We must face the truth
In the last page of Earnest Hemingway’s classic novel “The Old Man in the Sea,” there is a brief exchange between a woman on a seaside terrace and a waiter named Tiburon.
The woman observed the ravaged figure of a great fish still tied to the old man’s humble skiff and asked: “What’s that?” as she pointed to the long backbone on the remaining carcass. He answers: “Shark.” He intended to explain what had happened, but the truth was, there was so little remaining, it didn’t matter what he called it. Unfortunately the sharks on the open sea had torn Santiago’s prize swordfish into pieces and consumed all that was of any value.
This election season both President Obama and Mitt Romney are attempting to convince the public that they can perform the miraculous on America by putting the meat back on the skeleton, placing new skin on the body, and induce it to once again glide gloriously through the waves while protecting it from ravenous sharks.
The problem with this thinking is that it manifests the same old redundant, non-miraculous, unproductive political construct. In short, when will politicians and the voting public wake up and embrace the reality that: “Being wrong longer doesn’t make you right?”
Yes, the great trophy can swim again. Yes, a new outlook, a renewed body, a new course and a protected future are possible. But that possibility only “miracle” will be performed by candidates or either of the parties. I find it astonishing that the same folks who object to overdependence on the government expect the government to provide the answers. I find it equally incredulous that those who object to big business can’t see that both parties are big business. Just ask our nation’s debt holders.
Our beloved country suffers from a wounded national vision, yet political speeches offer only “The Hollow Sound of UnFulfillment.” So far, neither Obama nor Romney seems to understand what Santiago came to realize: “I shouldn’t have gone out so far.” The answers for our nation and its future are waiting in the same place where we found our humble beginnings: on our knees, in His truth, with our dreams, by our hands, through our sweat, with all of our hearts.
In the closing sentences of Hemingway’s novel the narrative notes: “Up the road, in his shack, the old man was sleeping again. He was still sleeping on his face and the boy was sitting by him watching him. The old man was dreaming about the lions.” In my view, the lions represent youth, strength, vibrancy, bravery and independence, exactly what this nation needs now from its people.
Larry A. Douglas
Waynesburg