Two weeks ago, a gang of angry folks followed the request of our out- going president and broke into the U.S. Capital Building. They trashed the place, attacked police, killed one. Others were injured. Brave guards slowed them down long enough for congressmen and senators to be moved to safety.
As the smoke cleared and our politicians returned to confirm Joe Biden as our new president, I wondered if we are finally wakening up. Are we, who are facing a hunger crisis in American, who desperately look for happiness and security while facing Corvid, who carry love for our family and even strangers in need, who are told by friends to believe lies spread by politicians and insipid news stations, able to trust truth and not follow the lie?
My extended family lives in Washington State and the Rockies. Some voted for Trump, others for Biden. I don’t think about political differences if I call for a ride after my rental car breaks down on the road from Lewiston. When someone in my family calls, I will hear reassuring love and kindness. I know our love will never die out. Why can’t everyone say that about their family and friends?
Maybe, just maybe, when the dust settles, people will start looking to neighbors and family, rather than highly paid misleaders. They will find and embrace small truths. This could be easier in Alaska, than most states. I remember how people on the Kuskokwim River ignored their differences to work together in a crisis. Once, high winds blew down a friend’s partially framed house in Bethel. He was out of town that weekend. When he returned Sunday night he found the house repaired. No one bothered to attach a bill.