Talking Over Tea

Visiting with the old timer this past week was a much more sustainable endeavor than spending the hot part of the day in the convection oven that passes for the current weather in North Mississippi. My way of dealing with the Southern summers includes the art of always working on the shady side, and doing the yard and garden work before 10:00 AM and after 7:00 PM. But that's just me!

The old timer and I shared a fresh glass of tea and spoke of all the trending headlines in the current news. From local to international we covered the hot spots and argued our opinions on the issues. But as usual, around the second glass of tea the conversation turned more toward the basics, and I heard myself asking him if he thought the people would ever realize the power they possessed in sheer numbers? The old man grinned and said, "Do I look like a fortune teller to you?" I laughed, and agreed that the possibility of our species surviving themselves was indeed a tough call and we should possibly consult some prominent futurists on the subject.

After discussing a few of the popular predictions with their mix of differences ranging anywhere from hopefulness to doom & gloom, the old timer had this to say. "Recognizing and reciting our many differences is easy and unending. It does not take any talent or higher intelligence to discover the chasms of our differences. Concentrating on our differences is a formula which robs the power of the people, and carries almost as much value to me as a grain of sand. It is the scarcity of common ground and the solidarity built on it's foundation which makes it the rarest social gem these days. The people should cherish, cultivate and promote these rare and valuable grounds where we find ourselves in agreement. Any hope we might have as a species will depend on us always being watchful, and always discerning...we should keep our eyes open and search for the threads that weave our power, rather than accept its unraveling."