Unseasonably warm weather and bright light this weekend added to the joys of walking through the fall colors wherever we were. People strolled in the streets everywhere including in this neighborhood of Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, where the scene (below) in the private garden attached to a historic mansion demanded to be painted.
Illustration: Watercolor and gouache, “The Path Ahead,” on Fluid Cold Press 4″ x 6″ watercolor paper by the Black Elephant Blog author
At every turn in this colonial-era town not far from Washington, D.C., it was impossible to ignore the symbols of our rich history as a still great, if troubled, nation. And it was impossible to forget that this very week, we will be facing a most consequential election .
And yet, when literally everything is on the ballot, the path ahead couldn’t be more clear. As one young voter wrote in an opinion piece today, this moment “can be a moment of all those who hope for a better future, who believe in American leadership and who know that our best days are still ahead.” Clearly, current and future generations here and abroad depend on us to engage constructively, and not cynically, with this moment, and thereafter to engage similarly with the process of governing. There is no other path ahead.
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