In today’s world of the internet and immediate access to do-it-yourself illustrations, there is very little left to the imagination. I can type in my wonderment about an event and the internet will spoil my amazement with pictures of behind the scenes. Prestidigitation (sleight of hand). I love that word. It tells me how the trick was done. Misdirection and illusion draw both our curiosity and our criticism.

Humanity is both rational and impressionable. We want to be mesmerized by the magician. We also want to know how it’s’ done, so we aren’t fooled easily next time. This conundrum has been part of life since time immemorial. Scriptures even site many experiences of the people of faith where seeing did not lead to believing. Belief is more complicated in people. People choose to believe. It’s the leap of faith.

We choose to believe in our country, our community, our family, and ourselves. We choose to believe in things unseen but experienced. Love, Fidelity, and friendship are unseen encounters between peoples but experienced daily in our lives. There is a time for seeing. There is also a time for blind confidence.

I encourage everyone to choose to believe in experiences beyond your sight. Choose to believe again. Believe again in America. Believe again in God. Now we need to believe again in ourselves. We all need this leap of faith in 2022. I believe that is what people feel they are missing from this years’ events.

James Weathersby

Augusta