Saturday, November 5, 2022
I Know Best
Peter Tarlton
I know best what is good for our country because I Teach children in schools, Or
Move heavy equipment on factory floors, Or Have a graduate school education, Or
Legislate in the halls of government power, Or Am a compassionate helper in a food bank, Or Have served on the front line against enemies, Or Make strategy decisions on boards of directors, Or
Have survived the inner city with street smarts, Or Make big financial investments on Wall Street, Or Have my own political talk show on TV, Or
Help people heal during hospital stays, Or
Have better morals from my religious beliefs, Or Drive semi-tractor trailer loads across the USA, Or...
Since I know best, I should have the power to decide for all.
It is easier to assume that you know less, with no need to listen
To your views, and stay apart in conveniently labeled political boxes, Unaware of finer qualities we might hold in common, and caring less, No longer cherishing a dream, no sense of “united”, or “Old Glory” When past commitments to safety and opportunity were shared,
Just hunker down, now, in thought camps, with no faith in our future.
Are we really that lost, in a land of Spiritual absence?
Who tells us to maintain opposition from such self-righteous arrogance? What of the days when people’s lives defended the common good
With attitudes of “for your tomorrow, we give our today”? (1)
Yet...
What if that “Other Less Than” individual is like me
Another human being, trying to make sense of what is unfolding,
While trying to make ends meet, hoping for some clarity
To emerge from the uncertainty of unyielding differences
Knowing that we were created to be in relationships
Another person wanting to connect, be known and appreciated as ThemSelves, To feel safe and protected by themes of mutual support and binding values Trusting that each one of us will give the best of our unique talent,
Knowing implicitly that complex communal systems draw on everyone’s Above-listed endeavors, each one is a part of the whole, and only
Function with a spirit of collaboration, not dissension, grounded firmly in Truth, that “WE Actually Know Best” when we share our ideas and energy
Is there time enough to work WITH others, instead of against,
Moving forward together with new creative approaches to old problems
Ever improving an imperfect human creation, humbly understanding that
We each have gifts which blossom when we truly “love one another” in common effort!
Peter W. Tarlton November 1, 2022 New Castle, New Hampshire
(1) An inscription in memory of fallen WWII Scot Commando who served in Burma, at the base of a hilltop memorial to the Commandos, in the Highlands Glen where they trained