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Years ago, my wife, Roberta, taught her daughter Josie how to cut fabric in a straight line.
"Look where you want to go, and your scissors will follow." Don't watch your fingers working the scissors. Keep your eye on the end point to which you want to cut, and you'll go straight till you get there.
Decades later, Roberta was babysitting our granddaughter when Josie came home late, burst through the door, and announced: "Mom, I get it now! I get what you taught me about cutting fabric in a straight line!" She put the lesson to work in building her successful business - Josie Maran Cosmetics.
Keep your eye on your goal, and you will get where you want to go - straighter and faster.
It's in the Bible, in the words of Jesus: “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9: 62)
This wisdom haunts me while hiking in the Sespe Wilderness above Ojai. I look up, slack-jawed, at the towering cliffs in the blue haze of distance, and my legs cut the trail toward them like a pair of scissors straight through a bolt of soft cloth. It's not till I get back to the trailhead that I realize I've had a workout.
The most momentous election of our lifetimes will happen in a few short weeks. We're writing postcards in Pennsylvania. Phoning in Florida. Texting in Texas. Votivating voters in Vegas. Such are the scissors we're working. But to go straight in the short term, we need a long view. We need to keep our eyes on the more distant prize.
"Look where you want to go, and your scissors will follow." Don't watch your fingers working the scissors. Keep your eye on the end point to which you want to cut, and you'll go straight till you get there.
Decades later, Roberta was babysitting our granddaughter when Josie came home late, burst through the door, and announced: "Mom, I get it now! I get what you taught me about cutting fabric in a straight line!" She put the lesson to work in building her successful business - Josie Maran Cosmetics.
Keep your eye on your goal, and you will get where you want to go - straighter and faster.
It's in the Bible, in the words of Jesus: “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9: 62)
This wisdom haunts me while hiking in the Sespe Wilderness above Ojai. I look up, slack-jawed, at the towering cliffs in the blue haze of distance, and my legs cut the trail toward them like a pair of scissors straight through a bolt of soft cloth. It's not till I get back to the trailhead that I realize I've had a workout.
The most momentous election of our lifetimes will happen in a few short weeks. We're writing postcards in Pennsylvania. Phoning in Florida. Texting in Texas. Votivating voters in Vegas. Such are the scissors we're working. But to go straight in the short term, we need a long view. We need to keep our eyes on the more distant prize.
Let’s activate our moral imaginations, aim toward our vision, and cut in a straight line toward it so that we can quilt America’s social fabric together again. Imagine a nation of free, prosperous, creative, diverse, hard-working people who feel confident in venturing new enterprises because they know that we have ensured basic health and well-being for everyone, without exceptions.
Can we rebuild trust in facts, science, and civic institutions? Yes, if we look ahead. Can we do court correction to assure that real justice is done? Yes, if we look ahead. Can we have a strong economy while reversing carbon emissions to stave off catastrophic climate change? Yes we can, if we look ahead. Can we have the social protections that Europeans enjoy, while having an even more lively market economy than theirs? Yes we can, if we look ahead. Can we steadily move toward health insurance for everybody, like the Canadians provide, and run it even better than they do? Yes we can, if we look ahead. Can we end poverty in America once and for all, without discouraging personal initiative? Yes we can, if we look ahead. Can we have effective consumer protections without impeding the flow of capital? Yes, we can. Can we dramatically reduce the violence and racism in policing? Yes we can, if we look ahead. Can we have comprehensive, humane, fair immigration reform? Yes we can, if we look ahead.
Let us take the long view while putting our hand to the plow to win this election - for planetary survival, for human thriving, and for continuing this grand experiment called democracy...
Let us take the long view while putting our hand to the plow to win this election - for planetary survival, for human thriving, and for continuing this grand experiment called democracy...
JIM BURKLO