Bump Ahead

I went to a high school where football was more important than history. The varsity coach, doubling as our history teacher, dictated years of world history to us from his yellowed and uninspired notes, then instructed us to highlight which dates and names we would fill-in-the-blanks of next week's test. To make up for lost time and the opportunity to revel in the stories of how it all came to be, I've enjoyed educating myself over the years via historians who understand how compelling the stories of humanity are.

Now that the farm is relenting, I'm inspired to dust off the pile of books I've accumulated over the last year, one of which was Founding Brothers, a book my dad has referred to during our dissections of the time we are living in. The founders truly were floundering, spontaneously cobbling together the design and foundation for our country. Conflicting personalities and ideas argued over and ultimately collaborated on birthing a unified fledgling nation-an amazing feat (though it's worth mentioning they were all embedded in the elite society of the time...arguably as problematic then as it is now).

When on the precipice of a turning tide, wondering what we all witness under a new administration, it's relieving to understand how fragile the new nation was at it's inception. As the book so often repeats, ours is the longest lasting republic in history. And it is largely due to the multi-party system implanted in the structure of our government. Though apparently dysfunctional and at odds, this blueprint has allowed our country to withstand various tests of time. It is the ability of the founders to dispute and discuss, negotiate and compromise, that is most inspiring and which I hope against all odds we can reawaken. And it is the fact that at other points in time the stability of this place was more threatened than it is now.

The perspective I'm most curious about while reading this book is that of the witnesses-the citizens of the new United States of America who perhaps were never heard or didn't have a voice. I wonder if they felt just as powerless as I do, entrusting "the powers that be" to provide safe harbor for ourselves and our children and to prioritize the well-being of the people.

But I'm not merely a witness after all and neither were they. My voice was heard and counted amongst others last week and now that I've exercised the power I have in the political sphere, I feel activated by the fire within me to live my life to its fullest potential. I am an active participant in the world and prefer to be productive with my energy, exercising my creativity, connecting with other people, loving on as many as I can, digging my hands into the earth and pulling food out of it. The only way is forward, and in the ways that I can, with what I was given, I will generate goodwill. So long as I am free to live the life Rich and I have carved out for ourselves, we will keep on.

And whatever we witness in the course of the next chapter, we do it together. We will rise to the occasion to face new challenges together. Hold each other in times of suffering or sadness. And because I never stopped believing the fairytales that told me that good prevails, we'll celebrate when principle and virtue triumph. May we hold onto that hope as we move into a new day together.

Thank you for reading :).

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