"But a fundamental truth of history is that change comes slowly and is often recognizable only in retrospect."
Some "fundamental truths" are also glib ripostes from rhetorical arsenals of those satisfied with whatever state of injustice currently exists.
The Times is part of the establishment and so, in many ways, part of the problem. The same can be said of Obama and Hillary too.
But think.
Last night Obama, passing a torch, alluded to his many failures and mistakes. History, though, is not a marathon with a designated finish line. Nor is it some lonely sprint through rocky terrains of endless night, the hero guided by his own torch of truth - a Right Libertarian archetype.
It's a breathless race through chaotic urban nightscapes. Any flickering torchlight can be suddenly extinguished by ferocious backdrafts of hulking trucks hurtling by in all directions. Blinding headlights and sweeping kliegs eclipse the faltering glim you grip. Bystanders cheer, but also jeer. They give bad directions, sometimes intentionally. Some offer water, some whiskey, some gall, and some . . . hemlock, urine, or bleach.
Call me naive, but Obama's speech was no glib scam. Nor is this Times editorial. (At least not completely.)
Leaders are not just to be trusted and admired. The final "jihad" may be to remove leaders from the core of our common projects. . . . A long road - and not a paved highway (warning: silly link).
We don't have to trust or admire Hillary. That may not even be the best way to support her. But her faults and failures reflect our own. And so should her courage and resilience.
Torches aren't always passed. They can be snuffed - or feebly dropped by exhausted runners - traumatized enough to succumb to the grim allure of night's darkest pockets.
