What If...

Once again, I’ve been glued to my television screen, specifically cable news. As we approach the inauguration of President Elect Biden, the ceremony looks to be less like a peaceful transition of political power and more like a military siege, as over 24,000 National Guard troops have been called up to protect the Capitol from possible mayhem.

In the past, I, along with others, have disagreed with the choices our leaders have made, in our names, on numerous issues: immigration, racial integration, minimum wages, access to medical care—just some of the many inequities pervasive in our country.

But never did I fear for our democracy—a given, which I took for granted.

Not this year. Not this week. The “Big Lie,” that Trump could not have lost the Presidential election, was waged and nurtured for months by the President himself and echoed by Republican leaders and right-wing media. Consequently, on January 6th, insurgents—many domestic terrorists—attacked and occupied our Capitol Building, severely challenging our democracy. How could this happen in our country? The images streaming into our homes looked like pictures from any other banana republic. It was terrifying!

Indeed, the unfolding story grows more terrifying. Trump and his lackeys sorely stressed the institutions of government through systematically hollowing out any number of our institution: he placed his sycophants onto Federal benches and into positions of power, mostly as acting directors, of vital national institutions. Perhaps most dangerously, he propagated lies and spread propaganda. Fortunately, the institutions of government held.

But what if they hadn’t? What if some of the newly elected judges had ruled in favor of the unfounded and ridiculous claims of election fraud? What if the Supreme Court had heard the case? What if Brad Raffensberger, Georgia’s top election official, had found those “extra” votes Trump had demanded?

And the Capitol insurrection. What if the Vice President hadn’t escaped the domestic extremists by seconds? What if the event had been better organized? What if a Representative or Senator had been shot? All of which were live possibilities during this horrible time.
The “What Ifs” are endless.

I want to highlight two events that occurred concurrently last week. The same day the hoodlums were attacking the Capitol, the results of the Senate elections in Georgia were announced. Georgians elected a black man and the son of an Australian immigrant mother and a father of Russian and Lithuanian Jewish descent, to represent them in a traditionally Republican state—a result which, I believe, is a metaphor for the impetus which drove, at least in part, those insurrectionists into the Capitol building. These two freshmen Senators are the faces of our ever-changing population, from white homogeneity to greater racial and cultural diversity. Evidence of a changing population and the fearful reaction to those opposed. This is our national karma coming up to be healed.

My Guru spoke this morning, reminding us that this violence lives in all of us. The behavior of the domestic terrorists is simply a manifestation of our group consciousness. Until I, as an individual, experience forgiveness and compassion in my own life, there can be no national healing.

If this sounds esoteric in the face of what seems to be concrete, unimaginable evil that faces our nation, I don’t believe it to be. Upon reflection, I believe it is a most powerful solution for me as an individual and an American and perhaps for all of us who commit to growth.

In electing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the voters have opted for diversity and healing. I am optimistic that, under their leadership, we can begin a new chapter of truth and national healing. Democracy is fragile. It’s vitally important to protect and nurture it.