THE TYRANNY OF WHAT I WANT...

            The election is over now and I want to confess to you that I am exhausted.   'Not that I did much around the election except vote and blow some hot air on facebook about it.  But still, the whole process left me breathless and bug-eyed.    For the better part of two years we've watched the ramp up to this presidential contest.    And I guess I really don't mind the ramp up and the hype.  I can even live with all the cash that got spent.  After all, even at the outlandish $6 Billion figure, it still only represents about one tenth of one percent of our Gross National Product.   But I digress.
              The thing that really wore me down was the almost total pandering to the perceived self-interest of the population.   How will this policy effect me?   What will it mean to me if this happens?   Will   taxes go up?    It reminds me of the old Beatles tune..."I  I Me Me Mine."    Now don't get me wrong.  I'm not opposed to self-interest.   Survival is a good thing.    As I glance at retirement, I want to make sure my pension and savings are secure.   I don't want to end up losing my home to a bunch of crooked bankers, and I sure don't want.......well......things that I don't want.
               But the truth in all this is that there's a whole world out there beyond what I want.   Indeed, my narrow,  perceived self-interest may in fact not be in my best interest.   Sure.  I want to continue to drive my car everywhere.  I like it.  I've always driven everywhere.  And I finally have a half way decent car to drive!   But really, isn't  it  time we all stepped out of our cars and onto a bus or a train?   Or, God forbid, maybe I could walk or ride my bicycle!   It's not what I want, but maybe it's better than that.
                Perhaps, too, there's a nobler way to go in all this.   Perhaps the things we want are simply less important than the greater good?   Maybe individualism has simply gone too far in this culture and we've lost any appropriate sense of community.  
                How about this?
                What if health care was free and available to all?    I know.  You may not get to choose your doctor.   Well, get over it.   Everyone getting access to health care is way more important than your individual right to choose your physician.   What if our public schools were of the highest quality in every community?   I know.   You want to send your child to the best school and you want tax dollar to do that.  Forget it.   Equal educational opportunity for every child in every community is simply the right thing to do.  
                I could go on and list all kinds of things that get shaped by our individual and often selfish choices.   But by now you get the picture.   Stepping away from our immediate selfish desires and offering our energies for the benefit of the whole community is, at the end of the day, in our best interests.
               So let's finish this year with a big communal shout!  Let's step forward and offer ourselves for the betterment of the whole community, not just ourselves.   Let's give some time to a feeding program. Volunteer to work with folks trying to stop criminal reposession of peoples' homes.   Become a big brother or big sister.   Mentor someone.    You know the drill.
               So yes, I'm worn out from all this me me me stuff.   And maybe I am a little grumpy.    But I promise I'll wake up tomorrow invigorated and ready to rock.  I promise that I will redouble my efforts to build community and bring justice to our neighborhoods.  I promise that I will pour myself into the loving act of serving others.   I promise to continue to work on letting go of what I want so that what we all need might come into view.