By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?
—Psalm 137
In these troubling times, many of us sit down and weep when we remember America—how it once was but is no longer. We remember how we once aspired to be a city on a hill, a model of democracy, freedom, equality, justice, hospitality.
That city has fallen.
That light is gone.
We are in exile.
We live in tragic times.
How can we sing “America the Beautiful” in this strange land?
I can’t. I’m deflated.
But just when I’m ready to sit down and feel hopeless, I remember the veteran peace activist Dorothy Day. She said, No one has the right to sit down and feel hopeless. There’s too much good work to be done.
And that gets me off my butt, back on my feet and back in the arena ready to do good work. Better yet, I shall do GREAT THINGS!
And then I remember Mother Teresa. She said, There are no great things to be done. Only small things with great love.
So I go see my ailing friend.
We once rode bikes together over long and winding roads. He’s now in a wheelchair, facing his final days.
How are you doing with all that’s going on with you? I ask.
He smiles and says, It is what it is.
There’s no miracle to expect. There’s nothing profound to say. We just talk about this and that and other things. And then it’s time for his nap.
To have a friend, to have time, that’s miracle enough.
A friend recently sent me an excerpt from The Fellowship of the Ring, written, as you know, by J. R. R. Tolkien. What you might not know is that Tolkien served in World War I. He fought in the trenches and witnessed the unspeakable horrors of the Battle of the Somme.
Hell on earth. Mordor. Tragic times.
I wish it need not have happened in my time, said Frodo.
So do I, said Gandalf, and so do all who live to see such times as these. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.
Time is given.
It’s a gift.
Tragic at times.
But still a gift.
* * *
Beautiful thank you.
Your words are poignant and heartfelt. While we weep in these tragic times, we can still do good work. Paul Tillich described faith in terms of “the courage to be” in spite of the difficulties. Our tears cleanse our eyes and also strengthen our determination.
You’ve pretty much summed it up here… weeping, feeling hopeless; time to get up, do something – something great – something small – it’s down to choices… I choose life; over & over again… these times of tragedy, of horrors unnecesssary, of disappointment, a memorial yesterday, a baby shower today…there is good work to be done, good people to know, for goodness’s sake…let’s help one another…that’s how we do it…🙏🏼💓over & over again 🌕
Thank you.
The version of “By the Rivers of Babylon” that I know and cherish is by The Melodians and was part of the “The Harder They Come” movie soundtrack. Once upon a time, I used to sing this song with my zany friends until it was close enough to dawn to call it a night. Yes. Our democratic ideals are greatly threatened in these days and times. We all feel dejected and down and wonder how all of this misery has come to pass. But then it’s time to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and go out to involve ourselves in “good trouble,” as John Lewis reminded us. “His soul goes marching on.” Duty calls people! The time is now. Arise! We’re in good company.
Randy, when I read your post this am, I thought of another song, “Times Like These” by the Foo Fighters. Would share but don’t know how to.
Our President wants to sleep with the enemy and betray our neighbors. Our Vice President wants to rewrite the Golden Rule. Perhaps the best defense for us all is to just do otherwise, “to love our neighbors as our selves,” regardless of our religious beliefs and regardless of what our political leaders tell us.
Yes!
Loved that song’. So timely and poignant!
Thanks, Randy. We need to all come together and do the little things we can, when we can. Time is indeed precious.
Agreed!
Time is a gift that we need to appreciate each day. C.S. Lewis, who was led to faith by Tolkien, said, “As you think about your own life, do you sometimes think too much about the Past or the Future, and not chiefly attend to the Present and Eternity?”
Yes!
Thank you, Randy. This is such a boost to the spirit – both quotes and commentary and “By the Rivers . . .” That version now playing on repeat in my head. Hope it never stops.
Thank you, Randy–yes, supportive, encouraging thoughts. The LOTR quote you shared this morning may be my favorite, and so completely apt–and essential. We create the “now” and the “future” just as this administration does. In appreciation of everyone’s wise quotes, I’d like to add another (probable repeating myself, though!). Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel said, in his book, I Asked gor Wonder,
To be
Is
To stand for
Let’s commit to standing up for the truths of our Being. It’s a courageous start, anyway. And yes, this community and our larger communities will support us in our various commitments to Be, to Stand For.
Thanks Rando. I can no longer watch or listen to the news, so I’m surviving week to week on your words of comfort and inspiration.
What we are experiencing with these fools is not new. In his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, John Steinbeck summarized where humanity stands today:
“We have usurped many of the powers we once ascribed to God.
Fearful and unprepared, we have assumed lordship over the life or death of the whole world – of all living things.
The danger and the glory and the choice rest finally in man. The test of his perfectibility is at hand.
Having taken Godlike power, we must seek in ourselves for the responsibility and the wisdom we once prayed some deity might have.”
Steinbeck prophesized, “Man himself has become our greatest hazard and our only hope.”
That was 1962. Now, as then, we need to begin working to rid the world of these fools.
I appreciate the initial post and all the thoughts and reactions. With a shout out to the good folks of Vermont who showed up and called out Trump’s mini-me.
Measures and descriptors of a time or times are a construct. Alone or shared we all take part in the shaping. We cobble together narratives from trusted and well-worn comfortable sources akin to a favorite sweater that gets us through the winter.
No doubt, there is a reckoning hanging in the air. America and mankind have been here before. The victors will write the next chapter in our history. The dissidents will regroup for the next. And individuals and communities will carry on the best they can, with the best intentions and the best possible lives.
On the edge of the Lenten season, we might want to think more of what we might do, rather than what we might give up this time around to symbolically go into the desert with Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. Just a thought.
I’ll play the “contrarian” here and say let’s fight!
For instance, there are two vacant House seats (FL-1 and FL-6) with Democratic candidates who could use more help. Gay Valimont (https://gayforcongress.com/) is running in FL-1 and Josh Weil (https://secure.actblue.com/donate/jweilfl6) in FL-6. The special election (for both) is April 1st.
In normal times this may look like a long shot, but these aren’t normal times. Have you all seen those Republican red-district congresspeople get shouted down by their constituents at their town halls? Looks like the iron is hot and it’s time to strike.