[/caption]Carol Forsloff -- Politics can be risky business these days. Elections often come at a price, and that price is usually the loss of dignity of the participants. Yet what if leaders really put ethics first, not just their version of these set in some rigid, domineering manner, but instead the type that reflects enlightenment and justice, as found in the wisdom of Solomon. One town in the South has that chance, as the rest of us do as well.
Natchitoches, Louisiana is that Southern town. It is the charming, open-hearted, joyous place depicted by the film, Steel Magnolias. It does, however, have a checkered past, as it is considered the location for Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the chronicle of the treatment of the slaves in Louisiana’s historical cauldron of that despair. The town, however, is growing up and is on a path to make the rest of the country envious with its beauty, Southern charm, great food and music—the best of Louisiana—and now its opportunity to renew itself as an example for the rest of America. It has candidates of both races, some actually a fusion of both in their genetic past, running for Mayor in 2012.
Political issues have torn families apart, destroyed friendships and frozen the United States in ways that stop progress in many areas. The need to have one’s way at any cost, and the focus on absolutes, has hurt many people. That should make us and our leaders step back and look at the qualities of leadership that are both spiritually and rationally based and where sound judgment overrides rigidity and creates enlightenment and love instead.
In the famous story of the two mothers, both seeking custody of a child, Solomon looked at the problem from the perspective of love to see which mother reflected that love and therefore was the child’s real mother. When he offered to divide the child, giving one half to each woman, that real mother stepped forward and asked the child be given to her rival instead of pursuing an act that would kill the child. The other mother had agreed to Solomon’s original offer. Solomon knew the child’s real mother had put her ego needs aside, seeking instead the welfare of the child and so gave the child to her. This is the type of wisdom that can be used in governance.
Politics in contemporary America demands the child be cut in half, as the leadership of political parties clamor for their ideas, some of which would kill the body of the “child,” or in this case the heart of our country. A town like Natchitoches is a small replica of US diversity and therefore a place of opportunity to model and make a difference for everyone.
May the candidates in 2012 throughout America turn to the examples of the great King Solomon and choose wisdom before their political and personal needs and find the heart of the mother in making the right decisions.
