The Port Neches library was packed Monday with dozens of people for the solar eclipse watch party.
For about 30 minutes there was no talk of national politics; nobody debated the fate of statues and our only frustration was with the pesky clouds. Finally, even those parted just enough to get a good look at the rare event. As they parted, people cheered.
Now, I love debates and politics as much as the next person and, as a matter of preference and professional duty I keep up to date with the news events of the day. Even so, Monday’s viewing party was a rare opportunity to get out of my routine and spend some time in a grassy park and chat idly with strangers. Courtesy of the Effie and Wilton Hebert Public Library, I also snagged a cool pair of eclipse glasses, meaning, I guess, I can look at the sun whenever I want to now.
I write all this to remind our readers who did not get out Monday, there is value is shared community experience. Sharing a moment with strangers reminds us how valuable our community is and it reminds that even among strangers, we are not alone.
Goodness knows we have valuable and passionate disagreements and lately those disagreements are over some very fundamental issues including race and history. Those debates are worth having and I am glad these conversations are national and not merely academic. I suspect the only way we will be able to deal with issues that divide us is through dialog.
However, those important issues cannot obscure a more important fact: we share much in common. We always will share much in common.
We are curious, we are amazed and we are thrilled with nature. We enjoy company. We enjoy our community. We are, most of us, pretty nice people.
I’m not a pessimist by nature and so I always remain cautiously optimistic about people and about our collective future. Even during the most hate-filled moments on the news, I remain confident that hate is in the minority.
And on Monday, I got reminder that I was right.
I’d like to thank the Port Neches library for hosting the event. They offered snacks, solar eclipse facts, eclipse glasses and, it turned out, they offered something bigger even than the eclipse itself.
So, thanks for everything.
Jesse Wright is editor of The Port Arthur News. He can be reached at jesse.wright@panews.com.