It seemed wise to for me to “go home by another way” on a recent morning because I almost fell flat on my bum after going up a slight hill on a snowy daily walk in which my dog weighs his responses to the yellow-snow he finds with usual due diligence.

Recently I have been reminded of the winter Epiphany story and the metaphor of it lingers with me and I find myself thinking about wise men. (They’re commonly billed as the three wise men)

The problems of today’s America it seems to me has an increased need for wise men (and women).

William Carlos Williams has a line in his poem THE GIFT:

But the imagination
     knows all stories
     before they are told        
  and knows the truth of this one 
past all defection

To make a leap: on a cold January morning, U.S. Senators of combined parties are sometimes identified as the 100 wise men (and women). While most politicians of all stripes, are aware of who won the last Presidential election, some seem to currently deny it for fear that such an admission would be identified as being disloyal. My question simply is: how has disloyalty come to be motivated by fear? To be disloyal to the working of the principles of democracy by striving to hold on to power is a dire measure of “disloyalty”. Disloyalty to democracy, to the extent that a reworking of election rules is being managed merely to hold on to power. This is a thing being done through states redistricting. I’ve been led to believe that both parties have attempted over the years, but that 19 Republican controlled states have accomplished recently. What have the U.S. Senators, the so-called 100 wise men now become?

I have always thought, that the wise men were wise, but I think maybe I’ve been wrong all along. The question almost sounds better said with an Irish accent: “Why use did Jesus, Mary, and Joseph have for gold, frankincense, and myrrh? “ Oh, the gold could help buy their way out of a stable maybe, but what was probably needed at that moment was warmth, food, and clean diapers. (Or, maybe more helpful would have been a family leave act?)
It is possible that finding a north star or load star to follow is more difficult in the clutter of the modern world. But wise souls should finish their journey by choosing to go home another way. Can we come up with three wise men? Or 50? What will our senators do?