For Dialogue 500 - May 2022 |
“Just call me George.” “Sure, Mr. Washington – George.” “I must say, I never expected this thing to take off.” “This thing?” “America! Who knew? I mean, we thought it was a good idea, but the way kids were back in my day, I had no idea this experiment would still be going on.” “America was an experiment?” Of course. You didn’t think we knew what we were doing, did you?” “That’s the general consensus.” “Ha! That’s rich! We had no clue. Sure, we had an idea, but we never knew if it would fly. We just went out into the world and fought for what we thought was right.” “Well, we still like your ideas, just so you know.” “I am starting to understand that. It’s funny. Every generation thinks the next does not have any clue what is going on. They think the next generation will be the downfall of this great country we built. Yet it never happens.” “I suppose there will always be enough of us who believe in the vision and understand the history.” “We simply wanted something better.” “No taxation without representation?” “That was part of it. I do see we are still struggling with the equality thing, though.” “We always wonder about that…” “Not a shining moment in our history. Sometimes you do not need to follow in the footsteps of your Founding Fathers.” “Do as I say, not as I do?” “Unfortunately. Unfortunately, there were people we did not see as people. And it took this country a long time to shake that.” “I am not sure we’ve shaken it, even yet. There has been a lot of controversy in the last few years.” “I have watched it. I have thought on it long and hard. I wish we could have left a better example for the country down through the years.” “I think we will get there, don’t you, George?” “I hope so, son. I hope so. Just keep moving in the right direction, and I believe those truths will still be self-evident.” Word count: 341 |