by Tyler Quinn
Toss a rock into a pond of water. Watch the ripples form. Enjoy as they slowly grow in magnitude. Revel at what you’ve done with your one small pebble. You’ve changed the texture of the pond’s entire surface. But all that change, all those big, wavy ripples started with an ugly little splash. And never forget that without the ugly little splash, nothing big can occur.
Today, after an election season fraught with emotion, anger, fear, frustration, embarrassment, we elect a new president. Tonight, election results will be announced and we’ll get our first look at the biggest of the ripples, the ones that are almost touching the shoreline, that took so long and so many permeations to form. And tomorrow, you’ll wonder what impact the results will have on you. You’ll wonder what the new Supreme Court appointees will do to your sense of freedom, what the new President’s take on health care will do to your budget and your family’s sense of security, you’ll wonder what new policies will either tear your communities apart, or help them heal. You’ll watch from afar. You’ll have little-to-no touch points on the planning. And while you wait and wonder, the sun will rise and fall, and rise and fall as it always does.
The president holds the most important and powerful office in our country. There is no doubt that this is true. I don’t mean to diminish it in any way. But after the last six months of political madness, perhaps we worry less about presidential ripples and start to make our own little splashes.
Want to do something about gender equality? Men, treat the women in your office place with the same respect you do your male counterparts. SPLASH. Want to address the environment? Buy a reusable bottle instead of going through nine plastic bottles a day. Walk to work. Recycle. Eat less beef. SPLASH. Want to worry less about your healthcare? Hop up, go for a bike ride, get a workout in – and better yet, bring a friend with you. SPLASH. Concerned about the education gap? Volunteer, become a tutor, help somebody who’s struggling learn something new. SPLASH. The list goes on, and on, and on.
It’s been a rough road winding through this election. It feels good to take some focus off the candidates and look a little more inward. I hear you, naysayers, I hear you telling me this is apples to oranges, that it’s not this easy, that the world doesn’t really work this way. And in a sense, you’re right. I’m not more powerful than the president, and neither are you. But tonight you’re either going to like the results, or hate them, and tomorrow, you’ll have a choice of how to move forward. Alchemists, let’s move forward with a sense of hope, positivity and good will. Let’s set out tomorrow leading from the front, focused on our own little ripples, our own ugly little splashes.
It’s not that easy. It doesn’t work that way. This is more complex than that…
Is it, though?
SPLASH.
