The Moral Questionability of Humans

A New Path Forward

Lucia and I were in Washington Square in Philadelphia with an hour to “kill” before dinner the other day. I got up from the bench we were sitting on to check out the statue of George Washington and read the inscription. It shocked me. We had been sitting on the graves of thousands of dead soldiers from the Revolutionary War. There was an eternal flame burning in front of a statue of our first President, who, as Lin Manuel Miranda wrote, taught us how to say goodbye and began the tradition of democratically elected leaders coming into office and then leaving peacefully.

Ironically, or not (as is often the case with me), it was the same day that Trump had been indicted again, this time for insurrection and refusing to leave the office of president peacefully. I felt a wave of patriotism and love for the democratic freedoms that we have in America thanks to the blood of our ancestors and I posted a picture on the socials with the words “sacred ground.”

Later that evening we went to a concert (The National). As one does when listening to emotional music I started thinking about all the people I love. I have been blessed to know and love many people, including Indigenous people and African Americans. I thought about all of the unmarked graves of their ancestors and their children who were brutally abused and murdered, (and still are) often by white people under the guise of religion. Suddenly, my post felt insensitive and wrong. Isn’t all ground sacred? Isn’t all human life sacred? Why is it that the people who shout the loudest about Jesus and “wokeness” are the ones who are often actually destroying human lives and burning down our freedoms? How can those two things co-exist in people’s heads?

I grew up with a strong sense of morality — knowing what was right or wrong. But I was also able to observe that many people say one thing and do another. This led me to attempt to live a life where doing was more important than saying (even though I am a writer who can’t stop saying stuff all the time…sorry!) Alignment. Walking the talk. I judge if I am doing well by the connections I make with people who know nothing else about me. Like Prospero from Ghana, who will never read this (because he has no idea who I am) but whom I love immensely and feel his (platonic) love in return. He was not brought here through slavery but came by choice because this country offers opportunities and freedoms that many other countries don’t. This is why immigration is such a challenge. This country is not perfect by any means, but the freedoms that George Washington and those thousands of soldiers fought for still exist and have evolved even further. Women and African American and Indigenous and people from other places who become citizens can vote, make choices and live as free as possible.

Which brings me to the Trump indictments. It is unfathomable to me that so many people in America still seem to support him and want him to be President again. His moral code is completely absent of anything beyond self-aggrandizement. What does that say about his supporters — especially the ones who know better and loathe him behind his back but still support him out of some sick fantasy of loyalty? I often travel and eat out alone, which is how I found myself sitting next to an elderly couple with a gruff but gregarious husband. He started asking me questions. And then I started asking him questions. Turns out he was a criminal defense lawyer who often represented the mafia. “I represent good guys who do bad things,” he said. So I asked him the question I had been secretly wondering…

“Is Trump a part of the mafia?”

“God no, he’s too much of an idiot. He’s a wannabe who will never be.”

We then discussed Hollywood’s obsession with mafia and war movies and how damaging they are — they create this false romance about war and crime and murder. Currently, the emphasis on superhero movies with relentless and cartoonish fighting scenes is an extension of the romanticization of war. This, I think, is why so many people come back from real war with PTSD and suicidal thoughts: all the dreams of glory planted in their heads and hearts by patriotism, the entertaining excitement of war and honor, and the mafia importance of “loyalty,” (the Omerta) can’t help but be shattered when faced with the inhumanity of actual war and the emotional toll of real crimes.

I later found out that Washington Square in Philadelphia was established by William Penn in 1706 as a potters field (burial ground) for free and enslaved Africans, suicide victims, unknown visitors to the city, those unaffiliated with a church, and over 60 Native Americans who died of smallpox. It’s important to honor the dead. But perhaps the best way to honor them is to learn from the past and focus on honoring the living.

The truth is we are all standing on billions of dead bodies and it’s time to put down our mythical warrior swords. It’s time to find a new way to work together to create peace and abundance for everyone — including the earth. We can’t go back and erase the past and all the crimes of humanity that were done for any and all reasons everywhere around the earth. But we can begin to heal the generational trauma within ourselves and reach out to all the people we interact with by loving them unconditionally. We can create new stories that envision a future where love and healing and cooperation with each other and nature are the heroes. I believe that’s what this beautiful tragic earth on fire is begging us to do.

Love is the only moral code we need.

When in doubt, choose love.