 |
| See this gorgeous chocolate cream pie that S made? This is not what we are talking about today, folks. |
I could pretend that I don’t know why I feel violent every
time I hear my husband chew. Or swallow. Or breathe.
I could act like I don’t know why I want to scream every
time my restless son pesters the dog until the dog air-snaps at him.
I could tell you I don’t know why I screw up my face,
silently jumping up and down, every time my daughter repeats some crucial
information in an absolutely inaudible voice as she lies on the sofa, hidden by
its back.
I could pretend I don’t know, but I do.
I am absolutely furious with all of us. With all human
beings. Wake up! All this pain and suffering? All the agony and stress and anxiety?
All of this mess??? We could fix it. What? Why? How?
Because IT’S NOT PIE, FOLKS!
I first heard that expression a few years back—“Equal rights
for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It’s not pie.”
Read that again.
Every. Single. Thing. we humans are wrestling with right now
is also not pie. Justice is not pie. Listening is not pie. Compassion? Not pie.
Respect? Not pie. Basic manners? Common sense? You guessed it, also not pie.
If we show respect, if we speak civilly, if we listen
attentively, we won’t be less respected, less politely addressed, or less heard…there’s
no guarantee, but odds are that will be more respected and heard. No one can
eat up all the slices of the listening respectfully pie because we can always listen
respectfully some more. You know that is actually like? Doritos. Remember “Crunch
all you want; we’ll make more”? Yeah, that.
Respect people all you want; we’ll make more.
You know what is guaranteed to grow if we stop fighting over
it? Justice. Shockingly, justice for all actually means justice for all. No
system can be fair if treats anyone unfairly. In an unfair system, the people
in the currently advantaged group are always at risk for falling into the
disadvantaged group. If the system’s rotten, it’s rotten. Whether it’s affected
you personally or not is just dumb luck.
Fixing the system that screws other people will actually
protect you from being screwed.
Even money isn’t pie. Yep. You heard me. It’s actually a symbol
of human labor. Sure, a few multi-billionaires trying to die with the most toys
would like you to believe otherwise, but paying EVERYONE a living wage will not
bankrupt anyone. In fact, money moves when people are financially secure and
the number one thing economies need is moving money so…. Gosh, it looks we all
might benefit from doing the right thing.
Other things that grow when you use them? Honesty. Integrity.
Character. If any public figure, if any leader steps up to do the right thing,
it gets easier—easier, mind you—for everyone else to act ethically.
I’m not claiming to be an expert on any of this. I’m just a
tired woman approaching the far side of middle-age, getting to the point where I
can plant my wooden spoon-holding hand on my apron-covered hips, adjust my glasses,
and tell you what.
And what am I telling you?
There is too much pain in this world, kids. And you can fix
it without losing a damn thing.
Love all you want; we’ll make more.
