Hawthorn Hill Journal by Richard deRosa

Southern Reflections

I write this not all that far from where the shooting occurred today [April 17] at Florida State University. Apparently there have been 81 mass shootings thus far this year. I am reminded once again of what the narrator of Herman Melville’s masterful, and disturbing short story, “Bartleby, the Scrivener” exclaims: “Ah, Bartleby! Ah, humanity!” One can interpret this in many ways, but at the heart of Bartleby’s indifference and preference for inactivity of any kind is an ineffable despair over the human condition. It offers one the possibility, at least philosophically, of opting out as a moral stance. That way, there is no guilt by association. I freely admit that far too often I have been tempted to pull a Bartleby. That I cannot do it is a testament not only to my upbringing and, luckily, a fine education, but a moral conviction that inaction itself is immoral. To what extent am I my brother’s keeper? If I feel a kinship with all of humanity, then I have an obligation to care about all of us, no matter our differences. As Rodney King so sagely reminded us some years ago, “We are all in this together.”

I am not a marcher; it just is not in my nature. The question then is how can I be a part of the resistance to the tyranny that is upon us? Well, one way is by writing these essays. It enables me to share some thoughts and observations in an honest and, I hope, reasoned way. As my close friends know all too well, my views of things do not always adhere to what, unfortunately, are characterized as either liberal or conservative viewpoints. For one thing, the idea of being entrapped within the stifling confines of an ideology is intellectually debilitating. For instance, what does it really mean to be progressive? Does it mean that you buy everything that AOC [United States Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] stands for? Or, does it mean that you are not rooted in an ideological trough and see progress as a process of reasoned solutions to common problems? If you are a liberal, does that mean, as some think, that anything goes, no matter what? I hope not. Conservative thinking, at least traditionally, believed in living according to one’s means and smaller, less intrusive government. On the face of it, not a bad idea. These competing perspectives have far more in common with one another than they seem willing to admit. After all, most of us want the same basic things. Yet we get caught up in warfare between hidebound ideologies that serve none of us well.

Unfortunately, the predicament we now find ourselves in has less to do with the imposition of an ideologically rooted in tyranny than it does the manifestation of behaviors more akin to evil than anything else. Historians will have quite a story to tell. I worry less for myself than for posterity, since I believe, somewhat shakily, that we will extricate ourselves from this horror, painfully, over time. There is no other choice. The sapless spines of those entrusted to protect us from this do age out. The responses of people at town halls across the nation have given one reason to hope that perhaps together, regardless of political party, we can right the ship. Right now we are wrestling with a moral ballast problem.

There are many things one can do, individually and collectively. We know about the protests. I gather from the news that people are getting involved in a wide range of efforts, both political and charitable. I share the view expressed by some that, no matter the size or intent of any protest or march, they should be peaceful, non-violent. Tempting the beast is not what anyone should want. And this beast takes umbrage far too easily.

One thing in particular that worries me is the indifference to voting that afflicts far too many people in this country. Last election close to 90 million people eligible to vote stayed home. I mentioned this to a friend, who opined that perhaps there were people who might have been ill, or some without transportation. I get that. But not all 90 million. An urgent agenda facing this nation is to find ways of encouraging people to participate in this very hard-won process. Countless thousands have died defending that right. As we are reminded from time to time, this is our country—we are neither vassals nor serfs. We ditched the king a long time ago.

Dick deRosa’s Hawthorn Hill essays have appeared in “The Freeman’s Journal” since 1998. A collection, “Hawthorn Hill Journal: Selected Essays,” was published in 2012. He is a retired English teacher.