There's No Good Revolution

We are a culture that celebrates ourselves as unique individuals; except, for the most part, we don't define ourselves by our humanity but, rather, by our utility. We are what we do. 

Our unique specialness is tied to our place in the world instead of the other way around. In essence, we already know what we are; all that remains is agreement on the price.

In these challenging times, which are still going on for many in our county and for many others around the world (when America gets a cold, other nations are in intensive care), a hidden cost harder to recover from than a bank overdraft is the injury to that part of ourselves we can't put a price tag on, our pride in who we are.

We have a lot of people who have done nothing wrong and who have lost their jobs, perhaps their families and homes, places in their local circle of friends and acquaintances, who end up losing themselves. 

I knew a German in one of the places I worked while living in the Federal Republic who often teased that "Americans are people who buy things they don't want with money they don't have to impress people they don't like." We're nearing the point on the calendar, as a nation, where the bills are coming due. Wer soll das bezahlen? Wer hat das bestellt? Wann man nur wusste.

In the frenzy of election season where there's more action than date night at Piranha High, the highs are higher, and the lows are deeper; blame is abundant but solutions are hard to come by. At least when the other side is telling the story. 

But the thing to NOT lose sight of when the edge is off of the rhetoric on Wednesday, November 4th, no later than noon (or when the ballot counting ceases), when we realize there is no revolution, just power changing hands, is that a few more of us have become the walking wounded. That old coaching admonition to just 'shake it off' only goes so far.

An adult without hope or dignity hurts and then, in turn, hurts others, usually those closest to them, so what began as a personal tragedy too often becomes a community calamity. 

-bill kenny