It was end of March 1973. While it had been a time of significant achievement over the course of a year, Arab terrorists had murdered 11 people at the Summer Olympic Games in Munich, armed conflict between Israel and Arab states took place, OPEC proclaimed an oil embargo leading to an oil crisis and Watergate. American writer e.b.white, contributing editor to The New Yorker magazine, known writer of novels and highly popular children's books including Stuart Little, The Trumpet of the Swan and Charlotte's Web received a letter from a reader bemoaning the state of the world. White wrote.......... image by rawpixel.com
As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the thing that is left to us, in a bad time. I shall get up Sunday morning and wind the clock, as a contribution to order and steadfastness.Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say, the weather is a great bluffer.
I guess the same is true of our human society—things can look dark, then a break shows in the clouds, and all is changed, sometimes rather suddenly.
It is quite obvious that the human race has made a queer mess of life on this planet. But as a people we probably harbor seeds of goodness that have lain for a long time waiting to sprout when the conditions are right.
Man’s curiosity, his relentlessness, his inventiveness, his ingenuity have led him into deep trouble. We can only hope that these same traits will enable him to claw his way out.
Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.
Sincerely,
E. B. White