We The People

It's May 20, 2026 and I've been staring at my script for a good long time. I've been wondering how rehearsing a play is a life lesson because, after, shouldn't blogs teach life lessons? Or, at least, be funny?

There are the obvious things: study hard, learn things, practice, practice practice. But are those life lessons? And, if they are, shouldn't one have learned them long before stumbling onto this blog?

So, here's my takeaway. It's the people.

In theater, auditions often require monologues. I think most auditioners spend hours alone, reading the piece, forcing the words into their consciousness and churning it all over to spit out in the room (or on tape. Oy). But, rehearsal is completely different. It's community. One on one. Two on two. Ensemble on ensemble. And, before you throw me over for lewd and inappropriate behavior, I'm talking about cooperation.

When I look at the world today cooperation is in the ether of extinction. Politics squares us up against each other where common good is a weakness, common sense is a luxury and corruption is a golden calf. The paradigm of humanity is firmly on it's pointy head and the weight of our upside down priorities is crushing it to dust. It's a sad state of affairs, and yet, I'm brimming with hope.

Why, you ask? Because evil flouts itself loudly and on schedule, then is beaten down by the better angels of our spirit. I don't have to wonder what good citizens in Nazi Germany felt like because it's exactly what we feel in America today. I don't have to wonder what Chrstians in imperial Rome felt like because persecution has never been more rampant. And, lest I be accused of appropriation, race hating and xenophobia are at unthinkable levels. Cooperation? Come back, little Sheba!

We need cooperation because it's the right thing. But, maybe even more important, cooperation fosters compassion, acceptance, curiosity and kindness. We need the byproducts of cooperation as much as the product itself.

Working on a play brings disparate personalities, perspectives and priorities together for a common goal. A common good. Because, if all goes well, it will be good. And, it will be because of the people working harmoniously, side by side in good faith and conscience.

Life, and he people in it, need good. Need to be good. Need each other to be good.

So, there you have it. A life lesson in one, two or three acts (or in Shakespeare's case, five!). And, before we slide effortlessly into the abyss of judgment, it doesn't matter whether the play is good or bad. What matters is the doing of it. The coming together of it. The bond of humanity that makes us more than mere mortals scavenging for food. It makes us human.

Be blessed. Resist when you must (fiftyfity.one) and remember your better angels.