Thus I use that name in my ‘Old Turtle’ environmental/sociological fables. But it goes much deeper than that–deeper than a poetic fondness and appreciation. I find profound meaning in the fact that in one nation/tribe/language after another, the ‘endonymic’ name for themselves is different from the ‘exonymic’ (often derogatory) name others gave to them. And that endonym almost always was… The People. Or, the Human Beings.

When I ponder what sort of person I would most like to be or aspire to–and the sort of person I am most likely to admire or want to be around–it has always come down to that. Pretty much all my life. A human being. A real, authentic, awake and aware human being. With all that may entail. None of which has anything to do with what others may call you or label you; not with what sort or clothing you may wear or what language you may speak or what religion (if any) you may claim.

And it is why I knew in the first minute–the first second–of a certain political charlatan’s appearance on the scene, that this was someone I simply could not stand. Could not listen to, could not watch, could not bear to be near–via TV or tweet or news clip or any media. Because he so clearly and immediately and sometimes savagely violated every single trait or virtue an authentic and decent human being would embody.

Now, his MAGA supporters would argue and would cite other traits they may actually admire or, more importantly, feel comfortable with. He’s the right race, the right gender, the right skin color, the right party, supports the right religion ( a misnomer), he’s ‘successful,’ he exudes ‘power,’ he fights against who and what they want to fight and hates who and what they hate. He’s a ‘winner’ (he’s not but he poses and pretends) he’s rich, he wraps himself in the American flag; and more… All of which will greatly appeal to a certain type of person.

That type of person is narrow of view and outlook and education; or highly focused on personal power or perceived proximity to power or ‘success’; probably with a good dollop vengeance or retribution thrown in. Vengeance for… who knows what imagined slight or grievance. Often a fearful person, who is eager to follow an authority figure who must simply be followed and obeyed. Of which list, not one attribute refers to what I personally would consider a truly ‘successful,’ and authentic human being. So, both the ‘leader’ and the followers completely miss the point–or try to actively destroy it–of the sort of person I, and perhaps you, most admire. We constructed such a list together last week. An authentic, admirable human being would most likely be–without looking at our previous list–Honest. (Perhaps stubbornly so). Wise. Kind. Empathetic. Compassionate. Courageous. Quick to laugh and forgive. Generous. Responsible. Modest. Aware. Open-minded/curious. Maybe a few more. Not a long list. Not hard to imagine.

What color/race would this person be? No idea. From what part of the world? Don’t know. What language would she/he speak? No clue. Religion? Ditto. Rich? Maybe, probably not. Could live right in your neighborhood? Yup. Famous? Doubtful. And who cares? We’re just looking for… a human being. A good human being.

And they’re not that rare. But when you have an authoritarian power seeking to actively discredit, fire, de-platform, de-legitimize, vilify, de-humanize and destroy, every single one they can find–because such people are indeed a threat and a dire one–it can SEEM harder to find them.

But they are still here. The real human beings. And… if we are lucky and try hard… we could each be one ourselves. On our good days, at least.

One final thought. In one of the most despicable parts of our American history, we as a nation tried to destroy and remove and eliminate all of ‘The People.’ They were in the way. They weren’t ‘like us.’ It was often said that, ‘The only good Indian is a dead Indian.’ And the many Indigenous tribes were dehumanized (thus making it more palatable to destroy them) as ‘redskins.’ Hmmm. Redskins. Maybe more of us can truly understand that awful history a little better now. Maybe, in some very small way, we are all ‘redskins’ now.

Or, People. Human Beings.

(This is my newest post on Substack. You can follow/subscribe to me there at Notes From The Campfire@douglaswoodauthor. https://substack.com/@douglaswoodauthor I’d apprecaite it!)