There is no ”I”…
The thin line between doing the right thing for yourself and doing the right thing,,,
Thought I would do a little light reading last night --- The Constitution of the United States. The preamble of this document is copied below along with the last line. I was struck by the fact that the only pronoun used in this document is the pronoun “WE”. Like the expression “there is no ‘I’ in team,” there is no “I” in the Constitution. We must be appalled by the narrow-mindedness of the small thinkers that occupy leadership positions in this country. Those that defend your right to be selfish. Nowhere in the Constitution does it address your right to be shellfish. We do have the ability to speak freely; we do have the right to our spiritual beliefs; we do have many rights which allow us to lead lives as we so choose. However, in the face of a countrywide crisis, rather a global crisis, we do not have the right to be selfish. I do not have the right to make you or anyone else sick just because I can or because I believe in a false narrative that the government is somehow usurping my freedom by requiring me to follow simple health guidelines to protect my fellow citizens. If you are foolish enough to believe the government does not know where you are right now you are naive. We the people are here to form a more perfect union and we are here to secure the welfare of all citizens. Just because you do not want to does not mean that is your right. Abbotts, DeSantis, McCarthy, Noem insist on your right to not care about your effect on others.
They use the term” personal choices” to support their lack of leadership. Nowhere in any US Governance document does it address my right to a personal choice that can make a member of your family sick. These are small-minded people with the knowledge that they do not need everyone to get re-elected. They are speaking to a misguided constituency who does not understand what this country is supposed to be. We are enormously flawed but we are also enormously hopeful in our view of what we think we are or what we think we could be. Narrow-minded leaders are similar to organizations that fail to change and innovate.. Those that do not innovate will perish under the weight of their closed thinking. I am reminded of the fact that in this life we cannot go it alone. We are most successful when we stand up to the bullies and when we work as a team. My work experience is full of stories where our biggest successes were because of our ability to work together. My personal success is in large part the work of the many people that have helped me and continue to help me in my pursuits. I am repulsed by the intolerant leaders who exalt their defense of the Constitution and the rights of the individual. Yes, there are rights but there is no “I” in the description of those rights. There is no place that it says you can cause pain and suffering on another; there is no place that the Constitution says you can inflict emotional pain on another through transmitting a disease that will prematurely take a loved one. Here is how I think about using the pronoun “I”. I pray that we will expel the small-minded leaders that say we do not need to do the simplest things to mitigate this global pandemic. I hope we can show the selfish leaders that their focus on protecting their job is not why they were elected.. I hope we can stand up and express a voice of inclusion, a voice of protection, a voice of solution. Being tagged as Conservative or Liberal does not definitely make you selfish. These are broad political terms. Those who define themselves as conservative by denying that the Constitution is about “We” are not critical thinkers. If you cannot treat someone with dignity and respect why would we ever think you can lead. They are the bully in the playground seeking attention. People on this planet need help, claiming that I have some ill-defined right to walk through this life without acknowledging the needs of others is selfish and small-minded.
This is a time to stand up to the bullies to acknowledge the strength in a team approach and a solution-driven approach to solving a crisis of health and welfare for all.
“We the People of the United States in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare (to promote the basic physical and material well-being of people in need) and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity (all future generations of people or Decedents of people), do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.”
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”