Today’s post is published in the aftermath of the tragedy in Charlottesville, VA on this date… August 12, 2017.
As part of my 365 day personal writing challenge, I have written about many things that Bug Me, Inspire Me and Stop Me; however, there is ONE Thing that completely leaves me without words.
Loss and grief often remind me that there are no words to adequately express my empathy connected with another’s loss. I work hard to find words that simply convey my compassion, care and availability.
Words often escape me when seeking to describe amazing displays of beauty or power in nature.
Celebrations are other times that can cause words to catch in my brain and miss connections with my mouth.
Then there is This One Thing . . . One thing . . . that completely, absolutely stops me in my tracks. It creates an almost impossible challenge. It causes deep pain, disappointment and confusion every time it raises its ugly head and comes to life through the actions of my fellow human beings. It destroys the illusion of progress that we convince ourselves we have attained. It calls into question the legitimacy of our declarations of intent associated with its intended defeat. It takes us back to times characterized by petulance and infantile declarations of superiority.
What is This One Thing about which I write? What is This One Thing that stops me in my tracks? What is This One Thing that gnaws away at my belief in the ability of people to function from a platform of shared humanity? What is This One Thing?
It is wrapped up in a bundle labeled Inhumanity that is filled with hatred, bigotry, prejudice, violence, intolerance and small-mindedness. I was around during the Civil Rights Movement. I witnessed the struggles associated with the implementation of ideals that should always have been in existence. I have seen us make strides in this area and have hung my hat on hopes that we, as a people, had finally turned the corner. That is until days like today.
On days like today, This One Thing morphs into the hideous aberration that it is. This Inhumanity reveals its grotesque heads and unleashes them on the unsuspecting and the innocent. Days like today remind me that we have a very long way to go. Days like today remind me that the Monster is still alive. Days like today remind me that It slithers through the world seeking whom it may devour. This embodiment of Evil stalks people, looking for pliable conduits through which It may destroy. Unfortunately many on this planet are extremely willing hosts and gladly give themselves over to this hellish intrusion.
This One Thing disturbs, angers, exasperates, confuses and infuriates me more than any other thing on this planet. We must stop calling good, bad and bad, good. We must stop making excuses for purposeful ignorance. We must stop looking the other way. We must stop minimizing Evil. We . . Simply . . . MUST!
Please . . . help me, help us all to eliminate this Hulkish Evil . . . Please!
Peace!
Mark E. Hundley
