How did we get HERE?

When I was in college at Southwest Texas Sate, some friends of mine and I were on our way back from a” field trip” to Nueva Laredo , which is just across the Mexican border from Texas. We had all been researching the local customs very diligently and one of my friends was ‘napping’ in the back of his van while I was driving. Somehow we found ourselves somewhere in Houston which is slightly off course if you are headed to San Marcos, just south and west of Austin. Also with us was another fraternity brother who , while not “napping” was still “overwhelmed” by the cultural experience we had shared. When my “napping”friend awoke , he looked around and asked me , “How the HECK did we get HERE?”

This (heavily edited) anecdote from my early college career is very descriptive of how we have reached the current state of our country at the present time. On the wall in my office is a saying,” There are three kinds of people – those who make it happen , those who watch it happen and those who wonder what happened.” Clearly my “napping” friend was the one “wondering” what happened. My “overwhelmed” companion watched it happen and obviously , I was “making” it happen. How was I chosen to be the “maker” of things happening? Clearly , I was the obvious choice out of the three as I was not as “sleepy” or “overwhelmed” as my friends. While I somehow managed to get us out of Mexico and into Texas (I still wonder about that) , my vision for the path we needed to take was flawed. We probably should gave recruited a different driver…… or taken the bus. My “napping” friend , now “refreshed and alert” , took over the driving and got us back to school without further mishap.

My hope is that those who have been “overwhelmed” and watching for the last four years , have recovered and are now ready to embrace a new driver for our journey. Hopefully , those “napping” are awake now and most importantly , the current “makers” of things happening , will realize that just because you may have been the “best” of a bunch of bad choices , you really aren’t capable of getting us where we need to go. It’s time to let someone else drive.