... along the way and no, we’re not there yet. But we’ll always be — We the American people.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. warned us about the negative consequences of not understanding that we’re all interconnected and the power of being “WE” not just “me.” To quote another “Doctor,” this with far more accoldades: “We must all learn to live together as brothers, or we will all perish together as fools. We are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality. And whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”
