Glimmers of light are more visible in certain places. They include places where the stars can still be seen at night - in the countryside and in small towns. Hawai'i may be the lightest place in the American gloominess, and hence a place from which to get perspective on the state of the union. Fear is much less intense in Hawai'i than on the mainland.
Fear blinds. One of the best contemporary American authors on darkness is Kentucky farmer Berry. His book "In the Presence of Fear" briefly made it onto some lists of ten best-selling books. Berry writes from rural Kentucky, at a margin, rather than from the center of the gray storm. Those outside the New York to Washington corridor (the center of the vicious Sept. 11 attack) write from a different ground. Berry has written in a poem about "the day-blind stars waiting with their light."
Americans need allies, especially now, at this shaded moment. Rather than deny the mounting darkness, or drown in fear, we could benefit from listening to Europeans and others as they talk about America's dark presence in the world these days.
Fear blinds. One of the best contemporary American authors on darkness is Kentucky farmer Berry. His book "In the Presence of Fear" briefly made it onto some lists of ten best-selling books. Berry writes from rural Kentucky, at a margin, rather than from the center of the gray storm. Those outside the New York to Washington corridor (the center of the vicious Sept. 11 attack) write from a different ground. Berry has written in a poem about "the day-blind stars waiting with their light."
Americans need allies, especially now, at this shaded moment. Rather than deny the mounting darkness, or drown in fear, we could benefit from listening to Europeans and others as they talk about America's dark presence in the world these days.