Moody Monday: Been Here Before

One advantage of being nearly as old as dirt, is I remember when it was like this before and that somehow we made it through.  I remember the deep political divisions of the late 1960's early 1970's the scandals that forced Richard Nixon out of office.  The riots of the late 1960's over school desegregation and the deep divides in communities and people moved - in essence re-segregating many urban areas. I remember George Wallace running for President, all but promising the bring back the Confederacy and slavery.   (His plane was early, or I would have photographed his arrival on a campaign stop.) 

I have watched politics move back to the middle, and back to the extremes.  There have always been wackos in Congress.  McCarthyism was the scourge of my parents era, and they never quite forgot it.  We will get past this, we will find the common ground in the middle, we always have, I trust we always will.  

We have amazing younger generations that have found value in diversity, and joys in living, loving and enjoying everyone around them.  Urban areas have blossomed as wonderful place to live.  The suburban dream that perpetuated being surrounded by people like yourself, ties people to their cars - isolated and alone for hours.  People are rediscovering the joys of walkable communities and public transit. All it took was overcoming the fear of other. And overcoming the fear of difference started with saying one-school for every child in the community.  I should have turned the camera to take a photo of the building across the street, the Supreme Court, who bravely ruled that separate but equal, is never equal.   

So how is my mood this Monday?  Bothered by the current turmoil, but assured we will get past this.  The only reason Nixon was not prosecuted, is he was pardoned by Ford knowing it would end his political career, but saying the nation needs to close this ugly chapter and move on.  And we did.  And we will again. The ugliness of today, will be undone by the youth of today.