Nahum Tells It Like It Is

The Hebrew Bible includes some rather pointed commentaries on society. Several thousand years does not seem to matter in social analysis.

The Prophet Nahum in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament for Christians) has these words at the close of his brief tract.  Verses 16 and 17 of Chapter 3 of Nahum.

"More merchants are in your city than there are stars in the sky--

But they are like locusts that eat everything and then fly away.

Your guards and your officials are swarms of locusts.

On a chilly day they settle on a fence,

But when the sun comes out, they take off to who-knows-where."

In the present situation it appears that the merchants and officials are in a titanic
struggle for who can best run the world. All who are not part of either business or
government are observers and resource providers in the grand design of things.

The Head of the Line

German ancestry makes a person aware of a strong concept regarding the aging process. The idea is that as family members pass on, those who continue alive move closer to the "head of the line". The image of who is now assigned to carry the flag forward makes the concept clear.

In American culture it appears that most senior age people are no longer influential elements of the social mix. Because of health care costs and pensions the continuing presence of people into advanced age is, in the minds of some, a social problem. Efforts to reduce costs of social services strongly affects the very young and the very old .

In an era of technology developments governed by market forces it is the sectors of society with money to spend that are most highly valued. The younger members of society who have minimal experience in care giving and the effects of illness are given to being restless with those who seem unable to keep up with that which is new and constantly undergoing change. That which was once understood to be the "wisdom of elders" is generally dispensed with as irrelevant to the demands of a here and now life style.

It is in this context that persons of age can regain for themselves a greater dignity and sense of purpose. This approach has to be grasped by people of age - it will surely not be presented gratis by eager younger people claiming the high ground for themselves.

Picking up the flag is the task of those who sense a responsibility for the ongoing human family. When a person becomes the eldest of a family the moment arrives to take one's place in the march and carry on with dignity and grace. The flag is there to be carried.