Today’s Edition: “Perspective” as our superpower.

December 24, 2021

[Audio version of newsletter here.]

          I am an amateur astronomer. One of the things I like best about astronomy is that it provides a keen sense of perspective. In 2014, using only glass and mirrors, I was able to observe a single star in a galaxy 12 million light years away. True, the star had exploded into a supernova that became incredibly bright. But on that night, photons that had traveled at the speed of light for nearly 12 million years passed through my telescope and into my eye. If that experience doesn’t fill you with awe, you need to get outside beneath a dark sky more often. When you do, put aside your phone’s “star finder app” and just look up at the sky in wonder.

          The distance that light travels (at the speed of light) in 12 million years is beyond comprehension. And yet, 12 million light years is a fraction of the size of the universe. The diameter of the observable universe is estimated to be 93 billion light years. The universe is vast, and the earth is a tiny speck suspended in the inky blackness of space. Our journey to inhabit that tiny speck began with the initial expansion of the universe 13.8 billion years ago. Today, we are fortunate enough to find ourselves living on that tiny speck in a free country during a moment of relative peace, prosperity, and security. How lucky is that?

          Why am I talking about astronomy in a newsletter devoted to “interpreting the news through the lens of hope”? Because of perspective. The past five years of political turmoil have been rough. If we ignore the rest of universe and focus only on the problems of the moment, they loom large. True, those problems are significant and should be taken very seriously. I am not suggesting that we can feel better about our problems by reciting that the universe 13.8 billion years old. (I tried that with my daughters; it doesn’t work!) But I am suggesting that that expanding our field of view will help us abide during difficult times.

          The turmoil we face is distorted by the media, which examines our troubles with a microscope rather than a telescope. Breathless predictions of doom are easier to incant if you ignore 245 years of constitutional democracy. Demonstrations occupying a quarter acre are described as portending a “civil war” but disappear into insignificance in a nation whose scale is twice that of Europe. A few thousand white nationalists dominate the attention of political analysists who ignore 334 million citizens who obey the law as they try to raise their families in peace and security.

          America is vast. It has heft and momentum that escapes notice until it matters. America’s strengths unfurl in many dimensions, including its geography, economy, and people. It is a mistake to define America’s prospects by a single metric or movement or moment in time. Whatever troubles we face today take place on a broad landscape of opportunity and possibility shaped by Americans who are pursuing nothing more—and nothing less—than the promises of the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights.

          In the challenges ahead, we must maintain a sense of perspective. It will fortify us against disappointment and provide the strength to forge ahead when the path to victory is obscured by cynics, doubters, and dissemblers. Most importantly, perspective will remind us that we are engaged in the struggle to preserve democracy not only for ourselves, but for future generations. We must govern for our grandchildren—and for their grandchildren. Temporary setbacks and defeats should be measured against that multi-generational timescale. From that perspective, it is clear that we are moving forward with unstoppable momentum. Let perspective serve as our superpower to sustain us during challenging times.

          To write this newsletter each day, I read many news sources to decide which stories deserve comment. Inevitably, disappointing and disturbing stories outnumber positive reports. Readers sometimes ask how I maintain my sense of optimism against the deluge of bad news. The answer is perspective. And there is no better description of perspective than the essay by Carl Sagan about a photograph taken by Voyager I as it left the solar system. In that photograph, the Earth occupies a single pixel in a vast darkness. Sagan’s essay, A Pale Blue Dot, is an appropriate reflection on our place in the universe and deserves to be read out loud at family gatherings as we close the chapter on a challenging year. This year, Sagan’s essay is especially appropriate because of his call to protect Earth:

          Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. . . . [T]his distant image of our tiny world underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

Concluding Thoughts.

          As we approach the end of one year and the beginning of another, my wife (a.k.a. Managing Editor) and I express our gratitude to the community of readers of this newsletter. We are on this journey together and by your side each step of the way. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, your determination, your fears, your losses, and your joy with us. It is an honor.

          The newsletter will continue its publication schedule next week, though we are hoping for a lighter news cycle and shorter newsletters. On Sunday, December 26, 2021, we will host a “year-end review” podcast at 11:00 AM Pacific / 2:00 PM Eastern on the Callin app. Join us for the live podcast if you want to participate in the conversation, link here: Holiday Party and Year-end Review. We will post a link to the podcast in Monday’s newsletter so everyone can listen to the recorded version.

Also, my wife and I posted a video message to our readers on her blog, here: Christmas Greetings & Outtakes too! Watch to the end; it will make you smile!

          With humility, gratitude, and solidarity, I thank each of you for you for being faithful servants of democracy.

          Talk to you on Monday!