All that shimmers in this world

Constitutional Convention 1787
(by Junius Brutus Stearns)

Our founding fathers gave us a very precious gift.  A gift that was ultimately a great experiment, but one that they hoped would last for the ages.  Just like the children, we've allowed for this gift to be cast to the wayside as our nation ages in search of something bigger, better, greater, newer and shinier.  Like many other civilizations that have risen before the fall, we have turned our eyes away from reality in search of the shiny things.

Think about it.  Babies, children, teens, and adults all are mesmerized by flashy things.  They are eye catching.  How can you not look to see where a flash of light came from or what's going on where a light is strobing? When has the reflection off of a diamond or other piece of jewelry caught your eye?  How many times has the flicker of your phone or computer screen caused you to miss part of a conversation you were having with friends or family?  Shiny things demand our attention and we readily comply.

We allow ourselves to be distracted.  We allow ourselves divert our attention.  It's a plague really.  Relationships are crumbling.  Car accidents are more likely.  And presidential primaries are more like a soap opera than a debate of civil leaders.

We're losing site of what is important.  These shiny, shimming objects take away from the important tasks at hand.  We focus on the flashy and forget to look for substance.  In essence, we've started to believe that pyrite is gold just because its shiny.  We take politicians at their word because they look good, sound good, or say things that make us feel good.  We don't look into their past actions as a predictor of the future. We don't see if what they propose is feasible. We are too distracted by their shiny approach.

As time has moved on, some in our nation have started to see our nation's first gift as something that needs to grow and change instead of something that is timeless.  Believing we are more intelligent, more civilized, more enlightened than the founding fathers, we brush aside the well-thoughtout discussions and even heated arguments they had as they created the Constitution.  After all shiny object lovers believe it's an old dusty piece of paper with little worth.  Maybe they are right. Maybe with our more recent interpretations we've caused it to lose its luster.

We don't have to allow ourselves to get caught up in the shiny shimmering mess AND we can help point out falsehoods to others.  We can help bring back the TRUE shimmering document that once guided us.  We must if we want to keep things as simple and as valuable as freedom of worship and the right to life.