Thoughts on Home, Conspiracy Theories, And Envy

I’ll admit it, I am a wretchedly envious person. At every life stage, I’ve envied others for their sharp wit, their incisive minds, their nice homes and cars, even the size of their social media followings. Lately, I’ve been envying those in my community who have children and grandchildren living nearby, at the ready for an evening’s barbecue, or a Saturday hike, or to sit together, all in a row, during church.

Maybe I’m feeling this envy most acutely right now because we just visited Benjamin and his new wife, now living near Fresno. The 60 hours we spent with them were terrific; the 25-plus hours in the car, not so much. Next week I’ll see my stepson and son living in Denver. I’m flying, thanks be to God, and will make a side-trip to celebrate my parents’ 60th anniversary in Indiana. In June, we spent a week with my stepdaughter and her family in Seattle. For the near- and distant future, our vacations will be defined by travel to see kids.

Thank goodness they all live in neat places. (Mostly, though even the area around Fresno has cool things to see.) They are also delightful people, every one of them, and spending time in their homes is a joy. Even though I envy the geographical closeness other families have, I’m also grateful for the gift of children who have become interesting, thoughtful, funny and fun adults. That’s definitely something, even if they don’t live near Dundee.

Home—or, more specifically, my home community—has been much on my mind of late. In an essay published last week, I write about the conspiracy theories that have unfolded in our hometown, thanks to a blogger who has targeted people vocal about the alt-right school board. I have been one of his targets, and he’s written a long expose outing me as a pathological liar, an incompetent teacher, and a Marxist groomer. It’s mindboggling to me that people in my community have decided to believe this blogger—who confirms their biases about some people groups—rather than the folks they’ve living alongside, sometimes for decades. I’m also disturbed by community leaders whose silence feels like complicity and who, in some cases, have decided to platform the blogger’s work.  

I have hope for our community and its goodness, still. And so, a few days after our return from Colorado, two teenage girls will be joining our home: one from Turkey, the other from Indonesia. Both will attend Newberg High School this fall, and we’ve spent much of the summer (when we’re not traveling) preparing our home for their arrival, which has included downsizing 20-years’ accumulation of stuff, putting in new carpet, and painting walls (in my case, badly). More about these exchange students in another newsletter, though I am struck by their parents’ willingness to release the girls to this adventure so far away from their homes.

In some ways, I can relate.