My daughter, three granddaughters, and I were getting ready
to leave the walking track at Weber Park when she walked past. Because she was
covered completely from head to toe and wore a black veil covering everything
except her eyes, my granddaughters stared at her curiously. Living in an
observant Jewish neighborhood, they had never seen anyone dressed that way.
Observing their stares, the woman turned around and removed her veil. Behind it
was a beautiful young woman. Smiling, she said to my granddaughters, “I wear
this because it is part of my religion not to show my face to men.”
“Your face is very pretty,” said my youngest granddaughter.
She went on to explain that she could show her face to her
husband, father, brothers, sons, and her grandfathers. Otherwise, her face must
be covered in the presence of men as protection for her.
My daughter explained that Orthodox Jews have the same rules and concepts although their rules only apply to hair not to the face.
“It’s interesting how people can come from different places
and end up at the same idea,” I said.
While I don’t subscribe to any religious beliefs that lead
to women being restricted, her removing her veil and letting us see her face
made her particular beliefs much less threatening. Indeed, the moment when she
removed her veil for us was a special one for all of us; and thus, one veil at
a time, some animosity was stripped away.
These immortal words of President Lincoln are still true
today in our polarized environment. Ever since the Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Museum www.lincolnlibraryandmuseum.com
opened in 2004, we had been talking about taking a trip to Springfield,
Illinois to visit it.
When we received an offer from Travel Zoo (www.travelzoo.com), it seemed like the
right time to make the trip. Travel Zoo offered a package for $89 that included
a room in the Statehouse Inn Hotel, admission for two to the museum, breakfast,
a $10 off voucher for dinner at Arlington’s, a restaurant a three minute walk
away, and complementary drinks at the bar in the hotel.
Travel Zoo’s deal was definitely a good one. Even without
it, however, The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library is worth a
trip especially if you live in the Chicago area. From the north side of
Chicago, it’s a three and a half hour car trip. Also, Amtrak goes to
Springfield from Union Station in Chicago. The station in Springfield is a
short walk from the Statehouse Inn.
For those who have never been to Springfield there are
several interesting historic sites to see there including Lincoln’s home and
historic area, his old law offices, the old Capitol Building, and the original
train depot. In addition, the State of Illinois Museum is worth seeing.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum contains
some wonderfully interactive exhibits as well as exhibits illustrating many
periods of Lincoln’s life. The Museum and Library also houses many original
document and artifacts.
replica of Lincoln family in the lobby of the museum
As we came in, we were directed to a short film “The Ghost
in the White House” that explained on a very accessible level how historians
combed through documents and various artifacts to get a better idea of
historical events. The use of holograms and some theatrics made this topic come
alive. Other exhibits traced the progression of slavery as an issue and
Lincoln’s own evolution throughout his career and during the Civil War leading
to his issuing The Emancipation Proclamation.
Another exhibit done by the journalist Tom Russert “The
Campaign of 1860” juxtaposes modern 21st century campaign techniques
on the Presidential campaign of 1860. This exhibit gives us all a lot to think about. If Lincoln
ran for President in 2016, would he stand any chance of winning? The Republican
Party probably wouldn’t consider him Conservative enough. TV and other media
might not consider him attractive and telegenic enough to be worth getting much
coverage. As a poor boy who was largely self-educated, he would have lacked the
elite alumni connections one obtains from attending a prestigious university. He wouldn’t have had
enough of his own money to finance a campaign and may have been too humble to
raise huge donations. Fortunately, the United States of America and the world
are blessed that Lincoln was President during the 1860’s. I hate to think how history would have unfolded without him in the White House during that pivotal time in our history.
The State of Our Union is polarized. Are we at the breaking
point? Have we become ungovernable? In President Obama’s eighth and,
unfortunately last, State of the Union Address, he expressed this as his
largest regret as president. “It’s one of the few regrets of my presidency that
the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of
better,” he said.
President Obama went on to suggest several ways that the
electoral process needed to be changed to ensure that our current state of
polarity be reigned in. I can think of several other steps that need to be
taken that he didn’t discuss especially abolishing the Electoral College but
that could be the subject of a whole posting of its own. In the meantime,
polarized we are. In his parting State of the Union address, President Obama
looking to the future, warned us of the consequences of all our animosities to
one another. He counseled us to have rational debates, to listen to each other
without vehemence, and to make sure that every citizen has the opportunity to
have a voice in our political process imploring us all to participate as
citizens. We would all do well to heed his words as we go forward.
Pres. Obama’s message was exquisitely stated and brought me
back to an earlier time when things in America were simpler and people got
along with each other with more civility. Although that is how that time period
is perceived in America’s collective consciousness, the 1950’s and 1960’s were
not really that peaceful an era. In fact, it was the height of the Cold War,
McCarthyism, and the House Un-American Activities Committee.
I wish that I could forget the air-raid drills we had
periodically in my elementary school and high school. I wish that I could forget crouching under my desk in my
classroom with my hands behind my head as if this would save me and my
classmates in the event of a thermonuclear attack. Most of all, I wish that I
could forget the nightmares that I had about surviving one of them. When I’d
wake my parents after one of my nightmares, they’d tell me it wouldn’t happen.
I’d ask them if that was the case why they had to demonstrate and attend
meetings of Sane (the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy). I still remember their
campaign buttons. “There’s still time, Brother.” In high school, I enjoyed
telling friends that my parents were in Sane, but I was still having the
nightmares.
In a moment of national unity, President Eisenhower
addressed the American public farewell
on January 17, 1961. Although I was only 13 years old, I remember watching
Pres. Eisenhower deliver that speech. “Beware of the military-industrial
complex.” As a military man, he was especially versed in what the military was
and leaving office, he had that advice to Americans looking toward the future.
If only we’d heeded his advice, we’d be in better shape today. I hope that
there’s still time, Brother, to listen to him now.
The good news is that Chicago is no longer the most segregated large city in America. According to the January 4th Chicago Tribune, it is now only the 3rd most segregated large city -behind Milwaukee and New York.
Progress is being made here albeit at a snail's pace.
Since the Art Institute in Chicago was expanded, they've had room for even more works of art and so the collection shown is even more impressive than it was. It's worth a visit even more than before. While their Impressionist collection is outstanding, sometimes it's good to branch out and see something else.
We saw the above painting which is located in the contemporary wing of the museum and is called "Untitled." It was painted by Robert Gober born in 1954. He says that "...the painful imagery was meant as a reminder of fact - the ugly and unforgettable reality of United States history." It's a new concept - racism and lynchings as wallpaper as white America sleeps comfortably for the most part ignoring it. His painting is saying that racism in America is like wallpaper- ubiquitous and therefore, something we are numb to and tend to ignore.
The year 2015 was a ghastly one for police over-reaction against African-Americans. This was true not only in Chicago, but also in many other American cities. Since the police are part of American society, we have probably all been guilty of the same types of over-reactions. Unfortunately, the police have guns and the opportunity for their over-reactions to be deadly. While the police especially need to be trained to be aware of their racist feelings so that they can know how to stop acting on those feelings in the line of duty, most of white America would do well to have that training. We have to stop over-reacting. I hope that 2016 is a year in which we begin to address the racism that is embedded in our society as we take an honest look at our own reactions.
A good place to start is at the Art Institute. Go to the contemporary wing to see "Untitled" by Robert Gober. A picture is worth a thousand words and a good place to start this journey.
