An Hour Before Dawn

Welcome to my blog, An Hour Before Dawn. As a political science major in college and concerned citizen, I have spent more hours than I care to count listening to the counterproductive, hysterical, and divisive rhetoric of media personalities, politicians, and academic leaders. There is no denying that many of us have fallen on hard times recently and that we are all living with less personal security now than we are accustomed to. As I continue to search for work some seven months after graduating, I understand the stress and even panic of trying to find my way in an increasingly uncertain world.

I recently completed an internship working in Washington DC with a wonderful anti-genocide organization, United to End Genocide. While in DC I observed the Occupy Movement in McPherson Square at the height of the media’s coverage of the movement. I should say now that I am not a supporter of the Occupy Movement or the Tea Party although I appreciate their general sentiments. You will not soon see me wearing a tri-corner hat or carrying an “I am the 99%” sign, but I am genuinely happy that Americans are abandoning apathy for organized action, even as I question their views. I fear, however, that both movements have played straight into the hands of the news media and both sides of the aisle, perpetuating the increasingly paranoid message: we are so divided from our fellow countrymen that our society is now on the brink of self-destruction.

I remain a pragmatic optimist and avid reader of history. You don’t have to look back more than two generations to see what our society is capable of surviving. Members of the World War II generation were still children when the stock market crashed and they grew up without expectations of comfort or wealth. They were in their late teens and early twenties when the Japanese attacked at Pearl Harbor, and they went straight into the armed services and factories to fight fascist forces crushing Europe and Asia. Many of exemplary members of that generation fought for freedom around the world while it was denied to them at home. The generation survived hell and they did it with fortitude, unity, and class.

It embarrasses me to see the way the succeeding generations have failed to cultivate the same personal resilience or maintain even basic decorum.  The degradation of our public discourse is shocking. Our fear of the future is laughable.  If our grandparents survived the Great Depression, then we can handle a recession with grace and austerity.  If they could beat the combined fascist powers in Europe and Asia, then we can face down the still looming threat from Islamist terrorists. Our world continues to be ravaged by poverty and war. Genocide and mass atrocities, issues of particular concern to me, continues to devastate communities across the world. Yet, we are better able now than ever before to end these horrific cycles of violence and want. As the comedic genius Jon Stewart declared, “We are living in hard times, not end times”.

As the traditional Irish saying goes, “the night is darkest before the dawn”.  I dedicate this blog to that sweet and hopeful sentiment.

Thank you for subscribing,

Krista McCarthy