A friend of mine posted something about our votes not counting for anything and it made me stop and think.
The thing about voting is that when we look at the big picture it's WAY too easy to see the point about individual votes really not making the least bit of difference.
Once we start focusing on the smaller pieces of the puzzle, however, the dynamics kind of change.
It bothers me when people refer to the United States of America as a 'democracy'. The USA is not a democracy; it is a Constitutional Republic. There's a difference, believe me. Democracy is not designed to be successful on a large scale. A Constitutional Republic is.
But ... our government is a tiered kind of thing. As an individual I am responsible for governing myself. As a member of a family I (hopefully) have a vote in decisions that affect us as a family. As a member of a group of people, whether it's a club or organization or a bunch of friends or a school class, I have a vote in the choices we make within our group. As a member of a neighborhood or community, I have the right to speak and be heard and the responsibility to listen to others with respect. That extrapolates right up through the 'tiers' to our Counties, our States, and our Nation.
I'm not much of a photographer but I know some who are excellent at what they do.
I love the soaring majesty of the 'big picture' with all the enormity of our world's beauty stunning me speechless. It's an endlessly awesome world we live in, I tell you true.
It often feels 'too big to be quite all the way real' - at least to me. Of course I know it IS real ... but my own little life seems pretty small and insignificant by comparison.
So it's the close-up shots, those that you need a good macro (or incredible skill) to get into focus, that capture my soul just as effectively as those so-very-impressive 'big picture' shots.
When the big picture of the world in which we live in seems just too big to wrap my head around, it's the little things that are going to warm my heart and heal my spirit. I can kind of get that same sensation from the bigger pictures; but when it comes right down to it, there are times I really need to actually come right down to it.
In other words, if I'm feeling as though I have no control or say-so about the bigger issues, I may very well be right. Being discouraged at that level OUGHT to be making me take a bit of a tour down through the levels of those tiers until I get to one where there's less discouragement and a little more hope of feeling like maybe my Voice might actually be able to cast a meaningful 'vote'.
*laughing*
I don't know about you, but for me that point is usually the one where I get to make an individual decision about whatever has to be decided about within the context of my own individual life. That's the one tier of the whole ball of wax that each and all of us really can and do have the final say. All of the other tiers can and do and will mosey or flit or zoom right along with or without my input, or yours, or anyone in particular's.
How many tiers we choose to try to have an impact on is up to us as the individuals we are - but we all have to begin with that bottom line tier, the one that belongs to each and all of us alone.
Who becomes the next President of the United States is important.
But it's not nearly as important to my individual life on a daily basis as the choices I myself make every day.
It doesn't impact my personal life anywhere near as much as my family, or my neighborhood, or my community, or my County, or my State - all of which I do have a say-so about, one that matters.
When we're ranking the 'importance' of the tiers, I think we're too often doing it in reverse order.
To me, it's more important right this minute to make myself go to bed so that I'll have what I need to do what I need to do tomorrow.
In general it would make more sense (to me; maybe not to you, but this is my blog post) to change our perspectives a little (or a lot) now and then.
So, for this woman, on this day, I will make my own choices about things that are important to me.
I will follow my own rules, the ones I raised my young daughters by.
Speaking of big pictures ... there's a raven flying in that photo ...
... it's a perspective thing ...
... think on that for a minute ...
A skilled photographer like Henrik Nilsson, brings a different perspective:
In that upper photo the raven is nearly invisible. If you don't know where to start looking, you will likely have a real hard time finding it. By comparison, Nilsson's photo is up close and personal. You don't have to wonder if there's even really a bird in the photo, whether it's covered up by the printed words, or where the heck to look for it. That bird is right there, clear as clear can be.
The 'big picture' (in general, not this specific photo) is a true work of art, like the world we live in, and all of its space is easy to get 'lost' in. Enjoy the heck out of it because it is truly a beautiful picture, our big ole world.
But at least once in a while, please focus the macro lens of your attention on the little things.
Because, you know, the bigger picture is totally made up of all the little ones and would not exist without them.
So yeah, your vote counts. Use it wisely in things large and small.
Me, I vote I get some rest before the sun comes up so I can do what I have to do when I have to do it. I also vote that we all 'Remember the Rules'. Safety, Respect, and Kindness really do matter.
No comments:
Post a Comment