I recently had the privilege of driving in pitch dark between Jasper and Banff, Alberta, right in the middle of a dark sky preserve. I had traveled for a conference before opting for this day-long excursion and, because I had neglected to request snow tires for my car, was at first worried about approaching an icefield at night. But, feeling everything would be alright, I decided to do so anyway in order to keep schedule.

Partway through my journey, I was grateful not to have foundered, but decided to take a rest and stop for a little while and take in the view I had heard so much about. I had been stargazing many times before but do not believe anything could have prepared me for the view of light the darkness around me seemed to make possible. I feel that if there is anything the darkness the recent misalignment, or alignment, of certain political forces have afforded in recent years has made evident, it is arguably the starlight of quieter but brilliant individualities that have always been all around.

On Light Pollution & Discernment of Authentic Individuality

Even though we are dealing with diametrically opposed forces in light and dark, there has seemed to be so much potential in this fleeting moment, and it has felt important to note several observations:

– It at least seems that the current philosophical debate, typified in the polarization of Congress between defenders of the concepts of procedural and distributive justice in policy sometimes feels amplified in artificial ways by a profit-motivated news media apparatus but, other times, does feel more like a reprisal of a Civil War-era argument about basic – and settled – concepts of morality. Naming both of these factors is important.

– Because procedural and distributive justice, by definition, can coexist so long as we put in the work to cultivate & recognize the value of every individuality, we are obligated to problem-solve creatively in order to see both thrive. We need both logical and just processes as well as logical and just KPIs.

– As film and television adaptations of important personal stories illustrative of social justice problems yet unsolved begin to proliferate, it is helpful to remember that performative theater, while perspective-offering, is frequently a poor substitute for actual experience in endowing authority, or positivity, of impact. Authentic storytellers need to be allowed to articulate nuance in safety.

Back in Calgary, when I brought back my rental car, I explained how worried I had been about driving on the Columbia Icefield Parkway. But the man who helped me assured me neither he nor any of his colleagues would ever let a car off the lot in autumn without snow tires, and I’d had them on all along in the dark.