We Shall See

What will come next?

Illustration by Nadezhda Kurbatova

“We shall see...”

A three-word phrase (often including an ellipsis at the end) that can convey hope, skepticism, or a combination of the two. It is written and spoken, shifting its meaning with context and tone of voice. 

As we stand today, as a nation, a global community, and individuals perched on a delta amid ever-shifting political, social, economic, environmental, judicial, and other currents, “we shall see” feels like a particularly appropriate summation of the moment. 

Will there be a reconciliation bill after all? Despite Senator Joe Manchin’s multiple efforts to scuttle it in the past? And will it contain the most important effort to combat climate change ever passed in the U.S. Congress? And will it bring down inflation? And help with medical costs? And do a lot of other necessary things? 

We shall see.

Will the congressional commission continue to dig deep into the long list of outrages committed by Donald Trump and his enablers in the days leading up to, peaking on, and continuing after January 6? Will this effort bring along an increasingly large swath of the American electorate? Will the nefariousness, autocracy, and outright dangerous criminality of the previous regime be repudiated in the process? Will this be combined with a criminal probe by the Department of Justice, which news reports indicate is occurring? And will these efforts lead to indictments? Including of the former president?

We shall see. 

Will gas prices continue to come down and economic pressures ease? Without plunging us into a recession?

We shall see.

Will the pandemic evolve into an increasingly manageable state? With new vaccines and treatments to help? 

We shall see. 

Will reactionary candidates for office, including many who parrot Trump’s lies about a stolen election, be defeated in November? Will the election results more generally confound expectations for midterms, especially with a president with very low approval ratings? Will, as polls suggest, momentum improbably shift to Democrats? Might the party hold the Senate? Or even the House, as unlikely as that currently seems?

We shall see. 

Will Russia’s strategic blunders in Ukraine intensify? Will there be a counteroffensive? Will Europe emerge stronger as a result?

We shall see.

Will the backlash to the Supreme Court’s reactionary term spur a new era of voter engagement? 

We shall see. 

We could go on and on, and I hope that you, dear members of the Steady community, will add your thoughts in the comments section, on what sure feels like an especially unpredictable phase in history. Heck, I’ll even throw another one in, if you will tolerate a personal indulgence: Will the New York Mets make the playoffs? The World Series?

We shall see. 

One of the few lessons I have learned with any certainty in my long life is that those who try to live by the crystal ball tend to eat a lot of broken glass. The future, by definition, is unknowable. But that doesn’t mean one can’t sense the tides that will shape the moments ahead. 

Over the last days and weeks — on big issue after big issue —  there seems to be increasing evidence that a much broader spectrum of possible outcomes might be in play. 

Perhaps, out of our many struggles, we can find a more secure path forward. Perhaps we will see progress more than peril. Perhaps hope isn’t a forgotten feeling. Perhaps. Perhaps. Perhaps. 

Will these stirrings of change prove enduring or elusive?

We shall see. 

But along the way, there is another truth I have learned. We as voters, members of communities, family members and friends, co-workers and volunteers, can do the work, provide the empathy, and demand the justice that could bend the course ahead to where we would like it to lead. 

“We shall see” is not a prescription for passivity. Rather, it is a rallying cry for activism through civic engagement. 

Time for those who care about the well-being and sustainability of our republic based on the principles of freedom and democracy to get busy. Time to go to work with renewed determination.