The Price of an Opinion

I also remember believing that the bad people in the world were ultimately neutralized by the good people. It might take a while, but it was the way life worked. "To Kill a Mockingbird" was my favorite book, as well as my favorite film, and I believed that there were men like Atticus Finch around, who would always take the higher road. I don't know where that girl went who had such a hopeful view of things. Sadly, I guess she grew up into a woman who has figured out that too often the loudest, angriest people triumph.

I think we're tired--collectively--we've been worn down by fear, by grief. Our country was attacked, and we keep being warned of more attacks. We see all this anger churning around us, and we feel helpless to stop it. I think most of us long for civilized discourse, an easy exchange of opinions; we're just too tired to dig in and insist upon it. How are we going to explain to future generations that our freedom to express ourselves without impunity got lost along the way because we didn't have the energy to defend it?

I had one moment of hope recently. When I went to Barnes & Noble to replace my worn copy of "1984," the book was sold out. It's required reading for students, and there had been a run on Orwell's novel. Maybe a new generation of readers will be so frightened by the book that they'll work harder to make sure it doesn't become a reality.

© 2004