As a result of a discussion I participated in a couple weeks ago I have been thinking a lot about pronouns.  About how often I speak about me and mine and how often I use the words us and ours.  Simple words that matter a great deal and which reflect fundamentally different perspectives.

Which comes first and which is more important?
Me and mine?
Or, us and ours?
And, what is the balance between the two?

I know which way I lean, but I don’t have any clear or easy answers to the questions I pose.  But, I sense that those questions lie near the center of the divisions we experience around so many of the issues we face in our communities or in our country whether we are talking about taxes or guns or immigration or jobs.  And, because there is no honest discussion or any real consensus on the balance between the two, every issue then creates winners and losers, and builds animosity and resentment.

Maybe it has always been so.
But, I wonder…
Does it always have to be so?