The United States.
A funny tree.
We have three branches of our tree.
And on this date, all three had a leaf or two to turn.
Legislative Branch
On November 17, 1800, the United States Congress met for the first time in the newly built Capitol in Washington, D.C. It had been established by The Residence Act of July 16, 1790. And it has been in that building since.
In our lives, we’ve witnessed this building, this sanctuary of our legislative process, being attacked. There is no other way to look at this but an assault on our democracy, an attempt to overthrow our government. I only hope those people will ultimately be punished for committing this crime. Some have. The minions. However, the leaders of this coup have gone largely unscathed.
Executive Branch
The presidents. One we will never forget is Richard Nixon. On November 17, 1973, Nixon told the Associated Press: “…people have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook.”
I guess he was saying it is all relative. In comparison to Donald Trump, Nixon was vanilla pudding. Tapioca. Just old Tricky. Dick.
Judicial Branch
The Supreme Court was created by the Constitutional Convention of 1787. That body of judges is the head of the federal court system in our country. In 1869, the number of seats was net to nine. It has been that way ever since.
On this date, November 17, 2008, Ruth Bader Ginsburg took her full-hour lunch break, enjoying a New York bagel with smoked salmon at her desk while reading a copy of Nancy Drew, The Hidden Staircase.
Now there was an example of a true American, integrity seeping from her every pore.
Keep growing there, little tree of democracy.
Keep growing.
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“I think people make their own faces, as they grow.”
― Enid Blyton, The Naughtiest Girl Again
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No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.
— Alice Walker
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You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.
— Swami Vivekananda
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