DRAWING LINES TO LIVE BY?

Who is drawing lines to live by? Picasso did.

Unfortunately, you’re no Picasso, I’m no Picasso, so why bother?

We bother with lines and borders for a sense of control like, “Don’t go there, girlfriend.”

The big Question Of The Day:

Who draws borders when they’re on the same side of the line you’re on?

The history of drawing lines is the history of the human race, human migration, and every problem since.

Consider the first small bands of families leaving East Africa in the earliest of days. They come to a fork in the trail.

“Let’s go this way.”

“I want to go that way.”

“This way is better.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’ve done my research by following signs of animal migration.”

“Okay, Mr. Done My Research, I’m going that way. You, or anyone with you, can come along if you want.”

We Know How That Turned Out

That was the BIG LINE and within each group certain rules applied, the same way we apply certain rules today.

Where I grew up there was a line I tried not to cross, the city limits line between North Bend and Coos Bay. Instead of joining together in a celebration of South Coast’s biggest cities, there was a line.

North Bend was the underdog city to Coos Bay’s powerhouse population. Even the high school’s mascot was a dog, a Bulldog, compared to Coos Bay’s Pirates.

Who doesn’t want to be a Pirate? North Bend was enough.

I’ve seen the same city rivalries everywhere I’ve lived. Philadelphia vs New York, Brooklyn vs Manhattan, Portland vs Seattle, Tigard vs Tualatin.

Then you get old enough and realize why the Civil War pitted brother against brother, father against son.

They all drew a line, maybe one, maybe lots more.

The movie the King’s Man shows how first cousins, King George V of Britain, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia drew the lines that started WWI after Archduke Ferdinand’s death.

After more lines and agreements and treaties were crossed, disagreed with, and broken, they sent the young men to the trenches.

Drawing Lines To Stay Out Of Trenches

In normal life we stay out of trenches, unless we need one, like a French drain in the backyard.

During our exchanges of civilized discourse with each other, friends and strangers and family, we naturally read and listen between the lines.

At least I do.

Don’t we look for deeper meaning every chance we get?

Listen to a sports fan explain why they are a Dallas Cowboy fan.

Or a devotedly spiritual person happily explaining why they worship with a television evangelist mouthpiece for backward, anti-Christian ideals.

What would you expect from rally fan explaining their Trump beliefs.

The difference between a drawing a line and digging a trench? One you do with a stick, the other with a shovel.

One you can erase with a shoe, the other takes work to fill, too much work for most.

How many times do trenches start with drawing lines?