photograph by frank murtaugh
In February, the “Big M” Bridge glowed blue and yellow in support of the people of Ukraine.
On the night of February 27th, having received the kind of tip only social media can provide, I ventured Downtown, all the way to the banks of the Mississippi River, for a look at the Hernando DeSoto Bridge at a moment in history. Those behind the lighting of our mighty “M” had been persuaded — again, social media’s muscle — to light the bridge in the colors of Ukraine, a small measure of solidarity for the Eastern European nation brutally attacked, starting earlier that month, by Russian forces under the thumb of Vladimir Putin. I wanted to capture the image … because I wanted to do something.
After parking my car at the top of the bluff, I made my way to the river’s edge, and almost beyond. With my phone’s “flashlight” providing my only field of vision, I nearly stepped on a cluster of small tree debris — there was a lot of that in Memphis in February — before seeing the cluster move. It was floating debris. Having wandered as close as I could safely get, I snapped a photo of the bridge in its Ukrainian glory. A moment in history, indeed. I took some deep breaths, climbed the bluff, and, once back inside my car, shared the image with the small slice of the world I could reach. Yes, again with the social media. I wanted to do something.
The weeks since one (nuclear-armed) country began hurling bombs and bullets at another (much smaller) country have felt tilted, even as we here in North America begin to emerge from pandemic lockdown. How do we retain perspective when thousands upon thousands of Ukrainians are fleeing their country merely to survive the attack of a malevolent despot? That tree damage to your house from February’s ice storm? If insurance won’t cover the cost, you’re a strong tarp away from moving on with your life. The price of gas pinching your monthly budget? That’s a “crisis” of economics, the kind that corrects itself with patience. Ride a bike, if you’re able. It will do your body good.
We are at a moment in history. And hasn’t April seen its share? Consider April 15th alone: the day Abraham Lincoln died (in 1865), the day the Titanic sank (in 1912), and the day Jackie Robinson first took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers (in 1947). I get the sense Ukraine and its world of supporters will need months, if not years, for any form of deliverance.
For perspective to make you cringe, Major League Baseball was shut down over a labor dispute during the first weeks of the Russian attack. How do we share billions of dollars fairly? My internal clock moves with the rhythm of baseball for at least seven months a year. But today, with Ukrainian families sweeping up the remains of their homes between shellings? How much does Opening Day really matter? MLB reached an agreement with its players, but the world has been tilted, and not comfortably.
What can we do, an ocean away from the atrocity in Eastern Europe? What can I do? The deep breaths are a start. If you’re the praying kind, I suppose now would be a decent time for lots of it. I intend to send some American money to reputable organizations supporting the Ukrainian cause. I intend to provide what support I can to my grown daughters, each experiencing this kind of empathy strike for the first time. Their Ukrainian peers are being called into battle while they navigate more typical “crises” like rent payment or midterms. And I intend to use what platform I have as a journalist to share my concerns, fears, and yes, hope for the survival of human decency. If world history has shown us anything, it’s the serial demise of violent autocrats. Putin’s turn will come.
We are at a moment in history. And hasn’t April seen its share? Consider April 15th alone: the day Abraham Lincoln died (in 1865), the day the Titanic sank (in 1912), and the day Jackie Robinson first took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers (in 1947). I get the sense Ukraine and its world of supporters will need months, if not years, for any form of deliverance. And I write this column knowing two full weeks of history will unfold before you’re able to read it. Who among us will be the heroes? Will new, scarier villains emerge? Will we need to light the Hernando DeSoto in Ukraine’s colors on a more regular basis? We shouldn’t need a large symbol to remind us to empathize, to take action however we might. But you know what? The symbol doesn’t hurt.
Bless the people of Ukraine, and may their strength lift all of us.
