Mea Culpa…, Sort of
– By Ed Kociela –
I thought I was finished long ago with my altar boy Latin, but apparently, I am not.
So, mea culpa…, lepide.
And, although there is a paucity of those who will admit to it, there is an ugly underlying of rage that has given way to a chasm that is probably greater than any we have ever experienced in the United States.
Some may chalk it up to extremism, but the thing is that without extremism, we would have no United States breaking away from Great Britain. It was the extremists and radicals who pushed for the nation’s independence.
Some would say extremism is a result of the vicious push-pull of emotions that can be difficult, if not impossible, to harness.
Some may assign blame to the fact that we have become a nation of Democrats versus Republicans with a fierce loyalty that has driven us from what should be the core of our existence: the betterment of mankind. We certainly see it in the way we line up on issues, both moral and practical, that are not so much rooted in ideology as they are in a culture that has flipped from encouraging to a belittling demeanor that has permeated.
For others, I would say it is a simple matter of laziness. It requires little thought or energy to simply go to social media, find a meme or post that comes from your team, and mindlessly give it renewed life by reposting.
Even those in the middle, who offer a more moderate tone, are targets for offering compromise as a means to settle the beef.
So, yeah, mea culpa.
It’s not intentional, but I find myself sometimes sitting at this keyboard, pounding out words reflecting the rage that can’t help but spill out. I was basically raised in a newsroom and had it pounded into me that there is a certain, almost sacred responsibility attached to what we do as watchdogs for our community, which is growing greater than we imagined in scope and size as we embrace a global culture.
Guys like me do what we do because we believe it is important work, that we never turn over enough rocks, that we have this need to root out the story.
We also feel a societal responsibility which is why I am an adamant believer in the words of Joseph Pulitzer, who, in his letter of retirement, told his employees: “Always fight for progress and reform, never tolerate injustice or corruption, always fight demagogues of all parties, never belong to any party, always oppose privileged classes and public plunderers, never lack sympathy with the poor, always remain devoted to the public welfare, never be satisfied with merely printing news, always be drastically independent, never be afraid to attack wrong, whether by predatory plutocracy or predatory poverty.”
It all comes down to the words we choose, which can often be harsh. Once said, they cannot be unsaid, and that’s the rub.
Mention Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn, Rudy Giuliani, and the rest of the West Wing team that occupied the White House for four years, and yeah, the first words that come to mind are fairly ugly expletives. To be honest, you won’t find a lot of support from this little corner of the world when it comes to President Joe Biden, who has been an ineffective leader but served the purpose he was intended to fulfill: be the transition back to normalcy. Except it hasn’t really turned out that way because we seem to have forgotten exactly what normal is. He seems a nice enough guy, but a nice guy without a backbone is nothing more than a fill-in, which is why it would behoove the Democrats to start their search now for another candidate in 2024.
Look, we all know that my politics settle in just a little left of Mahatma Gandhi with the emphasis on human development and rights rather than power and greed. It is devoted to a commitment to truth, not as a weapon, not dispensed grudgingly, but as a measure of our humanity and existence.
All of this, of course, hinges on a certain self-discipline that is difficult to achieve, especially since all of those elements are rooted in the raw emotions of humanity, which sometimes boil over. This has become more prevalent than the transitory anger that sweeps through us occasionally because it turns some into irretractable pessimists or worse, who hate the glass for being half-filled when it just needs more ice.
But, I often wonder if we have gone down that rabbit hole so deeply, that nobody listens if we are not harsh, stern, or sometimes even outrageous. It is what has come to be expected.
It is nice to be nice.
It is kind to be considerate.
It is admirable to be polite.
But I don’t think they teach any of that in debate class anymore.
We’ve become grinders, honing a sharp point to get our thoughts across, and with the advent of social media and the warped world of selective media, where you can dial in any perspective you wish, and you can find support for just about anything and in none-to-gracious terms. So each and every one of us is a violator, and the violated at the same time, a complex duality we find uncomfortable.
I don’t know anybody who truly likes being angry. I know it is not one of my favorite emotions. But, the world is not made up of unicorns and cuddly kittens, and fluffy clouds. It is a harsh place and sometimes demands that we take a stand. Just how harsh and firm that stand is takes judgment beyond most of our capabilities, so as humans, we screw it up and sometimes opt for the nuclear button.
That is nothing to be proud of, so once again, mea culpa.
I would like nothing better than to write about somebody driving COVID from the planet, somebody fixing our economy, somebody bringing a lasting end to prejudice, racism, and hate, or somebody setting a course for peace, love, and harmony in this world.
I would love to be in a position where I respect our leaders as statesmen and women, dedicated to the good of the nation and a vision for peace, justice, and personal liberty rather than some misplaced allegiance to a political party.
But, until then, mea culpa.
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