Specter of Silence

We’re in trouble.  It is undeniable, regardless of what section of the political arena you find most comfortable.

The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are traditionally the most joyous of the year in our country.  From the time I was a child the Macy’s Parade was a time of festivity, laughter, innocence and astonishment.  This year it was plagued by unhappy dissatisfied protests coating it with apprehension.

The Macy’s store in Herald Square has always been a source of amazement not only for tourists, but also, for all native New Yorkers.

I have never entered it either during the incredible Spring Flower Show or during the Christmas season when I wasn’t utterly overwhelmed with its majesty and incredible inventory.  Yet this season there were aisles blocked with humanity in protest.

Where did this total frustration not only with our country, but also, apparently, our way of life begin?  The discord reflects ostensibly an infuriation not only with the country’s legal system, but the America once beloved by all its citizens.

I have to wonder if it began with the Spectr of Silence on the part of ordinary men and women when political correctness emerged.  Did we stop speaking with clarity and honesty, rather than choosing to take the dubious chance of innocently offending someone’s high level of sensitivity.

Did we stop describing others with intelligibility and use ambiguous adjectives which are vaguely non descriptive.  By falling into this well of indefinite language, we began to disguise other things.  Was that when we stopped speaking the truth to each other about our beliefs, our concerns and our worries about the future of our country?  The path of not quite deceit but neither total honesty that we emerged on began to have a wider scope, and we allowed our country to slowly shift into a position that has become noticeably frightening for most of us watching the news from the sanctity of our homes.

Growing up in NY, there were many rules we were taught to obey, but the three cardinal ones were:

Never embarrass the family.

Never fight City Hall.

Never discuss religion or politics.

The first was relatively easy.  Outside of a few remote incidents, I never knew anyone in the neighborhood (which was admittedly tolerant) who embarrassed their family.

The second was also quite simple because the entire neighborhood was not only solidly Democratic, but also totally reliant on the favors of the local Democratic Club.  Jobs, legal assistance, etc. all fell under their realm.

The third, admittedly, was also no problem in those years when we all observed our religious beliefs at Sunday Mass in the same magnificent Cathedral that still stands on the corner of Columbus Avenue and West 60th Street.

Times change though, and rules have to be modified.  And perhaps it is time we did openly discuss religion and politics.  Maybe it is time not to worry about political correctness, but to speak honestly about our feelings with clarity and courtesy.  For some reason in the last few decades, the nation began to feed on TV commentaries and personalities rather than demanding factual journalism, and began to absorb a culture that was changing so rapidly we should have felt dizzy.

I find it troubling when celebrities “baby bumps” become news; when female anatomy (which the vast majority of adults are quite knowledgeable about) is featured indiscriminately in printed media and on the internet, and becomes conversational context.  Perhaps if we had paid more attention to some of the laws Congress was enacting without reading; possibly if we had known more about the candidates credentials rather than their personalities, hairdos and families, our country would not be in such dire condition this December of 2014.

Regardless of what you believe politically, I doubt if any American was happy watching the national news this month.  Anger, distrust, unease in the streets didn’t begin this season.  It has been simmering for a long, long time.

I honestly believe it is time to break one of the cardinal rules I learned early in life.  Perhaps we should openly discuss religion and politics, and let our voices be heard.

Maybe it is time for the national media to stop featuring baby bumps, derrieres’ and sexual mores and write with clarity about the state of our country before it is too late.

Maybe it is time to openly affirm our religious beliefs, discuss our lack of interest in celebrities’ anatomy, and voice our dissatisfaction with the triviality of personality culture.Hopefully, we still have an avenue of time to hold on to the America we loved.  We don’t have to protest to do that.  There are other opportunities, such as speaking the truth.