we use kindling here.

We were young and arrogant.
We had all of the answers.
We were intelligent. Extremely.
We didn't need to listen.
We already knew the truth of things,
and a thousand curses on you if you told us differently.

We would sit in our little groups
and preach to our beautiful choir.
No dissent allowed.
We knew we were right.
Of course we were.
We all agreed.
And we would win the world over someday.

No need to listen to the opposition.
They were wrong.
"They" soon became a faceless entity.
Sometimes it was an organization. Maybe an occupation.
Didn't matter who the recipient was of our ire at the time.
They were going to burn from our fury.
We would make things right.

I remember those times.
There was no room for compassion. No need for debate.
"They" were out there.
If you disagreed, then you must be part of the problem, and not as smart as we were.
You couldn't quote famous authors and wax poetic like we could.
I was an ass.

Good intentions.
No one ever thinks it's going to turn out that way.
It always starts small.
A little intention. Less communication.
A lot of passion.

I remember when things changed.
Life happens.
You learn what it is to be wrong.

Dear God, there has to be a better way.
Through humility,
through a deep yearning to understand our differences,
through listening better and talking less.

A quieter way. Softer ways to change a flawed and imperfect system made from flawed and imperfect humanity.
We forget sometimes that those are the things that make us all so beautiful and unique.
Flaws and cracks.
Pain and renewal.

A way without the trendy words that inevitably bring fear into my heart.
I'm well-versed enough to know what revolution really means.
I'm young enough to be idealistic,
Old enough to remember reading and seeing similar beginnings elsewhere. Other times.
I remember what happened.
In many cases, "We" eventually became the next "They".
The wheel turned.

Once upon a time we used to burn witches.
"They" were evil.
"They" needed to be brought to Justice, and they were.
"They" were our daughters.

Never had a chance.

Remember when "They" happened to still be living in the place we were trying to call home?
How dare they...
"They" were savages.
Not as intelligent as we were.
"They" were different.
"They" were part of the problem.
Life would be better without them.
Remember?
We took care of that, killed several thousand along the way. Moved the rest.
But we were right.
We were civilized.

Remember when "They" wanted the right to vote?
What nerve! The great thinkers were quoted in papers across the country
Proclaiming that this would lead to the moral degeneration of a great land.
Why should "the common and uneducated" be given the right to choose.
"They're" not smart enough to know what is right for them, we said.
We called it fact.
We were wrong, weren't we..
We, "the enlightened", were filled with our own arrogance.

I thank God that women still gained the right to vote.

I pray dearly that one day
We no longer think we are superior,
No longer claim to have all of the answers.
We can understand that our gifts of intelligence and good intentions should be tempered with compassion,
A deep knowing that if you truly
have something to say,
then maybe first you should be quiet and
Better damn well learn to listen as well.
I pray that we can overcome our own arrogance and self-importance.
Gain the insight that "they" are made up of people just like you and I.
With families.
With passions.
With lives.

I'll be honest.
I'm just a man, no one in particular.
No great answers to be found here. Just love to play guitar.
I will respect anyone
Who is willing to take the hard roads,
Unpopular paths that lead to shutting the hell up and really listening first before speaking, acting, or reacting.
There will be time for those things later.
Maybe then with a little insight and a lot of patience things can be different.

I can't help but remember
That we used to burn witches, too.