It's All About Power

On this inauguration day I am struck by the fact that "winners" do like the power. It is the chance to lay claim to the fact that they needed to win at any cost, that people do want what they offer and, well, they have ALL the power now.

Why am I reminded of a story my daughter-in-law told me while we were in Dubai.

There was a man and a woman that married after falling in love with each other in college here in the United States. He was a Muslim from Dubai and she was a blond from somewhere in middle America. After their marriage they moved back to Dubai where they then had three children.

When the last child was born here in the United States, the husband suggested that the wife stay with her parents for a few weeks to recover with the baby. He returned to Dubai with the two older children.

After a time the man called his wife and told he was going to take another wife and she would have to return to Dubai if she ever wanted to see the two older children again.

She did just that because she was a loving mother and wife. She also thought she was in a monogamous marriage but her world changed in a heartbeat. I was told she is miserable.

She and the second wife have equal houses, the children by the second wife come to stay with the first family so the children can get to know each other and the husband according the law in that country can demand these things under law.

Under Islamic marital jurisprudence, Muslim men are allowed to practice polygyny.... If a man cannot deal justly with more than one wife, then he must marry only one.

Is there a point here? I wonder. This marriage was based on what was evident on the surface. Everyone thought they knew about the other. But it turns out that in many cases what we see is NOT what we get. There is culture, upbringing, basic values and religion that cannot be counted on to change.

I am in that being careful mode right now. Those around me do not share my culture or upbringing. I know that my friendships as I know them could change on a dime.

I live six month of the year in Tucson Az where there really is a "taco truck on every corner". I like it that way thank you. I cannot imagine that it will change but who knows.

Our lives, our costs of living and our willingness to provide for those less fortunate may be at stake here. But if we want to see "our children again" we cannot leave ever. We are married to our country.

It is just a thought.

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