Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, May 22, 1990 TAG: 9005220446
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARSHALL FISHWICK
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
We are caught up in a world revolution. We are not in the center of it, as we were in 1776; neither are the French, who set the world on its heels in 1789. Russia and Eastern Europe are at the epicenter.
Now others can say what Tom Paine said in the American colonies more than two centuries ago: "These are the times that try men's souls."
Our souls were tried and not found lacking. Those 13 wobbly colonies became in time the United States of America.
What will today's revolution produce? How should we act and react? Holding real and great power, how shall we respond to those who demand more for themselves?
We might begin by acknowledging that America stands for permanent revolution, since the stated goal of "liberty and justice for all" has not and never can be achieved. That is why the Statue of Liberty, so long adorning New York Harbor, suddenly appeared in Bejing's Tianamen Square. If the world is willing to consider us a model, dare we not act like one?
As the tidal wave of change sweeps over us all we must not panic, preach what we do not practice, promise what we cannot deliver.
This might be a place to begin: Are there enduring values that withstand revolutions? Can our experience help others through cataclysmic times? What can we count on, and why?
There are elements that don't change, but are as constant as the Northern Star. If we keep our eye on them, we can weather any storm. No one can be sure about "constants" but we can all make our lists. Here are my four:
The nature of history. Like Old Man River, it just keeps rollin' along. The river moves; the riverbed remains. Caught in the web of time, we do not see how little and narrow is our vision. We forget to ask with Job: "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the Earth?"
Not only people but also nations, empires, civilizations come and go. Those who don't understand the past are doomed to repeat all their ancestors' errors. History is the systematic exploration of the riddle of death, with a view of overcoming death.
The nature of evil. This terrible, intractable problem always vexes humanity. Evil is present not only in "them" but in "us." To underestimate it is to court disaster. "The things I would do," St. Paul admitted, "these things I do not. The things I would not do, these things I do."
Of course, we are more than evil. How can we be so bad - yet so good? Why is the road to hell paved with good intentions? No one has quenched the spark of evil inside our hearts; no one has snuffed out the good, either. We live not with certainty, but with paradox.
The need for creative education. Education is not a product, but a process. It turns us from sailors (who move around the world but form no consistent picture) into travelers (who see connections, and form a coherent picture of life).
We try in vain to measure education by statistics, but have no idea how to measure creativity. We train technicians, not citizens, and measure their success by their bank statements. Then we wonder why, by common admission, we grow ever less educated.
The true passion of educated people is to discover what life is really like, to distinguish between appearance and reality, to say (with Walt Whitman) that every cubic inch of space is a miracle.
Michelangelo must have felt that way. When asked how he brought "David" out of a single hunk of sterile silent stone, he said: "David was there all the time. All I did was set him free."
The purpose of revolutions is to set us free.
The need for hope. Hope should not be confused with blind faith. Revolutions begin with flowers, banners and singing - then require blood, sweat and tears. The tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of tyrants.
Of course, faith is a great gift, and emotion is a powerful driving force. But only when they are combined with reason can we hope to touch truth; to bring our passions and feelings into sharp focus.
The educated mind is not only creative and curious; it's tough, and will not tolerate the insipid and sentimental.
For many Americans, despair is stronger than hope in the spring of 1990. If the news from abroad astounds us, news from home dismays us. We are $3 trillion in debt, with 34 million citizens without health insurance, 3 million without homes, other millions on drugs, AIDS spreading like a plague.
Has the ship of state lost its rudder? Is government dead? Of course not. We are the government, and we are not dead. We are afraid - but we have passed through stormy seas before, and we shall do so again. Human reason is, and always has been, the means by which we are set free from our petty private worlds. Perhaps, after the revolution, we will clean up the litter not only in our streets but also in our minds.
by CNB