A Plea for Calm and Foresight in America
Bonjour all,
I am sad this morning, exhausted, weary, missing Paris, and quite honestly terrified. I don’t know my country any more. I can’t weave between the lines of lie-filled discourse, recognize the values I taught my children, or relate to such intense malfeasance. I have been quite ill for over a month, and I believe in my heart that stress, though not the cause, has certainly been the perpetrator of intensity and complications. I cannot abide the chaos, the confusion, the swirling rhetoric, the hatefulness. My system has been upended by it all. I feel deeply and take it all to the core of my being. Perhaps you understand. If you don’t, please don’t shout at me in a comment. Rather take to heart my words and simply reflect.
Writing is a form of sanity for me so I choose to lay down some heartstrings. I trust that I offend no one. Indulge me in a moment of grace.
William Blake said, “Hindsight is a wonderful thing but foresight is better.” Oh, that we could as a nation reach for foresight! My devotional this morning was from Luke 19: 41-44 which says:
“When He (Jesus) approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.’”
I feel like weeping for I believe we do not recognize that which we need to see and do as a nation. We have fallen prey to that which swirls in our midst: propaganda, vicious conspiracy theories from people who are otherwise unstable, distrust, suspicion, false idols and cult-like behavior. I remember the teen-age years of my children so well. They were not easy. My greatest fear was that they would be sucked into the “wrong crowd,” that they would fall victim to cult-like behavior which might change them forever and most certainly put them in danger for the present moment. I fought hard against the power of that sway as I’m sure you did. At this moment, I see cult behavior in regular, normal people. I am astounded and thus my stress! If our child lost a ballgame, we would encourage them to congratulate the winner, walk off the field with dignity and pride and move on to play another day. We would not encourage them to act like bullies, to bellyache about the loss, to blame, to berate, and to plot vindictiveness. It would be a good lesson in sportsmanship, not power.
The only people who are enjoying this American moment of tragedy are the Russians. They are jubilant to see the fragility of our democracy. We are showing them our underside in all of its ugliness. We are doing for them what they have tried for so many years to do unsuccessfully. We dare not let that happen.
I carefully selected the photo attached to this blog. We have been to Normandy five times and every time is like the first. One feels washed in the moment of history where America stood up to save the world from evil. Let’s stand up again and save ourselves!
Many blessings for the holidays,
Linda
November 19, 2020 @ 2:36 pm
I understand perfectly. Thanks for expressing it all.
November 19, 2020 @ 3:13 pm
Love you guys!
November 19, 2020 @ 2:47 pm
Bless you Linda and thank you for these heartfelt words of love for our country and inspiration to be our better souls. I share your remorse over many of these same issues but remain hopeful. We don’t need everyone. We just need enough of us to remain vigilant and active as you are in posting this. So sorry you have been ill and hope you are better soon! Love to you and Bernie.
November 19, 2020 @ 3:13 pm
Thanks, Carol! Hope you and Leon have a different but glorious holiday.
November 19, 2020 @ 3:08 pm
Dear Linda, I feel exactly as you do with great sadness. My Faith is the only thing that gives me comfort.
Please take care of yourself. I pray your health gets better soon.
I loved your days you recounted in Paris! I too have been to Normandy and will never forget that emotional place and our men who bravely fought for our freedom.
I miss reading your blog in the mornings with my coffee. One day, one day I hope we can do that again…
November 19, 2020 @ 3:12 pm
Yes, let’s pray for more days in beautiful Paris!
November 19, 2020 @ 3:44 pm
You said it much better than I ever could. Thanks for sharing your heart. 💖
November 19, 2020 @ 4:20 pm
Thank you!
November 19, 2020 @ 3:53 pm
I recognized the devotion😉. So sorry you’ve been ill. We are all a kindred spirit and need to keep our hopes up. Praying for our nation.
November 19, 2020 @ 4:20 pm
Feeling some better but a ways to go.
November 19, 2020 @ 4:50 pm
So sorry you have been ill. I hope you can find peace and start to recover. I too am missing Paris. Was unable to go this year, fingers crossed for next spring.
As a Canadian I can only imagine how you are feeling and are stressed by what is going on in your country right now between the political unrest and the ongoing pandemic. We are dealing with the pandemic up here as well and are struggling with keeping our numbers down. On the whole though, I find Canadians are embracing the rules (although grudgingly) of mask wearing and reducing social groups and gatherings.
We can only watch from a distance as the election results play out in your country and try to support friends and family that reside in the States.
Stay strong and find strength and comfort in your writing. We love to read your posts, not just the ones from Paris. ❤️
November 19, 2020 @ 9:51 pm
You are so kind, Thank you!
November 19, 2020 @ 5:35 pm
Next week will be one year since our fabulous week in Paris with you and Bernie. It seems like an eternity ago. I keep thinking that I will wake up from this year, this administration, this feeling. I moved to Texas about two months ago, and I’m amazed that I am surrounded by so many people that see the country so differently than myself. What do they see that I don’t? I’ve been watching a series on PBS called “The Rise of the Nazis”, which has really scared me to death. Too many similarities for my liking. I feel your pain and anguish and hope you feel better soon. I pray for peace from our heavenly father.
