John Buttrick can be reached at johndbuttrick@gmail.com.
I’m a New Englander through and through. I grew up on a forty-two-acre farm. It had twenty cultivated acres of a variety of fruits and vegetables. The fields were bounded by stonewalls, a farmhouse yard, a woodlot, wetlands, and hilly fallow fields. I never imagined finding myself living for twelve years in wide open Illinois farm country.
However, arriving in Illinois, I felt confident my farming experience on that hilly, rocky New England farm would serve me well among Illinois farmers. However, much of Illinois is comprised of fertile flat loess, (deposits of soil) left behind by glaciers and wind millions of years ago.
About 89% of the state is considered prime farmland. The average size of an Illinois farm is 375 acres. Most farm acreage is devoted to grain, mainly corn and soybeans. The crops are planted right up to the foundations of the farmhouses. Fertile land cannot be wasted for groomed lawns, trees, or even kitchen gardens.
The farming differences are stark, but Northeastern and Midwestern farmers have one thing in common. They have an affinity for practicing an economy of words and an inclination to go right to the point.
At a church supper, I sat across from one of those farmers. To break the silence between us I offered, “driving here I appreciated the multicolored wildflowers along the edges of the fields.” He looked up, distracted from his dedication to the barbecued chicken and green bean casserole. After a considerable pause, he stoically replied, “Weeds.”
That one word, “weeds,” tersely said it all. It encompassed his values and his feelings. That one word left me speechless. There we sat, escaping to our Jello salads, the table widening between us. How was it that I, who had grown up on a farm, could not identify a weed?
Many years later, living back home in New Hampshire in 2022, that memory of the encounter with an Illinois farmer now serves me as a metaphor to shed light on the two irreconcilable conflicting sides among our citizens, neighbors, and across the nations of the world. Each side perceives the other as weeds needing to be controlled and/or eradicated. There is not enough land for shared space.
PBS political analysts report that the majority of political ads during this campaign season concentrate on demonizing the opposing candidate. Similarly, potential voters interviewed report the main motivation for their choice at the polls will be their negative view of the other candidate. Weeds are bad, choking out the good. Security and a familiar cherished way of life are being threatened. Many people cling to the concept of an either/or society with zero sum resources. They seek to expose and exorcise the dangers.
The dilemma we face is that we are all subject to being perceived as weeds in the eyes of the beholder (someone else). We are labeled on the news, the internet, at political rallies, demonstrations, protests, and petitions. Depending upon the perceptions of the side we’ve chosen, we see invasive weeds crossing our southern border into the United States; weeds of deception about the efficacy of flu and COVID vaccinations, weeds of white supremacy and racism, weeds crowding out peacesense and nuclear disarmament, weeds choking out effective public school education, weeds of welfare, weeds protecting criminals, weakening democracy or environmental regulations.
These perceptions are the product of thoughts and observations seated in emotions, core beliefs, and prior experiences. They muddy reality and the sources of truth. They increase fear, anger, and despair.
It is easy to describe the daily evidence of the divide in the halls of Congress and among the people. However, beneath the surface of the news there seems to be an underlying desperation to overcome the divide and a frustration about how to make it happen. The urge to immerse ourselves in fragrant fields of comforting wildflowers will not stem the reality of weeds. Nor will buying into the deluge of negative political ads or into the proclaimed promises of preferred candidates.
The way forward is unclear. But, a beginning may be to claim the wisdom of that long- ago cartoon character, Pogo, “I’ve met the enemy and he (sic) is us.” I can recognize that my own perceptions are weedy. I can accept that I’m not a vessel of perfection. Then, perhaps, I may join together with others as bearers envisioning a more perfect union.