Wrote this original blog post back in November of 2012. Here it is, 2018, and sadly not much has changed with this election nonsense… Now, the added sadness beyond election waste (human and material), is the awareness of the distress that many good friends and countless others experience as they struggle to rebuild their lives and homes after Hurricanes Florence and Michael…
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It is election day here in the US and I find myself annoyed by all the recorded phones calls and glossy mail brochures promoting various candidates. No doubt all candidates are well-intentioned and hopefully qualified to be a part of our govenment, but will we let them do their best, or continue to allow ridiculous game-playing that obstructs anyone’s attempt to make our country a better place?
Last week I had the good fortune of spending several days in Lancaster County Pennsylvania — beautiful country. It was a perfect opportunity to relax. But there was a different aspect to the tranquil and restful lifestyle of Lancaster County that I had not anticipated — many weary couples and families from New Jersey and New York seeking respite and warmth and food after the destruction they experienced in their home communities on the heels of Superstorm Sandy. I found myself surrounded by nice people, clearly in a state of shock, filled with worry and disbelief by what they left at home. They were numb, fearful of what they had to return to, with no idea how and when their homes and communities could find some sort of normalcy and peace. And these folks were the lucky ones who managed to find gas (one man told me he siphoned gas from his wife’s car into his own so they had the necessary full tank to get the family to Pennsylvania). These were also the ones who had the resources to pay for lodging and food for several days. In addition, many that I spoke with expressed guilt at having the chance to find comfort knowing that so many others didn’t have such luck. They exhibited what we call “survivior’s guilt.” One lady I talked with teared up as she told me she felt guilty that she could play with her daughter and husband in a hotel pool while so many of her friends and neighbors were miserable…
So, I am home now in the warmth and comfort of my home that was not affected by a nasty superstorm. And aside from the noise outside from the ongoing repairs to the neighborhood drainage system (which has grown progressively louder over the past several months) I think back to the conversations I had with those couples and families seeking respite from storm damage and destruction, and I pray that they are finding warmth and comfort as well.
Today we all wait for the outcome of our state and national elections, and I hope that we can all work together to make our country better. Intercepting telephone campaign messages and noting at all the glossy brochures I have tossed in the recycle basket I think of all the money that has been spent this past year, nationwide, on policial compaigns. Might it have been better spent helping to rebuild distressed communities in the mid-Atlantic after a terrible storm? Am I the only one who wonders about stuff like this?