It is until it isn’t

When we get used to things as they’ve become, we risk thinking that’s what is supposed to be. But, it is until it isn’t. The beating of Jussie Smollet has disturbed most of us. Even for the very devout religious person, acceptance of someone coming out as homosexual may have been difficult to accept. It was until it wasn’t. But now, most of us have evolved into realizing that it isn’t okay to literally or figuratively beat someone for who they are. It was until it wasn’t.

So too with many other things that even two or three years ago seemed to be common place or acceptable. When Barack Obama was President, we believed truth was truth and we believed the White House was generally giving us straight information. It was until it wasn’t. Now, after two years, I can say, it is until it isn’t. We can’t say that any more.

In my lifetime, I have never witnessed so many lies every day from the person who is supposed to be the leader of the country. Not since the 1960s, have I seen so much sanctioning of hate toward people of color, immigrants, gay people, poor people, and people without the means to speak loud enough to be heard. In my lifetime, I have not seen a political party so obsessed with complicity and not willing to confront the head of their party with his lies and bad behavior. This is a moment when truth isn’t truth to them even though everyone else can objectively see it and prove it.

I watched Rev. Franklin Graham being interviewed by MSNBC’s Craig Melvin. Rev. Graham refused to acknowledge that the current occupant of the oval office has been documented as lying over 7,000 since he took office. Rev. Graham just absolutely wouldn’t acknowledge it. So, it is until it isn’t. The look on Craig Melvin’s face was astonishment and he finally just ended the interview because it was clear he would not get a truthful answer from a minister. Yes, a minister. I don’t know what else you can say about that. If a well known evangelical minister won’t tell the truth on television, then what do we expect from a well known liar in the oval office. It is until it isn’t.

Where does this leave us? An actor can be beat up in Chicago just for being himself by people who outwardly wear “Make America Great Again” hats. Their MAGA claim is clearly not backed up by their actions yet they would spout they’re doing something of value. I don’t know what can justify that. It is until it isn’t.

Many moments of many days, I am in disbelief and I shake my head more times than I can count at what we are living through. Yet, I still believe what my mother told me, “this too shall pass.” I just don’t know how or when. So, I keep believing and while I may drop my head down in despair for a few minutes, I will raise it back up because I must. I know that once again, truth will be truth and this nastiness will be replaced by joy. And, I will say of the bad times, it is until it isn’t.

Prince Harry said the below on January 30th and it gives me hope:

“As someone who is about to become a father, I am acutely aware of our shared responsibility to make this world more resilient and its inhabitants more accountable for the next generation,” he told the group. “The only way to see real progress is not by chance, it’s by change. Let’s get to work.”