Just dreamin'

I read a quote that said something to this effect: An apology doesn't have to be a declaration of who is right or wrong. It just means that you value the relationship more than your ego.

I fear our world is too full of egos.

I fear our lack of progress is a result of our inablity to let go of "me" and really talk about all of us.

If you wanted to start a laundry list of things that are unforgivable, it stands to reason that pitted against that list is what you are willing to give up. In my life, I have known people who have given up sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, and entire families because they were mired in their own sense of rightness.

I hope I never get too far into my own self to be willing to give up the people in my life. I hope that I always value my family, friends, and community more than my own sense of "right".

Perhaps this is what is wrong with our country. It seems we are willing to give up health care, quality education, clean air and water, jobs, military benefits, and an entire middle class because no one can admit to the error in their ways and apologize. I don't want to think so, but as I watch the biggest group of ego-maniacs fail at progress, our United States Congress, I do wonder.

I have this crazy little dream. There are warm cookies and cold milk and everyone is in their slippers. The lights are dim as the President steps into the congressional chamber. He walks around and asks people about their families. This is also part of my dream...that he knows them well enough to ask these sorts of questions. The tapes aren't rolling and people are just people and soon everyone is talking about their kids and their stories...even those millionaires have stories because I bet some were self-made millionaires. It dawns on them suddenly that the people they are talking about are the people who elected them and this elusive future they frequently grandstand is actually the future of their own children and grandchildren and soon the conversations get really animated and exciting and remorseful when they realize what a huge disservice they have done to us. There is no right or left...just a huge bunch of people in slippers walking around talking and soon...they start calling their moms and dads and old friends for advice and opinions. They dig out paper and pen and make charts and just....dig in. At the end of the night which has become the next morning, the glasses are empty and there are crumbs everywhere. Everyone is tired and it is finally, finally, finally! the new day we have been longing for.

The breaking news of the morning shows sleep-deprived people with bedhead apologizing desperately to the American people for their assinine behavior and then the real work begins.

I'd accept because I am more interested in creating a better relationship that provides for our future than dwelling on the fantastic fiasco we have been living in.

So a quote and a silly dream will have to satisfy me for now. A girl could do worse, I suppose.