Resignation

You see it on the faces in the aisles of the super market, the ones blankly staring at the rows of cans, boxes and jars as they push against the shopping cart - going about their day having no fight left in them.

You find it in the expressions at the bus stop as they dig into their change purse, or as they hang on for dear life to the trolley as it clangs through their day; their lives no longer carrying the spark they once had, their ability to reach up and pull the cord is now just too much of an effort so they just keep riding.

          It is in the eyes of the politician whose bill was defeated and he wonders once again why he even bothers.

          At some point we simply give up the fight, we drop our guard and let life punch away at us.  The corruption is too wide spread, the apathy in those around us too contagious.  It is not that you can’t fight city hall, it’s the realization that city hall is simply comprised of more indifference.

          Eventually we allow ourselves to be railroaded.  We see others lying about us for no other reason than to make themselves appear better.  It is wrong but it is how people treat people and there is no end to it. 

          This, of course, is no startling revelation.  If you’re paying attention at all you see it every day.  One of its causes is our own government taxing us far beyond that which sparked the revolution against England so many years ago.

          We broke off and started our own country believing we could do it better only to discover that greed, arrogance, and jealousy is not something from which you can escape.   We take our baggage with us.

          We pack it neatly in our suit case, folding our aggression, rolling up our animosities and tucking them into a corner.  We iron the wrinkles out of our fabrications being sure to keep each story straight before we squeeze them into the bag.

          We are, after all, taking a trip through adulthood, all the while trying to teach our children right from wrong.