Before the Storm

Some thoughts today as everyone scurried to prepare for Hurricane Irene:


Most of us are at our best in an immediate crisis. My mother-in-law Dottie always said:" Man is a foul weather beast."
The prospect of a major storm is mostly very exciting and also allows us to put daily life aside to hole up and ride out whatever happens. I can summon all kinds of energy for a rescue- getting my friend to the emergency room in the Bronx a couple of weeks ago, taking care of a husband in his health troubles or Mother or the kids when they were little. Blizzards-driving to Michigan in '96, getting to jobs in NY through floods and snow and ice. And 9/11. The strength we all felt was enormous- we would do anything we could to save our country and our fellow citizens- many people really were heros at that time and we joined together in candlelight vigils and benefit concerts.

Then the real work began of recovering from the blow, of shaping what our new country would look like, and, mostly, the opportunity was lost in confusion and divisions and fear and all the opportunism that engenders. In those ten years we have devolved into a broke and bickering mess. We're the same people, but the crazy, fearful impulses have taken over for now.

I am the most afraid myself of the religious/political movements that are methodically determined to run the country and the world, if possible. They believe that it is a holy war, that it is their mission to rid the world of demons in the shape of homosexuals and women who want to own their bodies and scientists and generally anyone who disagrees with their doctrine. I occasionally play piano for a tiny dying congregation near me (I stumbled in on Easter) and this last Sunday the three of us heard from the pastor the words, "I don't know if you are aware, but there is a holy war in our country for people's souls." My blood ran cold. She also talked about the Second Coming as very soon, with a shining face. She may not be associated with the most extreme groups in the movement that I later heard about, but there was something that scared me.

If it is "end times", it is not because of some preordained supernatural event. It is not God or Jesus. It is human beings in their complicated brains, capable of genius and love and self sacrifice but also greed and power hunger and deep anxiety. Probably the very anxiety that would have saved the lives of many early men is now gone wild in the modern world, seeking ever more complex ways to have control over other human beings in the mistaken belief that it will make the winners safe. It is an ancient response to believe in magic when natural disasters occur or when humans do terrible things to each other. But it is the fear response that can also lead to tyranny. I pray-yes, pray- that the true source of strength and goodness prevails over those who would cause "end times."

Meanwhile, we can enjoy a short term crisis, something tangible, also something beyond the power of man. It is good for our souls to know that Nature is still bigger than we are.