I have to say that on July 4 it was a relief to participate in a small town parade, watch the movie Independence Day with the family and cheer on all the nations fighting against the big bad aliens, and then go out in the evening to watch a bold fireworks display. What all that provided, collectively, at least for a little while, was a reminder and a respite.

 

The reminder was that the umbrella covering many often contentious factions in our country is one of pride and hope for our nation. We waved flags together. And that was the respite as well. We were delivered from the rancor and division by a story and communal rituals that are bigger and stronger than the travail of our present moment.

 

This is not to say that we have escaped the polarization of our times; we have not. There will be more, much more virulent fighting over the who, what, how and why of our present national politics. I fear that this will only intensify, it will get worse before it gets better, and our citizens will become even more jaded and cynical than they are already.

 

But for now at least, I bask in a dream. Call it an escape into a fantasy world that does not exist. Or call it instead turning toward a world hoped for. Either way, I was thankful and still am. I know that I am not the only one discouraged by all this hateful division. A new day is way past due. And here and there one can even catch a glimpse of it.