An Invitation to the People Who Want to Succeed from the United States

Every kid does it once. Usually it is only once though. Somewhere between 7-10 years old. They are having a rough day. The brothers are annoying, something has broken or been lost because someone touched it that wasn't supposed to. BETRAYAL has wounded the core trust. Their world has crumbled. Voices rise into screeches and threats of bodily harm and then the parents punish everyone. EVERYONE, including the innocent. And the parents don't even want to listen. NOT FAIR. They close the door and ignore the seething rage of the child stewing up thoughts of divorcing from their family.
"I'm LEAVING this family!" the betrayed announces. Packing a few essential items in a back pack, the child may make it to the door, even out the door, but in most cases, he stalls, albeit spitting fire, just long enough to be intercepted by a parent with a few nosy questions.
"Oh, ok sweetie, well we sure will miss you...will you be warm enough to sleep outside in that?"
What? Sleep outside?

or "Honey, you will always be a part of this family...and I know you don't like that right now, but will you back in time for dinner?"

or "Where are you going to go?

Then the child's face turns from rage to bewilderment. Where am I going? What will I eat? Where will I sleep and will I be warm enough?

Pretty soon, giving them all the silent treatment and disappearing to the tree house, back porch or even one's own room seems to be enough payback for now....
because when you get right down to it, even though the child would never in a million years admit it, he/she is actually pretty okay with a warm bed, dinner appearing every night at a table lit with electricty and a place called home. Even if the family stinks.
And a few hours later, one of the brothers does something gross that actually makes the child laugh uncontrollably, even though they didn't want to...and Mom made a really good dessert. Dad even said something cool and the bed sure did feel a lot better, for sure, than the sidewalk. During the night, the love for his/her family fills those empty spaces and there are moments of safety, security, belonging and caring again.The child chooses what he has.


To the few thousand people who want to succeed from the United States, on this day of Thanks, I ask you to look around. This family of United States citizens built everything that we have...roads, electricity, homes, schools, hospitals, libraries and churches. The government provided the structure in that. Even if private companies did the work, the government provided the safety of a society run by rules that had the workers be able to show up and the materials be able to be delivered without people's legs being blown off by landmines on purpose. Our government is what made us who we are.

And the government is not some separate identity that lurks like an evil vulture waiting to snatch up your taxes like a punishment and betray your loyalty. It really isn't. The government is made up of people. People that are fathers to teens working their way through college, grandfathers who just want to have system that supports their teen grand daughter through rehab and aunts to a nephew with autism who wouldn't be able to feed himself if it weren't for the physical therapy the government provides. The people sitting in the in the government offices, making the best decisions they know how to, really do feel that they are doing the best for the country. You may not agree, you may not like it, but they are trying.

Parents don't always know best either, or do the best, sometimes they screw up royally. They make choices based on their perspective, and their perspective is different from a child's. Parents that try are good parents. A government that tries, messes up and tries again, for over 235 years now, is a pretty good government.
Don't get me wrong, I am the sister agreeing right along side with you that the health care system, bank system, election system,educational system and food system are all seriously and life threateningly flawed right now. I am probably just as or maybe even more pissed off than you. But leaving doesn't allow for the possibility of creating something new together. Together like all of us, not just your friends who agree with you. ALL OF US.

So my invitation to you is to choose. Choose to create with ALL OF US. Choose to be the change you wish to see. What you are angry at the government is for a betrayal, for ignoring some of us and not listening. If you leave, you do the same thing. It is going to take someone greater to stand for all of us. And if you are willing to stand up this much you might as well keep standing for the rest of us. So I invite you to do two things...if you really are insistent about leaving...go spend a year in the Peace Corps...in places where there is war and children dying in the streets everyday and there is no electricity by night, in places where there is disease from the water and death from lack of food. Learn from others, learn what works to resolve these issues at a very basic level, be a part of the solution in other countries with far fewer resources and come back and be a part of the government here to restructure. Become the government.
We need people who care as much as you do to stand for all of us.

Or stay. Stay home and cause the change now.
Like a 4 year old child of a friend of mine, who didn't like that there was rushing and fighting while getting ready for the day, who asked one morning "Who wants to play a game? The game is called "Everybody Dances in the Morning!" and I get to pick the music and I get to say when we dance." They all agreed to play.
So everybody dances randomly in the morning in that house. They leave smiling and thankful that they are a family.
What kind of new game could we make up, all together, as a nation, that will bring us together...dancing in life?

Because you being a part of THIS FAMILY matters. US being together matters, and dancing in life together is fun.

Thank you.

Zen Honeycutt