Good Morning Neighbors. Its been one heck of a week hasn’t it? From questions about whether our sitting president is physically able to run for office, to an assassination attempt on his competitor, to the Republican National Convention. It’s not often that we get to see such history play itself out at the exact same time but here we are.
In deciding what conversation we were going to have this morning I was struck by a comment I heard in one of the speeches given at the RNC this week. Mind you I understand that in recent times the parties nominating conventions have been little more than political pep rallies where we are supposed to get excited about this or that candidate. As with so many things in politics this isn’t about those of us in the middle, it’s about energizing your base. That means presenting your guy as the guy.
But during Eric Trumps speech the other night a statement he made struck me as extreme hyperbole, except that I think millions of people think this way. He said that Donald Trump was “the single greatest hope for the future”. It struck me such that I made sure to note it for later, and in my internal deliberations about this quote the first thing I asked myself is do I believe that?
I pondered that phrase through the lens of America as a melting pot of ideas, morals, values, cultures, and priorities. I wondered how many people believe this phrase to be true about any politician, tech or business leader, or a member of a religion or clergy. I decided that for myself, especially given the events just a few days prior, that this might be one of the most absurd statements of the whole event. I say this simply because if I believed there was ONE man who “was the single greatest hope for the future” then we were hopeless.
I say hopeless because if you believe that any man is your greatest hope you might be less than an inch away from hopelessness. Donald Trump was less than an inch away from being assassinated, and those placing their “Hope” in him would have suffered a catastrophic loss of hope in their future. Would that have been you?
On the opposite side we have an 81-year-old man in Joe Biden that everyday exhibits more of the physical infirmities of a man his age. I look at the democratic establishment and I see a complete lack of hope. Why? Because an entire political industry put their beliefs into one man as their single greatest hope. Even while denying the obvious, they chose this path and now that this MAN has proven incapable of fulfilling their faith in him, many are now hopeless.
Friends and neighbors does this not strike you as the epitome of insanity? Were you one that breathed a sigh of relief when the assassin’s bullet just missed or are you one that is wringing their hands because your guy appears to not be up to the task? Suzanne Collins said, "hope is the only thing stronger than fear". We cling to the hope of a man, because we fear the unknown alternative. So, if we don’t buy into any one man being the greatest hope where should we place our hope? We should place our hope and trust in our Neighbors.
Too many of us over the last years have given over wholly our hope to men (I’m simply using the term “man” as a singular collective term). In the same way that we’ve allowed fewer than 4 to decide our fate we’ve allowed a couple of mortal, imperfect vessels to assuage our fears. They did this by simply saying “Im not THAT guy”. Is it enough for us to abandon our neighbors for the promise of “not that guy”? They have given us an easy out that many have chosen. Why? Because we fear each other.
The great philosopher Yoda of Star Wars fame said “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering." I joke about the great philosopher part, but do we need a quote from Plato. Jesus Christ, Martin Luther, or Mohammed to change our life? Or can the simple hopefulness of your neighbor be the light that shines into your darkness and alleviates your fear. Again, it’s about where we put our trust. Are we putting it in a man or our neighbors.
We must begin to build the trust of our neighbors by learning to trust them and then to act on our mutual trust. Friends, together we must become each other’s single greatest hope. We must believe that our neighbors are as valuable as us. We must believe their opinions are just as valid, and we must lean on objective truth as foundation of trust. We must place our hope in each other.
Matthew Lohmeier says it well when he says “believe that everyone of us has an important role to play. Avoid anger, don’t forget to smile. But be courageous…. Get educated, read up on things. That way you can speak up with an informed opinion. Live not by lies. Live by truth, pay attention, be aware.”
To trust your neighbor would you expect them to be informed, honest, educated, attentive, and aware? Well, are you? It’s amazing how often we ask of others that which we are unwilling to ask of ourselves. Shouldn’t WE daily be the change we want in our life. It’s amazing how much positivity you get back on a normal day just by walking around with a positive attitude and a smile on your face. Don’t believe me, try it. My interactions are better when I smile than the days I wear my bitch face.
Friends our trust must be in each other. We must find the methods and processes to bridge the gaps between us. Virtually no single engineering act in the world changes so many lives and affects the environment around us as much as a dam. By building a dam we change the environment that keeps us distrustful and fearful of each other.
We must be dam builders. We must calm the torrent of the rivers that divide us, and create a path to cross over and meet each other where we are. Only then can we begin to trust and quit fearing. When we trust and not fear, we can judge each man for who they are, and not be fearful if that person fails to live up to the hype. Will you commit to being a dam builder? Will your trust be in a man, or will your trust lie in the neighbors that surround you? Remember you are not alone and we can!