Sincerely, We The People!

Dear Elected Official -

I am writing to you with a very personal plea, but one which I think, if answered with real honesty and courage, will serve the people of this nation, and yourself, very well. I have heard the uproar. Been to the rallies. Seen the news stories. Cast my vote. I, like so many others, have moved from ignorance, to apathy, to anger, to action. I believe that very path is what has brought me to who I am today - an engaged citizen, fully awake, and unwilling to slip again into the dangerous stupor of believing that being taken care of is more important than being vigilant. I know my role in this process - understand what, "We, The People" is all about. Because of my new-found realization of  my responsibilities in this Republic, I'd like to better help you understand yours.

You are a leader, but not because of who you are, or what you do, or any special skill which you might possess. You lead because people have chosen to put you at the front line of the battle to fight for a government that does nothing more or less than serve the basic needs of this great nation. It doesn't do us any good if you succumb and are unable to fight. It does not do us any good if, paralyzed by fear or the enormity of your task, you roll over and relinquish your duty. It does not do us any good if you jump trenches and work for the enemy. The only way that you are benefiting the people who sent you is if you stand alert - day in, and day out - ready to fight on their behalf. Any other action you may choose to take is cause for a dishonorable discharge, and we will not hesitate to call you back home.

Please let me be clear - the metaphor of battle is not meant to justify demonizing an opposing party or allowing passion to ignite to violence. You are not there to fight with arms, or even words - for a witty fool is still a fool, nonetheless. Instead, the tools you will use in your fight are noble ideas, exemplary character, and practical solutions. The enemy is not, and never has been, a political opponent or colleague from the other side of the aisle. The tireless enemies that you must fight each and every day are the very same ignorance, apathy, and anger that all the rest of us struggle against as well. I'll say it again - you are not a leader because of special skills or because you are a special person, but because you have said you are willing and have been chosen by your peers to be a representative of our shared civic strife. You do not bear the burden alone, nor is your battle any harder than ours, only more public.

That's right - your election has brought you into the public eye. I admonish you to remember that every gleeful, triumphant thought you have about the place in the sun you have attained only robs you of the opportunity to be mindful that being seen also means being watched. Though you may feel liberated from old bonds and a million miles from your humble beginnings, we are paying attention, and require a level of uprightness from our leaders that is only surpassed by the level we require from ourselves. No, we do not expect you to attain perfection, though you should be racing toward it each and every moment, just as we are back home. It is not always in what place that you finish, but how you run the race that matters, and your job is to ensure that every photo flash and video segment catches you striving toward noble ends and righteous acts. If you pause to pose, you will surely stumble.

Be courageous, then, and thoughtful, on our behalf, and we will remain loyal and grateful for your service. Just as you would not want us to forget how much you give of yourself to represent us, do not forget that the resources with which you are entrusted have come from our sacrifice and toil. They do not belong to you. You did not earn them. You are not entitled to them. You may not spend them as you wish, but only as it serves this nation well. Be sure that you are more concerned with who has your heart and mind, than simply who has your ear, when making decisions. Remember that you have been chosen to speak and act on our behalf, so knowing when and how to be silent and full of grace is equally as important as knowing when and how to speak boldly and move decisively. I pray that you may have the wisdom to know the difference and the strength to act rightly in each moment.

And, finally, do not ever forget that we would much rather welcome back a weary and wounded hero than one who could not discharge his duties faithfully, or refused to come home at all. For, as disappointing as it may seem to lose a hard-fought political race, it is infinitely worse to lose your sense of self, your honor, or your soul. We do not desire that your service on our behalf be such a burden for you that you regret your decision to lead. Just be sure to act in such a way that your service on our behalf does not become such a burden for us that we regret choosing you, either.

Sincerely,
We The People

Family

We all grow up with the weight of history on us.  Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies.  ~Shirley Abbott 

This week I went to the funeral of my first-cousin-once-removed. I didn't really know him well, and yet he was as familiar to me as my childhood blankie and the sound of my mother singing a lullaby -a constant in life that is both distant and ever-present at the same time. I guess you can say that family is like that. At least, it has been for me.

I grieve for today's generation, which doesn't know the comfortable embrace of extended relatives and relationships. My parents recently moved back to the small town where they grew up, fell in love, got married, and started a family. Though they had left the town before I was born, we visited at least half a dozen times per year throughout my childhood, often for a week or two each summer. Both of my grandmothers still live there, as do my parents' classmates, aunts, childhood friends, cousins, et cetera, ad infinitum, amen. I cannot tell you the name of the street that the school is on, where people go to hang out, or which neighborhood is the most affluent, but this place is in my blood - figuratively and literally. I know and am known in a way that is profound and eternal. In the Ollie Ollie Oxen Free of modern life, most people don't have a home base to go to in order to be safe. I'm glad I do.

So, there I was - surrounded by my family. In the laughter and noses and smiles of those around me I saw my grandfather, who has been dead for ten years. I heard the voice of my deceased great-uncle, whose legendary kindness and gentility were proven to be solid and true and factual by their very presence in his own children. I stood in the center of the room and the center of the generations and witnessed the past and the present and the future all sharing coleslaw and memories and genetics together. My children. My parents. My grandparents. The whispering voices of those long-departed relatives whose faces smiled up at me from the photo albums, whose life stories were being vigorously reported, sorted, and distorted. We were all there. I wanted to stand on the table, wave my hands in the air, and yell, "Hey! Everyone! Don't you get it? This is important. What we're doing here - what we are - it matters! It is everything!"

But, of course, I didn't. Partly, I didn't do so because every family needs a black sheep, and I am not anxious to move to the front of the line for that job. However, I also didn't do so because, while it's true that family is important and it matters and it's everything, it's also not true at all. Those same cousins and aunts and nephews have already gone back to their jobs and their lives, and nothing has changed. The fact that I am my grandfather's granddaughter doesn't mean a thing now that I have driven back to the home and job and town where no one knew him or all the wonder that his life encompassed. Even those who live together in that little community will cease, once again, to be family in any practical sense of the word, instead resuming their civic, societal, financial, and emotional relationships with one another.

So, there you have it. Family is at once everything and nothing, all rolled into one. I suppose that our genetic heritage and all of the other elements that make up who we are in a more philosophical / spiritual / emotional sense have similar roles. You cannot see your DNA, and probably don't often stop to think about it, but it defines you nonetheless. You are most aware of how much of it you share with others when you are in the presence of those with whom you share it most, and it makes you proud. I am forever my grandfather's granddaughter, and know that it is something special to be able to say that, even if no one else around me does. So, here's to family - including all the love handles, rogues, receding hairlines, dearly departed, and coleslaw that we share. Lowell - you will be missed, but your heritage, humor, love, gentility, et cetera, ad infinitum carry on, nonetheless. Amen.