DoY 112

Who is us?

Just a reminder, Pogo famously said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

So how is us the enemy?

Us are complacent.  Whatever politicians do to or for us, we grumble and keep going.  Us don't ever throw the bums out.  Sometimes us shows a bum or two out, but us replaces him or them with another bum with a prettier smile or a more chic hairstyle.  Us are not very thoughtful about politicians or what they do.

Obviously that's not entirely true.  Some of us get worked up enough to offer to be the prettier smile or the more chic hairdo.  Thank goodness for those of us, right?

But the rest of us grumble.  Like about police misconduct.  Even if a police officer is arrested (highly unlikely) and brought to trial (unlikelier), us on the jury give him a walk.  "Oh, he meant well.  He was excited.  He has a tough job."

Viva us!

 DoY 105

Who is us?

Some of us are U.S. citizens, but all of us are citizens of the Earth, the third planet from the Sun.  Isn't that a wee bit odd?  That we have names for many of the smaller stars in the heavens, but the biggest by far, the nearest, the one we depend on, we simply call The Sun.  Other cultures have named that star also, usually while imagining it a mostly benevolent god.  "Mostly benevolent" is about as good as a god gets.  After all, any god we can take seriously also has to be whimsical, vengeful, jealous, petty, amusing, and tormenting.  That's how we see the world.  It takes a lot of seremity to see the world as different.  An indifferent god would be pointless.  But all of that only addresses "Who s us?" from the side or at a slant.  Us apparently needs gods.  Us has created them for as long as us've left records of ourselves.  Well, that may be an exaggeration.  But for at least as long as we've left written records of ourselves, us have had gods.  If nothing else, the gods of commerce and of thievery.

 for DoY 098

Who is us?

Us is ignorant and proud of it, defiant about it.  Oh, I didn't mean illiterate.  Us can read, but us don't.  Us scorn folks who use words of more than two syllables.  Who know what arugula is.  Who wear masks to prevent or at least slow the spread of an airborne pandemic.  Who like or even appreciate literature.  Us toss out technical terms when us speak, but us change the subject when someone asks us what those terms mean when us use them.  Us make fun of folks who do know and can speak with authority.  Don't misunderstand:  us sometimes show compassion, hospitality, and generosity, even if us don't admit to knowing those words, but us get nasty about folks who show expertise.  Us don't like getting called on our ignorance, but us cling passionately to it.

 DoY 091

Who is us?

Oh!  Oh!  Oh!  Woe is us!  No!  That's inaccurate.  Glee is us!  Glee and zest.  Look at the Serbs in Croatia.  The Serbs are us.  Look at the Israelis in Palestine.  The Israelis are us.  Look at the Taliban in Afghanistan.  The Taliban are us.  Look at white folks in the South.   Now look at white folks in the United States.  See the no difference?   White folks are us.

No!  Someone else might plead.  See the Red Cross?  The Red Cross are us.  See FEMA back before George Bush II?  That FEMA are us.  See Doctors Without Borders?  Doctors Without Borders are us.

Yes, I admit, that's true.  But when we tell ourselves about us, we pretend us are Doctors Without Borders, us are FEMA before George Bush II, us are the Red Cross, and we pretend us are not the Serbs, the Israelis, the Taliban,  But us are, and us forget it to our peril.  A thin tissue holds us back on the kind, generous, humane side of behavior.  If us drop our guard a minute, us unleash the torturers, the slavers, the tormenters us are too.