The Nursery Rhyme "The Elephant"

The Elephant Rhyme

It was six men of Indostan; To learning much inclined, Who went to see the Elephant; (Though all of them were blind), That each by observation; Might satisfy his mind.  The First approached the Elephant, And happening to fall Against his broad and sturdy side, At once began to bawl: “God bless me! but the Elephant Is very like a wall!” The Second, feeling of the tusk, Cried, “Ho! what have we here So very round and smooth and sharp? To me ’tis mighty clear This wonder of an Elephant Is very like a spear!” The Third approached the animal, And happening to take The squirming trunk within his hands, Thus boldly up and spake: “I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant Is very like a snake!” The Fourth reached out an eager hand, And felt about the knee. “What most this wondrous beast is like Is mighty plain,” quoth he; “ ‘Tis clear enough the Elephant Is very like a tree!” The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear, Said: “E’en the blindest man Can tell what this resembles most; Deny the fact who can This marvel of an Elephant Is very like a fan!” The Sixth no sooner had begun About the beast to grope, Than, seizing on the swinging tail That fell within his scope, “I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant Is very like a rope!” And so these men of Indostan Disputed loud and long, Each in his own opinion Exceeding stiff and strong, Though each was partly in the right, And all were in the wrong! The Moral of the Elephant Rhyme: So oft in theologic wars, The disputants, I ween, Rail on in utter ignorance Of what each other mean, And prate about an Elephant Not one of them has seen!!      I came across this Nursery Rhyme while looking for another for a friend of mine. Never mind that I found the exact rhyme that I was initially looking for, but after reading this one I found that it was quite astounding and dare I say, irregardless of the last stanza, very spot on for today.  Today was the third and possibly last State of the Union address for President Obama. I did not see it nor was I interested in seeing it as I was more interested in talking to my granddaughter in Okinawa who is now learning words. Sure, she called me mama (she calls everyone mama), but she was a sheer joy to see on the other end of the camera. My daughter was an equal joy to see and I must say, I enjoy our conversations immensely, but I am anxious to have them face to face soon. Anyway, getting back to the subject at hand.  Until I see the speech or hear it myself, of course all will be speculation, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that he, being the Commander in Chief of politicians cannot help but take things out of context, twist them to his own devices and restructure them to have the normally thinking public scratching their heads and going "uh huh". Don't get me wrong, I am not knocking him, I'm knocking politicians in general. Not one of them as far as I'm concerned see the elephant in the room called The United States for what it is. A free nation; a nation that cherishes its freedom and all that it encompasses.  Let's examine this a bit.  Like the first blind man in the room to encounter the elephant, his experience is strictly with the enormous side of it. Let's liken that to the National Debt. It's hideously enormous and getting bigger. The largest couch potato couldn't compete with it if it tried and yet our Congress is saying that "sure, its large, but we can cut it down to size"....yeah, not with a back hoe. Ripping programs and pensions that are meant to sustain our military and our aging is not cutting it down to size, its creating a bigger problem. Going on down the line, each blind man is seeing things only in a partial light and not bothering to continue around the elephant to get the full picture. They "see" what they see and that must be all there is to the animal, but to those observing the elephant in its entirety, ah! but they see all that is going on with it. It has wrinkly knees, yes, but there is also the mighty trunk, the massive ears, the swishing tail and the wrinkly butt. The animal is mighty, its massive and its a wonder to the human eye, but there are small things that make it vulnerable, much like our Country.  The United States is mighty, that is true. In all the world, when the U.S. shows up, the enemy knows its in for the fight of its life. We are mighty, we are strong and we will use the resources we have to win the battle or die trying. The flag is a symbol of all of those who have taken the oath to protect Her from harm, both foreign and domestic. We are massive. We have a land that has so many different ecoscapes that it boggles the mind. We have plains; desert; highlands; lowlands; mountains; prairies; swamps; tropics and snow lands. We are the melting pot of the world and the masses have been encouraged to come to our borders, of course legally. Complimenting our mass is what I mentioned last, the vast varieties of climates and lands that this country has within its borders. All of this is tended by various races, religions and factions. But, we have our problems. We have the not so good eyesight that the elephant has. We comprehend just what we can see and our brains sometimes don't wrap around those things that we can focus on. We have become a nation that takes the swishing tail of the elephant in front of us and follow along, right or wrong. When we find ourselves in trouble, think the bank bailouts, we blame someone else when all along if we were to open our own eyes that we could see and perhaps comprehend those things that have been placed in the open before us. Have you ever heard the saying "hiding in plain sight"? Yeah, that's what the politicians are doing...hiding in plain sight those things that they don' t want us to know. That brings us to the wrinkly butt of the elephant. Everything has a waste removing orifice, this keeps the poison out of the system. In humans, if waste is not excreted it can back up and cause severe discomfort or can even cause death! That, in my opinion, is where we are politically. We are at the point of severe backup and on the verge of renal failure, as it were. Unless the waste or poison is excised from our system then we will not be better; we will not feel better; we will not do better. We need to explore the whole elephant and get the big picture to understand what we are up against, not just the Cliff Notes version or the version that one person who has visited one area can tell us. We have to know what the pros are, what the cons are and what solutions are offered up. We must be proactive and know the whole elephant before us. If we do not, then we deserve the knee, ear, tusk or behind version of the elephant that is given to us by someone else. I encourage everyone to explore the "elephant" further by getting more information. By going around the elephant, experiencing the texture, the fine lines; appreciating its strength and mass and beauty. Learn more about it and take a proactive stance. To put it in terms that aren't so, uhm, massive land-mammal-ish; get into the issues that the politicians are putting out for us to see. Understand how it affects you, your future, your children's future and those of their children. Understand how is affects your freedom, your rights. Learn what it will do for your finances and those on down the lines and for your retirement. Know what you're up against because I can guarantee you that if you don't that you will be voting come November with the knowledge of the part of the elephant that the "blind man" has presented to you and nothing else.