I have never considered myself a Cubs fan or a fan of watching baseball games. I have never thought of attending a show as more than an evening out to absorb a wonderful piece of art. I have never assumed that writing on a single piece of paper could lead to a greater impact of influencing the future of our nation.
At first glance, these all could appear as small acts. We don’t take stock of such ordinary things, but once we really put them into perspective small things can not only contain greatness but lead the way to future greatness. I say this because I feel we forget to realize that if we don’t look out too carefully, we could let the idea of impact slip away from our very fingers.
These past couple weeks, I have been noticing a change in my environment. For me, a typical Chicago week involves lots of hustling and bustling, noise, lights - the whole shebang. And these past couple weeks have been no different except an energy in the air seems changed. Why, you may ask?
The Cubs won the World Series. The first separate production outside of New York of "Hamilton" begins an open-ended run at the Privatebank Theatre. Suddenly we are in November and the early and anxious voters pull in encouraging everyone more than ever to make sure their voices are heard.
While that last one has certainly made a more stressful impact than a happy one, the latter outweighs this in that these events prove that our here and now could not be more important. While it can feel like this year has been an odd one, we’re just beginning to step into the preview of monumental change. We keep moving on. We reflect on where we’ve been and we hold onto these precious events in fear that something so great may never happen again.
But these events don’t show that lightning only strikes twice. It’s a message. A message that as this year of 2016, as up and down as it’s been, has been an important one, in fact, a historical one. And despite whether you liked the results of these events or not, they link in a chain to point us towards a better 2017.
I don’t care if you like the Cubs or "Hamilton" or politics. The importance is to be aware that these events do hold weight past the hype and celebration of the masses. What we have is a case of history in the making and, with that power, there also lies the fear of how if we don’t join in the celebration we’ll be left out.
The fear of being left out, however, is far less important than the fear of not being heard. We must take advantage of these moments whether we agree with the course of action or not. If we don’t like sports, we can still take pride that it’s giving peace and love to a city that needs it most right now. If we don’t like theater, we can still have satisfaction in seeing stories being told by people of color who are usually restricted to a limited narrative. If we don’t relish in politics, we can still not ignore that the presence of discomfort is secondary to sitting idly by and not having a say in voting on the future choices of our country.
Some needs can outweigh others when others take priority. It could not be more important and pressing to be thinking diligently with the choices we make today, tomorrow, or after. Once we break past the fear of change or feeling unheard, we can take satisfaction in knowing that for one brief moment or another we were a part of something important. That feeling holds enough light to outweigh a limited amount of darkness, maybe even enough to fulfill a lifetime.
