The Charity of our Better Angels

^{Jewel Road, Alnwick-Haldimand Township, Northumberland County3}

We are not enemies, but friends.
We must not be enemies.
The mystic chords of memory….
….will yet swell the chorus of the Union,
when again touched, as surely they will be,
by the better angels of our nature.¹

In March 1861, American President-Elect Abraham Lincoln penned those famous words as the closing for his inaugural address.  His beautiful words were inspired by the ugly, deep division in his country over the issue of slavery.  During a stressful and very uncertain time, with civil war looming, he sought to calm, soothe and reunite all Americans.  

There is an entire bandwidth of anger swirling through Canadian society, showing up on social media, in our neighbourhoods, at school council (PTA) meetings, on athletic fields, in our workplaces, in the malls and on our roads.  One hundred and sixty years later, public, uncensored expressions of ire are causing another ugly, deep divide, this time here in Canada.

There are many polarizing issues – too many to enumerate – but those are not the problem.  For far too many people, promulgating their opinions is insufficiently rewarding; it seems they need to publicly insult those who do not share their beliefs, those about whom they know nothing and whose only sin is having a different mindset.  

These overt displays of anger have become commonplace, largely bypassing societal standards for civility and decorum.  It is scary to think of how far this trend may develop without a collective effort to re-establish basic code of behaviour expectations.  Every single Canadian, regardless of their opinions and beliefs, has the right to safety, acceptance and dignity.  With no exception!

^{River Road, Asphodel-Norwood Township, Peterborough County3}

I’ve no idea how to fix this problem, I only know for sure that we must do better, beginning with naming unacceptable behaviour —  harassing (read:  intimidating/frightening) and spewing anti-masking rhetoric at those wearing masks in public places; or anti-vaxers hassling (again, read: intimidating/frightening) hospital and pop-up vaccination clinic workers and attendees; or the discrimination and vilification of indigenous peoples; or violent and profane road/parking lot raging — these are all indicators of an uncivil society.  For change to happen, good folk will need to insist upon dignity for all, to stand firm, become louder even, about what is and is not within the realm of a humane society.

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; 
but the greatest of these is charity.²

Charity, of course, is the love of mankind; it is routinely being kind to people, displaying acceptance, tolerance, aid, succour and only compassionate judgment.  Yet it seems that, almost everywhere we look, we’re seeing grandiose displays of anger and hatred; behaviour in public spaces that I never thought possible here in Canada.  I feel quite strongly that if we do not permit this level of ranting in our homes, we surely oughtn’t to accept it on our social media feeds, on our streets, in our schools, on our playgrounds or, indeed, anywhere public.  

The constancy of the histrionics of these angry people is utterly exhausting to decent folk who are finding their patience and tolerance stretched to the max. This cannot go on.  We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.¹  Rather than riding out this wave of cruelty, it is time for us set an unwavering example by adroitly demonstrating the qualities of charity.  We must rise above those who are raging, yelling, scaring and intimidating and invite others to stand with us.

Our charity
will yet swell the chorus of Canadians,
when again touched, as surely they will be,
by the better angels of our nature.¹

’Til next time, y’all…

^{Dunbar Road, Cramahe Township, Northumberland County3}

¹Abraham Lincoln, 4th March 1861.  Unabridged text:

“I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

²1^st Corinthians 13:13 (KJV)

³Each of these shots was taken in the last week.  Northumberland and Peterborough counties are still pretty green!