Don't Be Afraid

The weatherman said it would be a "classic nor'easter," and he wasn't kidding. The snow began early yesterday morning and by midnight, I'd shoveled over 16 inches of new snow. This morning dawned with blue sky and the hayfield looks like a fairy land. I'm mentioning this, not only because it's the current news from Maine, but because the selection of Rick Warren by the President Elect to deliver the invocation at the inauguration in January seems to have stimulated a similar storm, not of snow, but public opinion.

Of all the things that can be said of the President Elect, one thing is surely true: he's going to do the unexpected. Now, throughout the campaign he stressed his desire to bring people together. He stated again and again that he believed there was more that unites us as Americans than separates us. It looks like some are surprised he actually meant it.

One of the things that most impressed me about Obama during the campaign was his apparent lack of fear. What I mean is, he seemed sufficiently secure in his convictions that he could engage those who disagreed with him in meaningful dialogue. He even went so far as to state he'd be willing to meet with representatives of countries we regard as hostile to our interests, in unconditional open discussion. It takes nerve to do that.

By including people like Rick Warren, I think the President Elect is trying to help us realize we've got to stop being afraid of one another. How do I know we're afraid? Well, take a barking dog for example. There are a lot of reasons dogs bark. Mine rushes to the window anytime someone jogs by and sounds the alarm: "Warning, warning, alien approaching, Wil Robinson!" Like dogs, people "bark" when they feel threatened, and beneath the guise of bravery, we find fear.

During the course of the campaign, occasionally a line from FDR was repeated: "The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself." I think Obama believes our greatest enemy is fear: unexamined and unconscious fear. We attack one another because we're afraid of what it means to have liberals in the White House. We strike out because we're afraid of what conservatives will do to the Supreme Court. Since 9/11 we've lived in fear that someone, somewhere, was going to do something to hurt us. I think Obama is trying very hard to show us that we don't have to be afraid. We really can talk with one another without blaming, accusing, and labeling. And if we can treat our fellow Americans with at least some measure of respect, perhaps we can demonstrate to the world that there are better ways of solving problems than by killing each other.

He may be wrong. I may be wrong. But it doesn't hurt to try. It really doesn't.