Everything Is Going To Be Okay

What Sam and Frodo can teach us about living in dark times and a simple, hopeful message about our future.

May 08, 2020

Hey Y’all

Full disclosure. This post has been sitting in my draft folder for about almost a month.

When people ask me if I am okay, I feel like I should be able to say yes. And I want to say yes. But despite finding a routine and getting back to everyday things, I have a sinking feeling like we won’t get back to normal again.

[GIF description] a man vacuuming the floor, which is on fire

What makes this worse is that people close to me are split on what all of this means. Was COVID-19 a conspiracy? Was it a power grab from the Democrats? Or was it designed by the Republicans? Maybe it was just Bill Gates?

I just can’t even with y’all.

I am pretty sure I don’t need to see a YouTube video about the pandemic being a conspiracy just like I don’t need to see one about the world being flat or how vaccines cause autism.

What Sam and Frodo can teach us right now

A few weeks ago (when I was planning on writing this newsletter), my family finished watching the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. There is a scene in The Two Towers where Sam gives a speech to Frodo. I’m not going to try to recap the movies. If you want an explainer, here is a good one.

There are times, unexpectedly, where something hits you, and you want to weep because you are overwhelmed. That is what happened when I heard Sam’s speech. And I think it is one that we all need to hear.

Here is the speech. Take 3 minutes and watch it. And then come back to the newsletter.

Here is the audio transcript of the speech.

It’s all wrong. By rights, we shouldn’t even be here. But we are.
It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn’t want to know the end, because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?
But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something, even if you were too small to understand why.
But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back. Only they didn’t, because they were holding on to something…That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.

What does this have to do with inclusion? IDK. But I think it has to do with humanity, and right now that’s what I’m trying to sort out. Maybe you too.

Here are three points about Sam’s speech to think about.

1) How can the world go back to the way it was?

I’m not convinced it can, but maybe that is a good thing. There are educators right now that are thinking about how we can advocate for more inclusive schools. There are families right now that are planning to share their vision for inclusive education for their child. And there are disabled advocates that are writing their next article or recording their next podcast to shine a light on disability rights.

People are already advocating. Maybe this is the time for you to join them and add to the number. Since the world is changing let’s make sure our voice is heard during the planning and rebuilding phase.

2) A new day is coming. Let’s not give up.

This is easier said than done. The disability and special education community had a win last week when Betsy DeVos said that she wasn’t going to recommend waiving any part of the IDEA. This is only “step one” in the fight to protect the rights of students with disabilities.

Chalkbeat is reporting that…

Private schools are set to receive more support than they expected from the federal coronavirus relief package, while high-poverty school districts are set to receive less, thanks to guidance put out by Betsy DeVos’s federal education department.

So obviously there is more work and more advocating to do.

3) There is still some good in the world.

My youngest daughter is a ball full of energy and joy. Almost every day she comes up with how she can show love to the entire world. Most recently she drew a picture.

[image description] a young girl with brown hair and brown eyes standing in front of a wall with various picture frames holding up a drawing; saying “Everything is going to be okay,” with people at the bottom of the drawing holding hands and a sun with a cross in it

I love that she wanted to share this with the world and I asked her if it was okay to show it to people. Here is my point. Depending on the kind of media we consume, we can believe that everyone is out to get each other. The vast majority of people want to see the good in other people. As I have been learning from listening to the audiobook, Talking to Strangers, we will often “default to truth.” That is a really good thing for humanity and it is important to remember that for the most part, we are looking out for each other.

Everything is going to be okay.