Saving America One Reunion at a Time

I attended the Juneteenth celebration at the Pocatello Senior Center two weeks ago.  I was reunited with people I haven’t seen in over a year due to the pandemic as well as people I haven’t seen in many years due to the business of our lives. When I was visiting with an old friend with from my days working at ShopKo in the mid-90’s, I noticed our Chief of Police flipping burgers. One of his captains manned the grill next to him, and members of the Idaho State Football team along with two Pocatello City Council members served food to the lunchtime stragglers.

I was happy to see that the event, hosted by the Pocatello Branch of the NAACP, received media coverage in the ISJ’s print edition on June 22 titled “Diverse group of more than 200 people celebrate Juneteenth in Pocatello.” I was even happier to see the pictures provided by Pocatello City Councilwoman Heidi Adamson and Police Chief Roger Schei included in the online version. Reading about events in our community is one thing, but seeing them adds a valuable dimension - especially when those celebrations are about our diversity. Experiencing them in person, as I did, is even more valuable and refreshing.

After the Juneteenth picnic, I headed to Priddaho’s LGBTQ Pride celebration at the Bannock Fairgrounds. My heart felt serenely settled seeing so many people gathered in kindness and revelry. I experienced even more sweet reunions with people I haven’t seen in a long time. I can now say that I have been re-acclimated to hugs.

My attendance at both of these events has spawned the exact emotional state I want to usher me in to the Fourth of July.

I love the Fourth of July. I love the food, fanfare and fireworks. Freedom, too. (Although, I will not be buying any fireworks this year, and I beg everyone to please, please be conscious of the fire risk around us.) I enjoy feeling like I am a part of something bigger, and even more,  I like being a part of something bigger. Attending community events in person remind us that we really are part of something vast. I missed that during this past year with Covid-19.

Community events like these are not just invitations for people to come together over a kernel of commonality, they are opportunities for us to uphold America. Our country is having, or trying to have, some serious conversations about race, policing, religious freedom, gun rights and education to name just a few topics. It is impossible to have meaningful conversations without a foundation from which to build – without relationships that can support the content and emotion.

I talked with Chief Schei at the Juneteenth gathering and expressed my gratitude that he and his officers were there. He let me know that officers were also in attendance at the Pride festival. He and I both agree on the criticality of relationships in our society. Knowing fellow Americans who are Black; knowing fellow Americans who are in law enforcement; knowing fellow Americans who are gay, Christian, Muslim, teachers, gun-owners, parents and on and on will only help us in the conversations we need to be having in this country. It’s just not enough anymore to simply be an American to listen to each other. We need to have relationships with our fellow Americans for trust to take hold and discussions to develop.

Learning to trust each other and talk to each other takes practice. Building and maintaining relationships takes practice. Finding a kernel of commonality and building from there takes practice, but how might we find that and practice these things?  Attending events like I mention above can certainly help, but you can also go to your high school reunion. (I’m looking at you Poky and Highland Classes of ’90 and ’91.)

Think about it. The passé hairstyles, the quirky math teacher, the Cruise, homecoming shenanigans, the songs, the cheers, the skipping classes (not me) … all of those memories from a specific and shared time in our life can lead to conversations with people we might not otherwise engage today. When we can talk about the seemingly small things we have in common, it opens the door for more serious conversations at a later date. America needs this from her citizens.

On this Independence Day in 2021, if you’re feeling disconnected in the wake of the pandemic, make plans to go to your high school class reunion and reconnect. If you’re feeling the woes of political divides, go to your class reunion but don’t talk politics. Talk about your younger years. If you’re feeling like America needs saving, the perfect gift on her 245^th birthday is an RSVP to your high school class reunion and a commitment to work on just that – reuniting.