Ah, the work week is over for me, it's Friday night, good time for a story. This one is, again, from Nathan Ausubel's fine anthology entitled
Jewish Wit and Wisdom.
I shall have to paraphrase it, though, because I gave away my umpteenth copy and shall have to search my shaky memory, so please forgive me if this comes out all garbled.
Here goes.
TWO POSSIBILITIES
Two young men are having a cup of tea at a cafe in Eastern Europe at the beginning of World War I. They are both shaken by fear over what will become of them. One turns to the other and says:
"Oh, this war is so awful, I can't bear thinking about it! I know I will be killed, I'm the right age to be drafted, it's all over for me!"
The other fellow, more sanguine and philosophical, replied,
"Well, you know, there are two possibilities.
"Either you'll get drafted or you won't. Now if you don't get drafted, all is fine and good, and you have nothing to worry about!
"But even if you do get drafted ... well there's two possibilities. Either you get sent to the front or you get sent to a cushy job in the rear where it is safe. Now if you get sent to the rear, no problem! You can wait out the war in ease and comfort!
"But even if you are sent to the front, there's two possibilities. Either you'll be wounded or you won't. Now if you are not wounded, well that's great, nothing to worry about, what a relief!
"But even if you are wounded, there's two possibilities. Either you'll be healed or you'll sicken and die. Now if you are healed, ah, you have your life, what a wonderful thing!
"But even if you sicken and die, there are still two possibilities! Either you will be buried in your family cemetery or you won't. Now if you are buried in your family cemetery, you shall rest in peace and, well, we all die one day, don't we?
"But even if you aren't buried in your family cemetery ... ah, what am I saying? There may not be any war at all!"
The end.
There is no question we live in dangerous times. For many decades we have had the specter of nuclear weapons hanging over our heads. Now in addition we have the specter of our whole planet being radically transformed by global warming, and who knows which of us will be harmed by this, how many of us, no matter what we do? And there are wars going on all over the world. We have poor leaders here in America and no other leaders in the world have yet struck us as inspiring enough to turn the violence around.
So there is a lot to be afraid of, only a fool would not be scared. And of course we can go on and on predicting this and that disaster, arguing about it, bolstering our case with reams of research either deeply or lightly gathered. But the fact is no one knows what is going to happen. And that uncertainty can be awful, and it can lead us to believe we know what's going to happen if only to rid ourselves of living with uncertainty.
I've read diaries here that spoke of despair and anger and diaries that spoke of hope and love and determination. I believe there is a mix of all those feelings in each of us. We live in dangerous and uncertain times and it is difficult and frightening to find our way in all this.
Here in America elections are coming up. It would be grand if we could vote for heroes who would sweep the White House clean of the tyrants who have taken possession of it and used it for their own greed and love of power. It would be grand if the politicians we have now in Congress would stop the Executive Branch and revoke its war powers. And I believe there are folks in government and the military who are struggling to do that as I write this.
But we don't know. So we live with uncertainty. My feeling is that we ought to do what we can given our inclination. All kinds of activism are available, from protests to grass-roots support of candidates to hectoring our elected representatives to do the right thing. Here at Daily Kos we are artists, political junkies, environmentalists, educators, parents, students, working stiffs, the whole range of US citizens. So we do what is before us.
The only experience in my pampered life that put me in danger was being in New York City during and after 9/11. During the weeks afterward, we did not know if we would be attacked again. I just went back to work, I didn't miss a day. Not because I am some strong person, because I'm not. But it was all I had to do, so I did it. And I also felt that if I didn't go back right away I never would.
Sometimes we think we have to do great big things in times of danger and uncertainty. But I suggest we do whatever is in front of us. We will see what will happen. There are many possibilities.