November 19, 2020 @ 9:50 pm
Charla, we do have such wonderful memories! Bernie and I were talking about you guys last night. Wow, Texas! It’s really that different from Mississippi?
November 19, 2020 @ 6:02 pm
Linda, I do hope you will feel better soon. I guess the optimist in me remains hopeful. I miss your Paris photos and totally agree with your words. Being a Methodist many comforting and favorite hymns come to mind. Music is my go to.
Please stay safe and try to turn off the crazies.
November 19, 2020 @ 9:48 pm
Thx, Sophia! Having 25 years of my life in broadcasting makes it hard to disconnect!
November 19, 2020 @ 6:23 pm
Linda,. you are a person with strong convictions and opinions. Our lives are in their ending phases which makes this situation that much harder.
Having thought about this situation long and hard I have come to the conclusion that God has given us this difficult situation to make us understand what is important and what isn’t, to give us a chance to change and ,above all, to help us know that He will always be there for us. My Mother always said, when everything else fails, turn it over to the Lord. As hard as it is do in this situation I truly believe that He has our backs. My Mother also always said, this too shall pass!
Hang in there. You are loved and loving each other is what we need right now.
November 19, 2020 @ 9:47 pm
Diane, you are loved! And yes, I have tried to believe as you say, but some days fall short!
November 19, 2020 @ 6:51 pm
You have such a lovely way of expressing what many of us are feeling and praying for. I’m sorry you’ve been ill. May your heart help to heal your body. I miss your Paris blog so very much! And I definitely miss Paris! Someday……
November 19, 2020 @ 9:45 pm
Yes, someday!!!
November 19, 2020 @ 6:51 pm
You know that I feel as you do, as we have commiserated over the state of this country many times. The level of cruelty, hate, and divisiveness feels like a weight around my heart and soul. I pray that better days are ahead, but despair they may not be.
November 19, 2020 @ 9:45 pm
I had such hope that November 3 would bring some peace from the chaos.
November 19, 2020 @ 9:18 pm
Watching this play out on the other side of the world leaves me gobsmacked. What you have said is the way I am seeing it. How can so many people in a so called educated, first world country, fall for the lies and vicious behaviour. I only hope common sense and calm prevails soon. Feeling for you all during this frustrating time ❤️
November 19, 2020 @ 9:44 pm
Thanks for your input!
November 19, 2020 @ 10:53 pm
Thank you so much, Linda, for putting into words the uneasiness so many of us feel now. Recognizing that others share those feelings helps us to not give in to despair. Feel better soon, please!
November 20, 2020 @ 2:09 am
Thanks so much!
November 20, 2020 @ 2:39 am
Wow – well said. Sending a hug your way (virtually of course!)
November 20, 2020 @ 9:40 am
Hugs to you and Bill and Happy Thanksgiving!
November 21, 2020 @ 3:31 am
I share your despair and your reach toward peace and hope. My hope is for your renewed health and next year in Paris! We are keeping ourselves isolated here, not even doing thanksgiving with family. Our son called today to suggest we do thanksgiving in July. What a wonderful idea! Something to look forward to! Take care of yourself. We miss you and Bernie.
November 21, 2020 @ 12:01 pm
We miss you guys as well. Had a wonderful surprise last night as our friends from Australia called to chat on FaceTime. He’s a doctor and gave some helpful insight. They love Le Bouquet St. Paul and that’s where we met years ago. Their apartment is on Le Quai Celestin. Travel is so wonderful to bring new friends into our lives as you know! Happy Thanksgiving! We’ll be just the two of us but I’m making a pecan pie!
November 21, 2020 @ 6:39 pm
Your comments are heart-wrenching and express much of what I am seeing and feeling too, without quite the same words to express it. The fact that many people on your blog respond as they have lets us know that hope is not lost even though there is still much, much work to be done. I hope there is some peace over the Thanksgiving period in your world.
November 21, 2020 @ 11:51 pm
Betsy, it is such a blessing that we have maintained our friendship long distance for now almost 50 years! Still have fond memories of our commute to Southwest High. Happy Holidays!
December 1, 2020 @ 6:48 am
I dare you to turn OFF the television for the entire month of December. Both of you. Just enjoy each day as a present. Thank God for all that you can- we all have lots to be thankful for. Trust that there’s a larger purpose in everything; possibly bigger than the issues at hand b/c we know God uses messes to make treasures. I know you’re sad and I know it’s harder b/c of your place in life. But I don’t see the problem in re-directing your focus for a while. There IS a lot of good out there. Dwell on that. I bet you’ll have lots of mail to fetch here soon which I know you love. Your health may depend on your overall mood so live innocently in December and just be 🙂
December 4, 2020 @ 7:51 pm
U know how I feel!