February 24, 2016
-
Nooses
February 24, 2016, Prescott- In “To Kill A Mockingbird”, Scout reminds one of the racist men that he, too, is a father. The man then walks away from a hateful mob. I was reminded of that scene, this evening, when a “racially-mixed” couple made a presentation, on their experience living here in this largely Libertarian city. It seems that, not so many years ago, a noose was tied and left hanging, from a tree branch in their front yard. While many treat them well, there are those I have historically viewed as misfits, trying to make those they view as square pegs, fit into round holes of their imaginations.
We each set a noose to a tree, at some point in our lives. Usually, it’s the noose of blame- intended for someone else, as a way of evading responsibility. Sometimes, it’s the noose of “Us vs. Them”. Other times, the “wagons in a circle” noose hangs, from the branch of imbalance. We certainly see lots of these, of late.
The worst nooses of all, though, are those we set for ourselves. The noose of anger, or that of addiction, lead us to swing from some unsightly branches. The noose of self-pity, now, there’s one I have to work especially hard to keep off my neck, at times.
I am getting better at facing such traps, and cutting them down, before finding myself looking at a victim- or being one. It’s been nearly 24 years since we heard, from a flawed, but cogent, voice: “Can’t we all just get along?”
Comments (4)
I wish we could all get along but there is a lot of monetary profit in feeding both sides of a fight.
I get in the trap of not letting things go in my mind. Not fun. I'm working on it.
@mcbery: Those with eyes to truly see, would realize that there is limitless profit in not only getting along, but in feeding one another's strength!
I love your analogy of the nooses. You are right - we are our own worst critic and we do often lay traps for ourselves. And amazingly we willingly step in them (or in keeping with your analogy) or place our heads through the noose. We love to fool ourselves.
@murisopsis: Ah, expediency! I stressed to our son, growing up, that life is not a perpetual fast-food drive through. Most things need to be thought-through.