Caring for Others

Sitting Bull, the chief of the Lakota tribes of the northern plains, defeated General George Custer and stubbornly led his people through a history the tribes would surely lose over time. He shared this baseline definition of his warriors:

“Warriors are not what you think of as warriors. The warrior is not someone who fights, because no one has the right to take another life. The warrior, for us, is one who sacrifices himself for the good of others.

His task is to take care of the elderly, the defenseless, those who can not provide for themselves, and above all, the children, the future of humanity.”

Would you have expected him to say that? Really? I didn't.

Our upbringing has greatly misstated the American Indian culture and history. It is a shame this has happened. Slowly, very slowly we are gaining a respect and understanding of the Indian and his culture.  For example, their nomadic way of life was an age-old adaptation to weather and growing cycles for wild berries, grasses, and other plants that they eventually turned into crops. Also the animal recycling schedule for ‘harvesting’ or hunting deer, bear, antelope, buffalo and other sources of protein. There is a cycle. Nature’s cycle. They were attuned to it. They lived by that cycle. And long patterns of weather that affected nature’s own rhythms.

The Native Indian was a survivor of the real world. They got along with landscape, harsh and unfriendly toward them often. Yet they scratched out a living for hundreds of generations. They got along with one another in tribal settings and clans. They learned to take from the planet that which was useful, and not to waste it. They learned to replace what they had taken as much as possible – so future generations could use the fruits of their labors as well.

American Indian culture looked inward and soulfully. They related to a higher power and gave it many names. They shared their goods with one another and they tentatively held out their hands to strangers. That is how the European white man was able to infiltrate their circles of influence – and change them, and manipulate them, and turn them into enemies.

It is the role of enemy from which we construct a definition of warrior. We do not use Sitting Bull’s definition of warrior because we cannot see it, certainly not from the orientation of history we have been taught.

No. And we could have learned so much more from the families of Sitting Bull. Like community living; like honoring and nurturing the elderly; like protecting and supporting women and children among us. They knew this was the way of the future. Generations were needed to populate the future. Women and children were essential to do this. Warriors ensured the former to happen in security. They helped each member of the community. It was important. It was vital. Their future depended on it.

So does ours, really. Funny thing is we think we are doing that. But we aren't. We play at it, of course. I think Stephen Colbert captures what I’m getting at here with this quote:

“If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we've got to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are or we've got to acknowledge that he commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don’t want to do it.”

Sure we have programs to address these issues for individuals in need, but that is not the personal commitment we each must have if we are to live life according to our ideas and values. We need to be personally involved, I think. We need to grasp why it is important that we include all people in our midst. That we include all points of view in our considerations toward decisions and policy making. That we understand how each of us, however weak or strong we are, make up the whole of our social fabric. If we think poorly of one person, we have created a hole in the fabric of our community. That is a snag certain to trip us up.

I found this quote on the internet the other day. It was printed next to a cute little kid of 3 or 4 years of age, sitting in a chair wondering:….

            “Why it is that people who have it all can’t be thankful for what they have;

 They always want more. And people who have nothing count their blessings everyday?”

                                                            ~Author Unknown

It is not about government. It is about healthy community. And what we each can do alone or together to make the community whole. If we let the conversation and action fall to politicians and government, we take a turn toward the stupid. We need to save ourselves from that!

Remember what Albert Einstein said about this matter:

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”

Don’t you just love Einstein? And did you know he embraced such wisdom? I always thought he was a nerdy physicist; bright and a genius. But wise? That is a surprise and a gift to us all!

May 31, 2013