All of these sentences, throughout this whole blog, I’m not sure where they go. Priorities in question. What’s next, should this go there? My gosh, there’s so much, which part, more important? Confusion sets in, my head’s in a whirl, somewhat in a fog.
Then a Peace came upon me. A real Peace I’d rarely known. A Peace of absolute. One answer that I know. There’s no doubt in my mind, which sentence comes first. The first sentence as clear, as clear as a bell. I absolutely knew which sentence comes first. After that, yeah, it’s all kinda vague, not sure of the sequence, the path obscure. With implications so vast, even dreams can’t catch up.
But I knew one sentence was perfectly placed. I knew one sentence, this sentence is first. The Peace that came when I knew what was first, is the Peace I hope for us all.
Most all of our issues addressed with one sentence. Now you know this is madness, you’ve gone over the brink. This has nothing to do with this crisis right now or that topic today. Get your head out the clouds. It’s more complicated than that. We live in the real world, more pressing things on our plate. Our feet firmly planted, not floating around.
This sentence you speak of, we all know it’s there. Written long ago, by men who owned slaves. A sentence only meant to free those men from a king. We have all moved on. We treat all as equal, give the janitor a nod. All people, I care. It’s a given, part of us. It’s natural now, a reflex. No thought to be given. We know that it’s there. Goal accomplished, move on. I’ve got important things to do. Got real issues to deal with. Your meadows and unicorns can wait till tomorrow. I’m sure this can wait, its relevance is vague. Its place in this instance, most certainly obscure. I really don’t see it. Its importance as all.
We have terrorist to deal with. They hate us you know. They’ll stop at nothing to kill us, wipe us right off the map. They see us as evil. Just money grubbers, invaders. They see as our strength, mostly paper and steel. Don’t see how this Principle helps here at all. This is right here and right now. We can’t wait till “tomorrow”. We don’t need distractions, no fables to follow. Come down from the clouds. Nothing there much to see.
But wait! What I saw! I saw such a sight! No one will believe that I’ve seen what I saw.
I saw Peace. I saw Justice. I saw Hope for us all. I saw Love. I wondered if what I saw could be God. Saying, “This, the way to me.”
Now they will know I’ve gone mad, this sight so absurd. I can’t say this, can’t tell folks. Why? Hmm, I’m not sure. Just know that you can’t. To say, “…created equal…” with “unalienable Rights” is the answer to all? To claim “Founding Principle”, some miraculous sentence, our Founding Fathers, more wise than thought, is just too crazy, too way off the charts. Just say the words out loud, people look at you funny. “OK Pollyanna”, then shake their head with that grin. They’ll say I just don’t get it. There’s oh, so much more. Grow up and move on or the town fool you’ll become. Then my logic, unheard. That sight I saw, goes unlearned.
But what should I do? This sight must be told. I heard us speak the first statement. The beginning of “us”. I saw how important, how important it was. I must say it out loud. So the words reach an ear. This, what I saw with my head in the clouds. I heard the words spoken for people to hear. I saw kids recite it, hands over hearts to our flag. I saw people discussing our Cause in the open. This is us. Question answered. What we do with it yet to come. They could see it wasn’t perfect. See the going gets tough. But we didn’t give up. We just kept going. The storm wasn’t the better of us.
I saw us come together, with our common bond spoken. We remembered where we came from. We knew who we are, with purpose renewed. Our Cause to live on, with these words on our tongue.
I saw old folks there, as stubborn as rock, think this first sentence, more important than thought. “It is the first sentence, the beginning of ‘us’, maybe it’s something, something more than we thought.”
I saw police and soldiers carry on, with this principle thought first, knowing full well, of the abuse used against us, the dangers that it poses. Now trusted, justly honored, and looked up to once more. An example of what law is supposed to be. When this Principle comes first.
I saw workers across the land with the chance to show their worth. Now unshackled, no longer about who they know. Forever now free from how they look or where they’re from. I saw kids in the ghetto, speak with Hope for things to come. Life now, could be worth it. A real chance to turn out right. For life to turn fun.
I saw the rich feel more obliged, advantages recognized, realizing luck should play a lesser role. Empathy, now is the given. But for grace, they say, go I. With this sentence foremost, the first thing to cross our mind.
I saw the terrorist training camp, they found it harder to hate, the people from the country where all are created equal. All with unalienable Rights. For this is what they’ll see when we put this Principle first. When we say it, when we think it, when we know that it is “us”.
I saw the other countries when they see how strong we are. They want to try to be like us, their people don’t have to run. The example that we set wins them, with this Principle thought first. This Cause we are resolved to, we never throw it out. Our friends know to trust us, our word much better than gold, with this Principle set in stone. Everyone knew our country stood for this, when the first sentence comes first in us.
I can’t hold this. I’ve got to say it. I must say it out loud. I know you think it’s crazy. I know you’ll think I’m mad. But I saw Peace. I saw Justice. I saw Hope. I saw Love. It might have been what God looks like. I saw it with my head in the clouds. I saw the one sentence that comes first. I saw its true importance, when I heard the sentence that was first. In the beginning of “us” all.
It’s a Peace I’ve rarely known. What we’re missing here on Earth.
It all started with speaking the words out loud. And knowing it is “us”.