Page 44 - Big Idea

The Big Idea – Act 2

All of you, of course, are much more involved
In the work of hunting and gathering,
Of raising families and protecting their health.

Your labors are crucial to keeping us alive;
But your very proximity to that struggle
Prevents you from seeing the over-all pattern.

Whereas I who give little and take even less
View our society with objectivity
When considering its points of strength and weakness.

Let me begin by stating our greatest problems,
Then explain why I consider them the factors
That keep us in a precarious condition.

First we face uncertainties imposed by nature,
Upon whose variable bounty we depend
For safety and comfort, for nurture and repose.

One day the world appears to be favoring us:
Food is plentiful, the atmosphere calm and clear,
Health and happiness everywhere abounding.

But the very next may bring a terrible storm,
Or the beginning of drought and epidemic:
Then our lives are threatened; misery is our lot.

Next we face the vagaries of our fellow man:
Like other creatures we can either get along
With each other or squabble over who gets what.

But animals follow their nature in most things,
Whereas we humans with our imagination
Invent relationships that get us in trouble.

Our tribe is plagued by constant conflict and tension
Caused by the selfish maneuvering for power
Of those who would be lords and masters of the rest.

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