A Time for Weeping

 by Charlotte Hinger

The Hamas/Israel War has displaced all of my thoughts about this week's post. What a tragic event. There are so many possible repercussions that I can't bear to ponder any of them. 

Right now, my heart goes out to the victims of this war. 

Donis's post last week was superb. Titled "Where is  Cincinnatus?" she revives an old quote “Comes the hour, comes the man.” She lamented the state of our broken nation and added:

"The saying keeps running through my head and makes me wonder – where’s the (wo)man who can turn this mess around? Where’s our Cincinnatus, who was granted supreme power by the Roman Senate when the Republic was on the brink of disaster, then gave it up the instant the crisis was averted and retired to his plow."

Who indeed? I admire our president and was so happy to hear his unwavering support for Israel. Yet, I kept in mind the hatred toward Abraham Lincoln when he was thrust into a war that he desperately wanted to avoid. Not everyone is going to agree with our President's policy.

I think one of the hardest realizations for me when I became a historian was that there is no way to avoid war when another county is determined to do you in. Absolutely no way! 

I know the history of the Palestine/Israel conflict is complex and I really don't know a thing. Nevertheless, I cannot understand Arafat rejected a two-state solution in 2000.

Why are the citizens of so many nations paralyzed by leaders who court disaster?

 

Where is Cincinnatus?

Since I began writing for public consumption, I’ve been careful to keep my opinions on the state of the world to myself. I figure nobody cares (or should care), anyway. But the latest brouhaha over the disfunction in Congress has reminded me of an old saying: “Comes the hour, comes the man.”

The saying keeps running through my head and makes me wonder – where’s the (wo)man who can turn this mess around? Where’s our Cincinnatus, who was granted supreme power by the Roman Senate when the Republic was on the brink of disaster, then gave it up the instant the crisis was averted and retired to his plow. Where is our George Washington, who helped found a nation and refused a crown? Or our Joseph Welch – the man who brought down Joe McCarthy and his Communist-baiting House UnAmerican Activities Committee in 1954 with one immortal comment: “Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness …. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?”

Our late House Speaker had enough spine to finally fall on his sword to avert a government shut down, however temporarily. But was this a noble gesture, lauded for averting a fiscal disaster that would fall squarely on his own party? It could have been, but nooo. After vilifying the other side for nine months,  to the point they don't trust a word he says, he blames them for his ouster rather than admitting he got himself into this mess. A talk-show personality this very morning noted that the ex-speaker made a deal with the devils and the devils always demand their due. 

So where is our heroic figure, the person who will finally say, "You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency," and have it mean something at last? Alas, I fear heroes are thin on the ground these days.