Vol. 5 Iss. 2: "The Elephant, the Donkey, and the Lamb"

   By Michelle Wiltshire-Clement

                           Living at the junction of both worlds, I cry. The elephant and the donkey sleep not with the lamb but with the beast of public opinion, pacing back and forth, force-fed to believe scraps of truths by whichever hand that feeds it.

                           The beast of opinion’s teeth rents a decision into the front legs of a donkey, which curls its tail between its legs in submission from the elephant’s elevation. Are we awake with one eye shut and walking with a fractured leg, pain paralyzed by our own cousin’s decision by choosing Republican over Democrat?

                           While the first 100 Days of a mandate written by the winner churns like moldy bread on the eastern border beast’s side, the claws that made the beast dangerous still drip with the blood of innocent children born on a land designated our prey until democracy reigns. I cry, living at the junction of peace where I live and war where designated families lay face-down dead.

                           I cry for peace, but tears are not enough; nor may apathy or anger, but being a part of the beast’s body and learning new ways to roar is a start. We are public opinion and the president chosen is to act on our behalf. Stand. Sit. Write. March on. Do. Be you: alive. Be alive to educate the offspring believers of the five point’s moral conscience. Educate the religious offspring of the beast so that we can all be human and reveal that the perception of evil in their midst has been a cruel hoax. God is: the God who is for the people, by the people, and evil lurks when people fail to hear that we are all God’s people.

                           “Love thy neighbor as thyself ” does not translate to “Kill thy neighbor as thy humanity.” Can there be love without liking? Can there be peace without war? Can there be religion without evil? Can there be people without killing. Can there be lifestyles of loving without god-like judgment? Can we all come to the table and be heard? Can we all be moved into action for inclusion in the Senate, Congress, Executive, and Public Opinion Branch to try and work together where the mediator Lamb opens our heart to understand with respect for others as God respects creation? “For God saw the creation and it was good.”