I feel like we are all Jack and Rose on the stern of the Titanic as it is about to sink into the sea. We cling to the rail as tight as we can and watch the carnage below. We catch the eye of another scared passenger and wonder how we got here.
Just a short while earlier we thought we were the king of the world, traveling on the most powerful ship the world had ever seen. Nothing could stop us as we sped across the ocean. Our arrogance and desire to prove how great we were kept us from seeing the dangers ahead.
We were the greatest ship in the world, and no one would tell us how to sail. We were perfect, even with our segregated decks. We refused enough lifeboats for everyone because it would hinder the view and make us look weak. What did we need lifeboats for anyway? We could not be sunk.
Yet, in the middle of the night, something beneath the surface ripped a hole in our foundation. We tried to pretend it wasn’t as bad as it was. We told everyone to go about their business, that nothing was wrong. We refused to accept the truth until it was too late. Until the water began to rise. So, we panicked. We locked the lower decks to allow the rich and powerful a lifeboat first. We left the less fortunate to fend for themselves, knowing full well there wasn’t enough boats for everyone.
And, as the band played on, and the boat began to sink, we raced to find a way to survive.
Now here we are, clinging to the railing at the back of the ship as it rises high in the air. The powerful are safely in the distance, watching us struggle.
You may be thinking that this story is about the end of the America. But it’s not. America is not sinking. But maybe, if we are lucky, our arrogance is.
The truth is, we all have a part to blame for why we are here. We ignored too many things for too long. We didn’t listen to those warning us. We promised to change tomorrow. Always tomorrow.
So now a great and powerful ship will sink.
And we can choose if we survive. We can let the ship pull us down with it. We can let our arrogance drag us under.
Or we can swim with all our might to the surface.
We can endure the cold and the fear and fight to survive.
And maybe, just maybe, this time around we can share our floating door so others can survive with us.
