I always depended on the kindness of strangers. II
Say the line “the best is yet to come” or “I always depended on the kinds of strangers”— without irony, without performance — and watch what happens.
There’s often a pause.
A look.
Then a polite nod of agreement that doesn’t quite engage.
Not rejection.
Not disagreement.
Just… no grammar to respond.
That reaction tells you something important.
Many people — including large parts of diaspora culture — were not shaped inside a worldview built on:
trust in strangers
an open-ended future
non-transactional goodwill
life as an unfolding arc rather than a fixed script
In those contexts, optimism is often treated as exposure.
Trust is conditional.
The future is something you brace for, not lean into.
So the line doesn’t provoke debate.
It simply lands outside the operating system.
That’s why the response is silence or ritual agreement — not resonance.
Crossing the Line
Over the last few days, I’ve been wearing a very small, subtle cross with my outfits while walking through Toronto.
What’s striking isn’t the reaction.
It’s the absence of the symbol elsewhere.
You rarely see crosses worn quietly anymore — especially in cities like this. And there’s a reason.
For many people today, visible symbols of faith feel risky because they imply:
commitment without irony
belief without explanation
identity without performance
Modern culture prefers symbols that can be:
remixed
aestheticized
detached from obligation
A cross, worn plainly, does the opposite.
It signals orientation, not argument.
It’s not about permission or status.
It’s about coherence.
A symbol like that only works when:
it isn’t asking for recognition
it isn’t trying to persuade
it isn’t compensating for insecurity
it isn’t deployed as provocation
When it’s worn as part of a calm, non-defensive presence, it reads as settled rather than performative.
That’s rare now — which is why you don’t see it often (in Toronto).
The throughline
Both the phrase “the best is yet to come” and the quiet wearing of a cross
belong to an older emotional grammar.
One that assumes:
continuity over crisis
meaning over posture
patience over signaling
In a culture trained for vigilance, that grammar doesn’t invite response.