I love to travel but I’m always happy to return home. Back to my hood and my wonderful neighbors. Back to my town with its progressive vibe and happy inclusive sense of community. This past October, though, was different. It was difficult returning from Amsterdam, unsettling. Everything feels so uncertain in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Healthcare. Environmental protections. Social Security. Public funding for our schools and universities, for medical research and disaster relief. Our civil rights. Our voting rights. Democracy itself. All hanging by a very tenuous thread. All subject to a very real threat. A shadow dogging us even on the sunniest of days. How do we live within this shadow? Not just survive, but thrive?

Uncertainty. The very word makes us itch. I mean, we love surprise parties, but no one hosts an uncertainty celebration. No one says, oh, what a lovely uncertainty! In reality, though, uncertainty is all we ever have. From the moment of our birth anything can happen, but most of the time we don’t feel threatened so we don’t dwell on this truth. We tend to view life as something we can act upon and that, if carried out thoughtfully and with a clear purpose, our actions will steer the course of our future more or less in the direction we wish. We apply for college or a job. The outcome is uncertain, and we will likely be disappointed if we aren’t accepted, but we don’t perceive it as a threat. We just apply to another college, another job. Something will turn up. You can’t always get what you want, as the Rolling Stones reminded us in a song, but if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need. A great tune with a reassuring message. But what if the most basic things one needs are under threat? What if the land of one’s birth is being steered by the rich and the powerful toward fascism? How can one not be distressed, depressed?

Yes We CAN!

Uncertainty of the magnitude we now face can make us feel like bolting the doors and crawling under the covers until “everything’s okay” again, but that’s not living. It is hard to remain unscathed by the dark threats around us, but it is imperative to remember that uncertainty is just that: By its very definition, it is NOT certain. And acting as if the outcome we fear is a fait accompli only allows it to become so—the surest way to hand those who would destroy our democracy the victory they crave.

As a recent People Power United email I received reminds us: Fascism doesn’t arrive with fanfare or sudden violence. It creeps in quietly — through lies, fear, and apathy — eroding rights, silencing dissent, and consolidating power until resistance seems impossible. History has shown what happens when people wait too long to act. The cost of silence is always freedom. But, PPU adds: The courage of ordinary people stops fascism—and it starts with us.

The time for action is NOW. It’s a time for getting together with others—friends, neighbors, our community—and standing strong. A time for saying “Hell no, we won’t give up our country, our freedoms, our rights, our healthcare, the fight to save our planet. There’s 340 million of us and only a handful of you gluttonous greedsters who would destroy it all.”  

If six-year-old Ruby Bridges could face the hordes of angry, name-calling white bigots—yes, grown-ups, parents of young children themselves—when she became the first Black student to attend William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans in 1959, then we can all rise together and say a resounding NO WAY! to the dismantling of our government and our rights.

History buff that I am, I would like to note here that it was the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education that ruled (1954) separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional. And it was a Republican president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, who presided over the country when Ruby entered the all-white school. Oh, for a Supreme Court again like that one! Or a Republican president who valued civil rights.

As someone who grew up watching the Civil Rights marches of the 1960s and later marched to protest the Vietnam War, I can tell you there is nothing so powerful, so feel-good as joining with others to fight for what is right, what is just. If you participated in one of the more than 2,500 “No Kings” protests this past October 18, then you probably know what I mean. It was a celebration of love for justice, freedom and democracy, one of the largest single-day protests in American history. Even deep red Texas had its share of “No Kings” events, with more than 20,000 participating in the Austin protest alone. People are rising up, coming together, saying This is OUR country and we will not stand by silently while the billionaires and fascists destroy it. [For a list of the 281 organizations that worked to make the recent “No Kings” day a success, click here. They deserve our heartfelt thanks.]

Photo by Leo_Visions on Unsplash

Celebrate Life!

Defending our rights is crucial if we are to remain a free people, but enjoying our freedom is equally vital to our well-being. In the title up top, I chose to capitalize LIVING because I believe it to be the key word. Uncertainty, as I said, goes on forever. It is always with us. But life, the life of each of us is finite, precious. Carpe diem! Seize the day! Need a few suggestions? Try these.

Go out to enjoy live music with friends. Or make some music of your own. Ed and I love to play our guitars, while our neighbor J. likes to make some good noise on his drum kit.

Host a potluck for your neighbors—we do this frequently in my hood and it always boosts everyone’s spirits.  

Set aside at least one hour every day to pursue a project you love. An hour that is sacrosanct, meaning not for doing laundry or grocery shopping. Not for mopping the kitchen floor or raking leaves—unless you love raking leaves, in which case, please come to my house. We’ve got billions of them! No, during this special hour, you paint pictures, write stories, read those books you’ve been dying to get to, refinish that antique armoire you bought at a yard sale six years ago with the dream of giving it a new life, print and compile a scrapbook of your most cherished photos, learn to play an instrument—as long as you’re here, it’s never too late.  

And definitely let yourself get silly. It’s not just fun, it’s vital. The other day, needing a release from the omnipresent cloud of dark threats, I put Jerry Lee Lewis on the CD player and danced wildly around the kitchen, singing along—at top volume—to “Great Balls of Fire.” Which left me feeling lighter, happier, stronger. Not a bad outcome for a song that clocks at just 2 minutes and 34 seconds!  

Uncertainty. It’s the condition of life. It’s the road ahead. But it doesn’t always foreshadow disaster. Today, for example, was forecast to be cold and dark and rain-soaked, but three minutes ago the sun broke through the clouds, lighting up the autumn trees in their dazzling oranges and yellows, and the temp is mild. A perfect day for a walk, so I’m out the door. As singer/songwriter Jackson Browne said, “Don’t let the uncertainty turn you around. Go on and make a joyful sound.”