Photo: L.Weikel

Everything’s Relative

The winds that arrived last night with great bluster and clattering of wind chimes brought with them a remarkable change in temperature. Suddenly, today, it felt like January – in Pennsylvania. Not January in southern Florida, like it’s felt for a couple of weeks.

Every time I walked outside today, I caught my breath. I braced myself. My jaw clenched against the chill. The wind might not have been as insistent as it was last night, but it still had a point to make: It’s winter.

Funny thing is, the temperatures today weren’t even that raw. Not for January in Pennsylvania, anyway. They were seasonal. They were normal. They were even still a scootch or two above average, truth be told.

But the way we bundled ourselves up to take a walk earlier this evening, you’d think we were stepping onto the tundra.

What We’re Used To

I’m noticing this same ‘relative’ response to what’s being exposed at all levels of our government at the moment, but especially the federal level. If you read the more in-depth articles or look even slightly beyond the day-to-day headlines (which are bad enough), it’s hard not to feel waterlogged by the tsunami of corruption, lies, and outright greed and self-dealing that’s taking place right in front of all of us.

But the weirdest thing is how – quite literally – almost every day some new corruption is discovered. And it’s almost always something that, had this same action or relationship been revealed ten years ago, it would’ve consumed our discourse. We would’ve been so outraged that people we’d elected to represent us would behave in such a manner that, almost assuredly, those involved would’ve been called to account and whisked out of town.

Knowing What Is

I’m not going to harp on this; it’s late and I’m tired. I’m not even quite sure why I’m writing about this tonight. Perhaps it’s the cold slap of wind across my face when I let Sheila and Spartacus out to tinkle before bed.

What does it say about us and our country that our new normal is a daily serving of corruption du jour? How has our new normal become complacency over blatant lies spewing out of the highest and most respected office in our land?

What does it say about us that we now become excited when one single member of a political party that used to claim to be the standard bearer of moral integrity and rule of law stands up to this liar and says the obvious. You know, something like, “Gee, maybe it would be helpful to hear witnesses in a trial – witnesses who were expressly prohibited from testifying at an earlier proceeding by the person accused of abusing his power in the first place.”

It’s just weird when a position so obvious, so logical, so utterly essential and inherent to a fair and just proceeding would now seem outrageously risky and bold.

I, for one, abhor this new normal. And I only hope with all my heart that this new relativism is swept away by the winds of change.

(T-679)