Maybe

Julie: Since the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran began, a song has been running through my head:

War

What is it good for?

Absolutely nothing

War

What is it good for?

Absolutely nothing

Say it again, y’all

Edwin Starr’s 1970 Vietnam commentary feels right to me at this moment. And yet when I saw my Iranian-American hair dresser last weekend, she was in excellent spirits - worried for her family back in Iran but also celebrating the end of the repressive regime. She is not alone.

It reminded me of the Zen Story: Maybe.

🌿 The Zen Story: Maybe

An old farmer lived in a small village. One day his horse ran away.

The neighbors came by and said,
“Such bad news! Your horse is gone.”

The farmer replied,
“Maybe.”

The next day, the horse returned — and brought with it several wild horses.

The neighbors said,
“What good news! You are now rich with horses!”

The farmer said,
“Maybe.”

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the wild horses, was thrown off, and broke his leg.

The neighbors said,
“How terrible! Such bad luck.”

The farmer replied,
“Maybe.”

A week later, the army came through the village to conscript all able-bodied young men for war. Because the farmer’s son had a broken leg, he was passed over.

The neighbors said,
“How fortunate! What very good news.”

The farmer said,
“Maybe.”

Traci: That story feels so appropriate for how I’m feeling about what’s happening in the Middle East right now.

As with virtually anything this administration does, it feels impulsive and chaotic, and it seems unclear what we are trying to accomplish and therefore, how we’ll know when we’ve “won.” That seems hard to celebrate. And our history of swift and contained engagements in the Middle East is not great.

On the other hand, as we have watched the rise of Christofascism here in the US, I have been haunted by thoughts of what life was like for women in Iran prior to the revolution. It’s truly shocking to see how easily and quickly women lost virtually all rights, and has been a cautionary tale as I watch the steps MAGA leaders are taking to curtail women’s power and independence here in the United States. The idea that such a brutally oppressive regime might be dismantled, and women could regain some of their freedom and independence, is freeing. So for me, my hope in this situation is that somehow we have created the conditions for life to get better for Iranian women. We know that Iran has been led by some bad guys for a long time. I’m not sad if it’s harder for their brutal regime to continue. Maybe.

(Tehran University students in 1971)

Julie: Exactly. And at the same time, people are being killed, property destroyed, livelihoods trampled. It’s heartbreaking and excessive, brutal and costly. The destruction is devastating. None of this is okay. None of this is to suggest that we support war or violence or cruelty. And also maybe the rebuilding will come with freedom and justice? Maybe.

Speaking of which, I’m spending time this week in the American South, visiting civil rights monuments and museums and immersed in conversations about our painful past and the throughlines to today. It’s hard to sit with the stories of the many lives lost. It’s inspiring to be reminded of the courage and heart of MLK, Jr., John Lewis, the Freedom Fighters, Ida B. Wells, Mary Church Terrell and so many others. And the progress they made was consequential.

Yet, the rights that they fought for are being rolled back today. The Trump Administration is blatantly racist. It feels like so much that was won is being lost. And yet…

The Zen story reminds us that we have to keep holding the paradoxes. The both/ands. The wins and the losses. The two steps forward, one step back. And at the same time hold fast to our values. Especially love.

The other song in my head right now is Marvin Gaye’s 1971 What’s Going On:

Mother, mother

There’s too many of you crying

Brother, brother, brother

There’s far too many of you dying

You know we’ve got to find a way

To bring some loving here today, yeah

Father, father

We don’t need to escalate

You see, war is not the answer

For only love can conquer hate

You know we’ve got to find a way

To bring some loving here today.

Traci: “For only love can conquer hate” is right. It is a theme of the civil rights movement, and one we keep returning to over and over, because of the power of the hope we find there.

And while we’re talking about lessons from music, I’ll share one more that I think about every time we are faced with violence in the Middle East. – it’s Steve Earle’s iconic 2002 song, Jerusalem, written as we had undertaken a second war in the Gulf and reflecting a belief that despite the dangerous and deadly conflict happening at the time, peace was possible:

I believe there’ll come a day when the lion and the lamb

Will lie down in peace together in Jerusalem

And there’ll be no barricades then, there’ll be no wire walls

And we can wash all this blood from our hands and all this hatred from our souls

And I believe that on that day, all the children of Abraham

Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem.

We’ve been writing this substack for almost a year now, and we have often looked at current acts of resistance to find inspiration and hope. But I love this opportunity to look at art – music, storytelling, and monuments – as guides to help us recognize the now while we aspire to a better future. Will the path to something better run through this moment? Maybe.