They’re rioting in Africa. They’re starving in Spain. There’s hurricanes in Florida and Texas needs rain.
The whole world is festering with unhappy souls. The French the hate the Germans. The Germans hate the Poles.
Italians hate Yugoslavs. South Africans hate the Dutch – and I don’t like anybody very much!
Anyone following events in recent months could be forgiven for believing that the world is “going to hell in a handbasket” – whatever that expressions means. Putin is saber-rattling here and there. Britain is apparently leaving the European Union which may then unravel. Police in the U.S. have been involved in a number of controversial shootings, mostly featuring white police and black victims. America staggers toward a presidential election with two disliked candidates, one of whom – the Donald – acts certifiable much of the time. Topping the list of recent horrors has been an attack, apparently by a Black Lives Matter zealot, on the Dallas Police Force which, in a sad irony, is widely considered, including by many blacks, as one of the most progressive police forces in the country.
Non-stop media coverage “awfulizes” each act of violence, helping to create the impression of an impending race war. Social media is used all too often by zealots on one side or another, listing grievances or allocating blame, but almost never seeking common ground. One is reminded of what Pete Hamill wrote In Piecework some 20 years ago: “On American talk radio, the Legion of the Invincibly Stupid was hammering away at the remnants of our common civility.”
Hatred Doesn’t Have to Win
And yet there is much to give one hope even amidst the outpouring of vitriol and denunciations. Yes, a hate-filled black man killed members of the Dallas Police Department last week, just as a hate-filled white man murdered blacks in a Charleston church one year ago, but after both tragedies many whites and blacks came together, to mourn and to comfort each other. While there are unquestionably injustices and acts of racism, resorting to hatred and violence will never improve the situation and it is heartening to see that many people – white and black – refuse to succumb to those darker impulses.
We Can Make a Difference
As I reflected on these matters, I found myself strangely comforted by a seemingly minor, almost insignificant story reported in my local weekly newspaper (Kingston This Week, Michael Lea, July 7, 2016). It concerned a retired navy vet (Robert Charest) who spends at least a couple of hours each day picking up litter and trash from streets and trails in the east end of the city. He travels with a walker, since he has chronic pain in his back and one leg (not to mention a heart condition) and he also uses grabbing tools that are an almost essential support for those with limited mobility. Charest has a regular, different route that he travels each day, including those through five parks that he visits regularly. He removes an estimated 10 full bags of litter and garbage from the streets and paths each week or some 40,000 litres a year for each of the past six years. It is gratifying to report that his efforts are being recognized with a First Capital Distinguished Citizens Award from the City of Kingston this year, in response to a nomination that was backed by signatures from 400 people – an unprecedented response in the history of civic awards.
In a world where strident and angry voices always claim attention, there is something reassuring and encouraging about this example of one person quietly making such a positive impact on a community. More of us need to do our part to deal with the garbage – vocal as well as physical – carelessly created by others.