As The Storm Rages

As The Storm Rages

John Paul Derryberry

A winter storm rages, dropping the temperature outside to way too chilly for any but those in the most high-quality winter gear. The snow falls, covering the ground, and for all of us inside, it seems to be a peaceful day. We know differently though. The wind whips around, the ice makes it dangerous for travel, and no one would want to be trapped outside in this. It's a couple of days after the attack on our Capitol and I'm still trying to make sense of it all.

I sit in my house sipping on a cold refreshing beer, while a fire warms the house and my girls play with their magnetic tiles. I realize that not much has changed about my day-to-day life. I go to work, my kids play, my wife and I discuss life, current events, local news, the days ahead, and how to continue to protect ourselves from COVID. Yet, a nagging feeling sits in the pit of my stomach. We fundamentally changed the course of our country on January 6th. Domestic terrorism did not become a unifying cry for unity. It became wrapped up in political grandstanding, injected with conspiracy theories, as it all unfolded and somehow passed as a specific event in our culture.

It's not typical; well, I at least cling to my sanity, hoping it's not an everyday event in our society. This is not a culture I want to raise children in—a culture where a small percentage is willing to worship a dishonest and small-minded man as some sort of god. Then we act as if this small percentage is the majority of our country. Yes, the number of people who voted for Trump is more than those at the Capitol. But I can't believe all of Trump's voters wanted what occurred at the Capital to happen. If I start thinking that way, I will have lost all faith in humanity. I wonder why kids in cages didn't cause them to break from Trump? Why didn't asking for foreign interference in our election have them break from Trump? Why does fear of higher taxes and increased government involvement scare them more than the overthrow of democracy?  When did our neighbors and family members become the enemy?

It's these types of questions we have to answer moving forward because there is no end in sight for this storm. We have entered into a new reality; while we might feel safe miles from the eye of the storm, it will soon reach our doors if we do not change course. It's easy to go down the laundry list of usual suspects: the media, the political party you don't vote for, globalization, the speed of the news cycle, the apathy toward the poor, the worshiping of money, and whatever vague problem we scream into your echo chambers.

As the storm rages, we have to wonder what our world will look like when it clears. Will we assist our fellow neighbors with all the debris we need to pick up? Will we realize discussing these challenging subjects with people outside our echo chambers matters? Will we recognize that it seems to be the minority driving the narratives in our culture? As we figure out how to pass the time as this storm rages, we must ask ourselves, what will we do when the sun shines again? A storm is destructive, but sometimes destruction is needed to make way for a better way forward. I just hope there is a world left to help when this storm stops raging!