Who wants to turn back? Let's vote.

A little ways south of here is a place called the Dismal Nitch. It's a spot that William Clark (of Lewis and Clark fame) and part of the Corps of Discovery were trapped in during violent rainstorms just after finally seeing the Pacific Ocean with their own eyes. There was not a dry article among them. According to Clark, they sat in soaking wet clothes eating nothing but "pounded fish" for 6 days. The journal entries he made during this time weren't exactly filled with the jubilation one would expect from someone who was on the verge of reaching his goal after 2+ years in the journey. We have it sooooooo good these days.

The journey of the Corps of Discovery was a remarkable one in so many ways. It involved people from a variety of backgrounds: from white American aristocrats to French fur traders, to impetuous and impulsive energetic young soldiers, an amazing native American woman and her baby and a black man who was a slave at the time. Back in the "normal" everyday world, these people would probably have had very little to do with each other beyond what their stations dictated they provide to each other. In the wilderness, these people worked together toward the common goal of helping each other survive crossing thousands of miles through rough lands, through sickness, harsh weather, encounters with potentially hostile native Americans, and suffering the lack of food and shelter on several occasions. The Corps of Discovery accomplished a multitude of amazing things for America and each other by overlooking what society would have considered at the time to be overwhelming differences.

Sadly, much of this unity came to an end when there was no longer a common goal to achieve. When the Corps returned, everyone but Sacagawea, the native American woman and York, the black slave received lands and money as reward for their efforts. And the beginning of the white man's conquest of the West and the displacement of native American peoples of those lands had begun. York eventually became a free man, but it was after Clark dismissed him to another owner for "becoming uppity". Imagine having stood shoulder to shoulder with a man to defend his life and then being told that your own isn't worth as much.

It's a good thing that the world has changed so much since then. Why does it seem like we need to blanket classify each other based on a single characteristic? What would happen if we decided we would engage each other holistically? Share our lives together regardless of these classifications?

Stephanie said it quite eloquently and succinctly the other day and I'll try to paraphrase: We should be spending more time figuring out why we have a problem with another person or group of people and praying how we can get over it to love them wholy and truly, and we should spend less time debating and pontificating why other people's lives and decisions are wrong compared to ours.

I love this woman.