Volume 5, Issue 25
The national societal divide continues to widen and deepen.
The latest act of terrorism in the United States involved a disgruntled, unemployed worker. He decided to take revenge on Republican Congressmen by attacking them unmercifully at a Congressional softball practice. No group condoned it. All groups condemned it. At least as Americans we are still bound by the commitment to decency and rule of law. Unlike ISIS, we do still respect the innocent and the innocence of societal activity.
A special election is being held in Georgia today. Name-calling, without sensitivity to actual truth, is continuing. The vitriolic political environment of our country today is being further inflamed.
Partisanship in Congress continues to escalate.
Perhaps in our efforts to ease tensions and find common purpose, the wrong points have been emphasized.
A new movie entitled Wonder Woman debuted a few weeks ago, touting a woman as a superhero. Hollywood has created its own genre of action heroes largely based on comic book characters. Movie-goers have many heroes from which to choose. Yet Wonder Woman set an all-time record for box office receipts in its opening weekend.
Why?
Because, in the development of her character, Diana (aka Wonder Woman) illustrated traits to which we could all relate. She was, of course, strong, athletic, and yes, beautiful. But she was also humble, committed to the defense of truth and to the defeat of evil. And most importantly, she was committed to a cause greater than herself. She came to believe that her specific skill set was a gift requiring her to contribute her share to the protection, advancement, and encouragement of mankind.
For this movie to have had the initial success it did, it not only attracted women, but also men and people of all ages. Its reach was assisted by personal word-of-mouth and through social media. And further, a substantial number of viewers returned to see the movie a second time or more.
The comments from viewers ranged from a male senior citizen from the Midwest who stated that there was something about Diana’s character that made him feel good about the role of men and women in society. When asked what he meant by that, he said that each of us has strengths on which we can leverage collectively for the greater good. A female college professor who teaches at a major university is one of those who went to the movie twice in one weekend. As an educated woman, she had difficulty articulating why the movie impacted her so positively. But at the end of each viewing, she said she just felt so much better about herself.
What then is it about this movie that seems to positively affect Americans across the lines of ethnicity, gender, age, geographic location, education and economic status? Could it be that Wonder Woman represents the good manifested in the cultural identity of Americans in common values? Diana was focused in her purpose, yet she took the time to relate to those around her. She was strong, yet softened at the sight of a baby. She showed affection as well as compassion. And most importantly, the evil she saw that appeared to dominate society did not necessarily, in her relationships, permeate every individual. In other words, as bad as man can be, mankind is worthy of saving.
Tonight, the results of a special election in Georgia will be announced. Whoever wins the election, that political party will claim victory as a clear and clarion call in support of their partisan vision. Over $50 million was spent on this election. In a vacuum, such elections are distortions of the true feelings of Americans in general nationwide. It’s a shame that such a special election couldn’t be used to find common ground and common values. But that is not the goal of the partisan world in which we live. Whoever wins tonight is not indicative of the national elections coming up in 2020. We should not be confused or distracted by the outcome of this election in our pursuit of the dignity and healing power of binding principles.
It must be our determination to find common principles that not only bind us as a people, but also as a culture generationally. We should not be afraid to recognize that which we all enjoy, respect, desire, and value.
We are one people, born of freedom, bound by eternal principles, and respectful of eternal truth. Neither should we ignore or be hesitant to embrace the Wonder Woman effect.
My name is Marc Nuttle and this is what I believe.
What do you believe?