The War Within

Each of us does battle with many demons over the years. I could discuss this point in many ways in this post, but I won’t because I wish to discuss another battle within.

That war is within our own national soul.

Who we are as a nation is special. One must return to history books to rekindle the story of how and why we became special. It has a lot to do with soul – the down and dirty ‘being’ of each and every one of us. That’s the kind of soul I’m speaking of. What makes you and I specifically who we are. The inner soul of feeling, knowing, and behaving in consonance with all of those elements. Why do we toil so hard to keep the house, the yard, the job, the car, the family, the whatever? Why do we dirty our hands to get things accomplished? What is the motivation to do all of that?

Many times I’ve reach what I thought was my limit of labor or tiredness or pain and ache, only to keep going toward the end of the specific goal. The end of a very long day? The arduous task of cleaning out a heavily stashed garage? Cleaning out the basement for some better cause? Or working at the church on a project that takes days to complete? When will it be over? When will we rest? When can we take notice of our accomplishment and feel complete?

Somehow we continue on until the task is truly done. Now we can rest. Now we can breathe deeply. Now home to bed and rest after a long hot shower.

I recall such feelings. Do you? And how many of you continue to labor on this way even today? I know of one strong-willed lady in town who continues to do the public’s gardening in spite of her 90-years of age. A retired teacher who understands community and shared labor to cement that community. A retired teacher, long-term mayor, and activist for so many causes in town, she continues in elder years her passion for public work.

Transparent work it is. A task to be done and seen. For all to see. And for the doer to feel good about. We all benefit from this gift of sharing. It is labor, but it is also passion, purpose and vision of something better for all of us.

So much of this type of sharing is done daily, hourly, each minute. Voluntarily given. It is natural to so many to live this way.

Yet among us are those who don’t get it. They live for themselves, focused on their own needs.

We even see this among elected officials; not all, but far too many. ‘What’s in it for me?”, they ask, when the job they were elected to do gives them options to get something for themselves. Even trump lying continually in his tweets, making propaganda and spinning events his way, not factually.

This is the ‘war within’ I speak of. Our nation is waging this war within our own selves, as well as among each other. Who we are as a people has long been established. What is evident today is a growing throng of self-centered people who have forgotten the common ground from which we all come. We owe that common ground a lot of credit for who we are; we are not owed by the common ground for something only we can benefit from.

One celebrates community; the other celebrates self. Which nation would you want to be part of? The former or the latter? Each day we wonder anew if we even have a choice over this.

How did we get to this condition?

May 22, 2018