For most of our history, scarcity of basic material goods has been the dominant story of human existence. 

After millennia of struggle, at long last, in the middle of the last century, world production of many commodities exceeded demand. 

Of course, production has never guaranteed anything approaching equitable distribution and so as in the past, the foreseeable future presents a troubled and imperfect world of “haves and have nots.” 

Over the ages, a maelstrom of nearly constant warfare has also characterized human behavior. Nearly ceaseless wars have been waged largely based on artificially constructed concepts of human difference: “us v. them.” 

It is worth noting that few if any of these wars have ever lastingly resolved our real or imagined conflicts. 

Further, in the 21st century, continuing religious strife, ill-defined racial hatred, ideological dogma, economic injustice and environmental depletion have hurled all 8.1 billion of us toward a breakpoint that looms ever nearer.

Likely, even here in the U.S., it may soon be a time to choose between some semblance of totalitarian strong-man rule or a continuing democratic rule of Constitutional law. Democracy is a difficult path and lawful resolution of social conflict can be a distressingly imperfect process. How else could it be? 

As imperfect political “musicians” we practice and play our democratic “symphony” in order to produce a quality performance. 

As citizens, we take personal responsibility for our government and that dynamic allows us the possibility to be free, to be just, to question and to achieve goals. 

Do we wish to continue playing our “symphony,” with its inescapable technical errors, or should we abandon 250 years of “practice” in order to listen and obey an official recording of a leader’s likely delusional idea of how the “music” ought to sound? Admittedly in 2016, we were reckless. Going forward, in 2024, we must endeavor to choose wisely because, 

“The moving finger writes; and haven writ, moves on: nor all 

thy piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line,

nor all thy tears wash out a word of it.” 

(Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, Persia, ca. 11th century)