Imagine a time long ago, before civilization, before technology and science, before government
and politics.
There was a village, a small band of early families living off the land along the Bast River.
The river provided water to drink, food to eat, and transportation.
It gave people life.
One day, the river began to flood. As the waters rose and increased in force, the village
was destroyed.
The villagers wondered, why did the river become angry, and what can we do to appease
it?
So they made offerings to the river, hoping that this would satisfy and ensure their safety.
But the floods returned, so the villagers increased the size of their offerings.
But still, the floods continued, so the families began trying to rescue those who were caught
up in the raging waters, a solution that was incomplete.
As the waters receded once again, many thought it was time to try something new.
We should move the village. But where?
One option was to move across the river.
But while this would keep them safe from floods, the village would face a new threat from strangers
who already inhabited that land.
Another option was to stay and continue to rebuild the village after it flooded, not
to seek out change or leave the sacred land of their ancestors.
Still another option was to move high above the river to a nearby hillside. But relocating
so far away from the water would also mean a significant change in their way of life.
As the villagers came together, they realized that they weren't just disagreeing with each
other, they were struggling within themselves.
All three options satisfied important concerns, but each also had trade-offs.
And the decision had to be one everybody could live with.
The village could only survive if everybody, or at least most everybody, stuck together.
After much deliberation, the people made a collective decision.
The village would be moved away from the water to higher ground.
Before long, the new village was in place.
But the location was not the only thing that had changed, so too had the villagers themselves.
Wars would still happen, wars would still erupt, survival would always be a struggle.
But they'd learned that they could do something about their problems, and that they had power
when they acted together.
In a word, they'd created politics.
We're going to be pretty.
