By Charles Mabbott, Darby
Amidst the hoopla and hyperbole of this election I came across the wisdom of Poet Laureate of the United States Joy Harjo who asks us to consider an incomplete yet revealing list of questions for those who would ask to govern, and to which I added some of my own. Here they are. Can they govern themselves? Do they have a record of community service and compassionate acts? Have they asked permission of the original keepers of our lands, and are they in the service of the lands on which we stand? Do they know our history and our laws? Are they law abiding? Are they owned by lawyers, bankers, insurance agents, other politicians, or anyone else who who unfairly profit by their decisions? Do they balance the power plays of politics with the processes of democracy? Do they focus on what brings our communities together, or on what tears us apart?