“Ordered Council” . . . When all we know changes . . .Ordered Council is a way to pick up the pieces and once again organize ourselves, our communities, so that we all may prosper. The following excerpts from The Walking People outline the genesis of “Ordered Council.” These poignant passages give us insight into the thought process of a purposeful People who sought to ease the way for those that would follow. This is their legacy.
(pp. 303-304)
WE WERE A PEOPLE
Who had learned to value
each individual wisdom,
carefully gathered
from around the Circle of the People,
nourished among them
toward some central purpose.
IT HAS BEEN OUR GREAT LEARNING
that any individual wisdom
may be swept away in an instant,
disappeared beyond reach
of a hungering People.
IT HAD BEEN OUR GREAT LEARNING
that whatever wisdom remains
rises on two feet
after any calamitous circumstance . . .
and walks toward Tomorrow.
IT HAD BEEN OUR GREAT LEARNING
that any
who might be chosen as First Among Us
might just as easily be lost,
leaving only the resident Wisdom
of an unaccustomed People.
IT HAD BEEN OUR GREAT LEARNING
THAT NO ONE AMONG US
CONTAINS ALL WISDOM.
RATHER, EACH AMONG US
CONTAINS SOME PART.
IT HAD BECOME OUR MANNER
TO GATHER ALL SUCH ADVICE
INTO A CENTRAL COMPREHENSION.
(pg. 44)
AND AT LAST
THE PEOPLE BEGAN TO COUNSEL TOGETHER.
AND AT LAST
THEY BEGAN TO FIND THEIR OWN WISDOM.
AND LATER
THEY SAID
THAT THIS WAS THEIR FIRST LEARNING . . .
IF THERE IS NOT ONE AMONG US
WHO CONTAINS SUFFICIENT WISDOM
MANY PEOPLE TOGETHER
MAY FIND A CLEAR PATH.
(pg. 53)
“SO,
LET US NOW LEARN HOW TO BE A PEOPLE
WHO SEEK THE WISDOM OF ORDERED COUNCIL.
“LET US REMEMBER
HOW QUICKLY ONE WHO LEADS
MAY BE TAKEN FROM US.
“LET US UNDERSTAND
THAT WHAT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ONE
MAY BE POSSIBLE FOR MANY.
“AND IF ALL THIS ESCAPES YOUR MEMORY
REMEMBER ONLY THIS:
SEEK THE WISDOM OF ORDERED COUNCIL . . .
“HOWEVER MANY
HOWEVER FEW
HOWEVER OLD
HOWEVER YOUNG
SEEK THE WISDOM OF ORDERED COUNCIL.”
“Let even the youngest among you
sit and be heard.
“Do not do this because I advise it . . .
nor even in my honor . . .
“DO THESE THINGS
AS YOU SEE THE WISDOM
THAT LIES THEREIN.
“NOW
I speak as one of the People
who would like her People remembered.
“AND I SAY THIS . . .
When other Peoples cross our path
When they sit with us awhile.
“LET THEM SAY
THAT THEY HAVE SEEN A PEOPLE
“WHO LISTEN TO ONE ANOTHER
“WHO TAKE COUNCIL TOGETHER
“WHO FOLLOW AN ORDERED PATH
TO WISDOM.
(Snow On Top, Keeper of the Ancient Songs)
It would seem, in more recent times, that we may have failed to listen to Ancient Wisdom. Too often politicians and analysts meet to “debate” an issue, only to end up speaking simultaneously, in an apparent attempt to drown out the other’s perspective. In light of this new “format,” the idea of holding Ordered Council is refreshing, if not a dire necessity. The “them against us” mentality in politics, “fails to listen more often than it speaks.”
When politicians are at an impasse . . . when each side is focused on their personal, politically motivated agenda . . . wouldn’t it be prudent to shift the focus, if only for a moment, and ask, who speaks for “We the People?” . . . a voice to remind legislators that we are a government, “Of the People, By the People, For the People” . . . and they, our representatives.
Let us remember . . .
“. . . the wisdom of Ordered Council, respecting the knowledge and understanding of each human being . . . (let us) begin to learn that wisdom may have greater value than success, that individuals need respect and an opportunity to participate in their communities, that spirit may mean more than just determination, that no single view of history can be fully accurate.”
Paula Underwood
Let us be warmed by our “common purpose” . . . let us leave our children’s children with a legacy that insures the survival and prosperity of a Whole People.