What We Can Learn From the Solar Eclipse
In a world filled mostly with gray, there are a few things that we can objectively identify as black and white. The answers to questions of Euclidean mathematics are either true or they’re false. When you drive your car past a traffic light, it’s either red or it isn’t. And, as I learned earlier this week, the sun is either eclipsed… or it’s not. (Don’t let the “partial eclipse” terminology mislead you, as it did me!) In discussions Monday afternoon and evening, I found no meaningful comparison between the experiences of us poor souls who were 1-99% eclipsed and those of folks in the path of totality who saw the real McCoy.
Yes, even with all the pre-reading I had done (which warned me in advance), I was shocked how—even with the moon blocking 99% of the sun—I still had plenty of light to see. Although it got a hair chillier for a moment, and though the light somewhat dimmed, it was unmistakably daytime at 3:09pm when we were maximally eclipsed in Cincinnati. Meanwhile, I’m told that for those who saw the full eclipse, those same moments could have fooled them into thinking it was midnight.
The smallest amount of light was all it took to fundamentally change the experience.
In reverse, sometimes just a sliver of “darkness” is all it takes to transform harmony into chaos. This certainly can be the case when doing the delicate work of building coalitions—when you need everyone to work in unison to accomplish a goal.
This Monday and Tuesday, that was the topic Congresswoman (and Former DNC Chair) Debbie Wasserman Schultz came to Cincinnati to address with our Cohen Family Leaders in Light fellows and several other groups. Few in politics know as acutely as she the fragility of coalitions. In this moment of progressive political fragmentation, she spoke to the difficulty of maintaining working relationships when some partners appear to devalue the uptick in antisemitism related to the war between Israel and Hamas. Still, it must be noted, Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz seemed optimistic—and I think we ought to be too.
These many months have invited us to (re)assess our coalitions and institutions, determining their value and yields, making strategic choices about which merit our continued investment—and which may not. While some alliances naturally wane, others have an opportunity to wax; and in the latter group, we may find ourselves newly in a “path of totality.”
Even scientists had to take a moment and revise their eclipse calculations last week. We shouldn’t be too proud or stubborn, ourselves, to make comparable adjustments to our strategies for communal engagement when the circumstances call for it. Even though we may find the ideal path in a different spot than we expected, we may nevertheless position ourselves such that we are best equipped to protect our communities, families, and friends.