Tangled Webs

“A female humpback whale had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She  was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She  also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around  her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth. A fisherman spotted her just east of  the Farallon Islands (outside the Golden Gate ) and  radioed an environmental group for help. Within a  few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her. They worked  for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her.  When she was free, the divers say she swam in what  seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each  and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them,  pushed them gently around as she was thanking them.  Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth said her eyes were following him the  whole time, and he will never be the  same.”

I needed this little story because lately, I’ve been reading the deepening polarity disguised as legitimate discussion concerning the causes of the shootings in Arizona. 

Even when we suffer the tragedy of mass killings we can’t seem to come to our own aid.  We remain in our own tangled web of toxic political discourse.  If only there was an environmental group that could save us.  Sorry!  It’s just wishful thinking on my part. 

In reality, we have both sides lining up to blame the other.  We are now being deluged with political rhetoric designed to claim innocence and prove that the other side is using this disaster to their political advantage.  As an example, one politico saying “Republicans weren't the only ones who used gun-related images during the campaign.”  Meaning that we are now using the lowest common denominator as the benchmark of political propriety.  The issue is “not who used them”.  The issue is “their use by either party”.

That’s the level to which we have sunk.  There was a time when I believed that we could have civil dialogue in America.  A time when we could all stand on the same side of a critical issue and see it on its own merits.  That no longer seems to exist in our country.  It seems that there is no issue that can escape the polarity that poisons our public discourse.

Every thought and utterance needs to be placed in the context of our political disagreements.  The horrible shooting in Arizona is being used like just another happening in a series of political events.  Even it couldn’t be considered a good reason to raise us from the depths of our political invective.  We seem duty bound to take sides and use it as a wedge in this sickening charade we call intelligent discussion.  Control of what Douglas Kellner calls the post-tragedy "spectacle" remains up for grabs.

The dead will be buried.  The wounded will heal.  The next major news event will pop up out of nowhere and we’ll forget the victims.  But what will remain in the minds of many is the deepening moral bankruptcy that defines American political discourse.

So when I read a heart-warming story about people helping a whale and that whale showing gratitude, I’m encouraged.  I’m encouraged that at least there is decency still left somewhere in the human psyche; even if it’s directed at a supposedly “dumb” animal.  Fortunately for the Whale, it was not registered with a political party or they may have let it drown.

One of my dearest and oldest friends, Don Newcom, sent the whale story to me.  I can’t give proper attribution to the unknown originator but I am thankful to that person too.

 Robert DeFilippis