Crotchety Old Lady
100 years old.
Hard to fathom.
Feels like I’m only 92.
Hehe.
OK, then, sonny.
You want to know what
Ancestral knowledge
I have to share with you
At my advanced age?
Sure, sonny, why not?
First, history repeats itself.
And the winners write the histories.
If you don’t want to repeat history,
Go to the source: original documents,
Journals, and stories.
Make up your own mind
As to the truth of what happened.
Too many official histories leave out
The tragic, the embarrassing,
Or the merely stupid parts of the story.
Or they are written
From a slanted viewpoint.
You do know the theory
Of the Big Lie, don’t you?
No? Go look it up.
That’ll be your first lesson.
Learn. Study.
Think, for goodness’ sake.
The sound bite may never die,
But we don’t have to take it as truth.
Second lesson.
Quit focusing on the differences
Between people, cultures, religions,
Political viewpoints, and
Every other thing under the sun.
Focus on the similarities,
The connections,
The common ground.
We’re all human.
We all have the same basic needs.
We tend to want
The same general things
For our families
And the ones we love.
Sure, the specifics vary!
That’s not what I’m trying
To tell you, sonny.
I’ve found more things in common
With people across the world
Who I never met in person
Than with my next-door neighbors.
Many times.
So what if they want their son
To be a goat herder and I want mine
To be a writer? Or vice versa?
The common ground is that
We want what makes them
Healthy, happy, and whole,
In person and in spirit.
Get it now?
Third, respect your elders.
They know things you need to know.
And they’ll even tell you if you ask politely.
Write their stories down.
Save them for your children.
And for your grandchildren.
Keep the memories alive.
We need ancestral knowledge
From as many sources as possible.
Why? Seriously?
Because I think of all people
As part of the tribe of the planet, sonny.
So any knowledge from any of them
Is ancestral and valuable
And worth learning and keeping.
Why should handling a crisis
In Louisiana not benefit
From knowledge of 100 years ago
When it happened before
In another part of the world?
What do you mean, how can it help,
We’re so much more advanced now?
Have you even been listening?
If all your modern technology and communications
Are knocked out, what difference do they make?
How your great-grandfather
Found edible plants or boiled water
Or gutted a fish could save your life.
You never know what
Is going to happen in this world.
You want one more idea?
OK, here it is.
There are good people,
Indifferent people,
And bad people in the world.
Which are which
Has absolutely nothing to do
With where they live,
What race they are,
What religion or creed they espouse,
Their gender, size, ability, or
Personal preference on darn near any topic.
Their actions will let you know which they are.
Never judge anyone by surface factors.
You’ll mostly be wrong.
It’s ’bout time for my daily snooze, sonny.
Get along now.
What? You’d like to come back again?
Sure, sonny, that’d be nice.
Maybe you’re learning something after all.
Note: This poem was adapted with few changes from an essay written in 2010 as homework for Jane McGonigal’s URGENT EVOKE, a 10-week “crash course in saving the world” multi-player online gaming and educational experience sponsored by the World Bank. Which was an amazing experience and one of the highlights of my online life.
