Where to Now?

The Thread Through Our Lives


One lesson I remember clearly from my English classes in high school is that a good literary work will have a thread that flows through the story. This thread is the theme of the book; the message the author wants the reader to absorb.

When Bill started working on his book Animal Kingdom in early 2004, I had the privilege of reading his first few manuscripts. Around this time, the United States chosen to invade Iraq. Animal Kingdom was my first in-depth exposure to Diversity and the role it plays in all our lives, both personally and globally. I could clearly see how the actions of our leaders mirrored the actions of the Lion group in the book. I gained insight into our leaders’ thought process and their motivations; motivations that have deep cultural ties.

Experiencing Animal Kingdom helped me decide for myself that I disagreed with our Nation’s decision to invade Iraq years before the majority of our Nation would come to this same conclusion. With my conviction and prior to our invasion, I wrote my first email to my Senator asking him to do whatever he could to forestall the impending war. Of course, my email did nothing to stop the war, but I feel good about having my own conviction and then taking action on it.

In August 2005, Katrina ravaged New Orleans. Katrina opened our Nation’s eyes to many issues: emergency preparedness, FEMA’s mediocre response, the government’s failure to repair the levee system, race in America, and many others. Of all the issues Katrina raised, I was somewhat amazed to see that race was the primary issue and it seemed to underscore the entire experience. I’ve even heard rumors – and I believe them to only be rumors – that the levees were broken on purpose to direct the flood waters to the poorer 9th ward instead of risking the more upscale neighborhoods. Rumor though it may be, this theory eerily resembles the scene in Animal Kingdom when King breaks a part of the damn to destroy the animal herds trying to reach higher ground.

While the Animal Kingdom theme was clearly a thread running through these global events, it wasn’t until the recent immigrant demonstrations started that the thread became visible to me. My colleague at work told me he didn’t have a problem with the demonstrations, he just wanted to know why the demonstrators were waving Mexican flags instead of American flags. “Don’t they want to become Americans?” he asked me.

When I mentioned this conversation to Bill today at breakfast, he picked up my pen, took a piece of paper and started writing. Here’s what he wrote:

The U.S.

1) Britain “illegally” founded colonies on the now defined U.S. soil
2) The Land was occupied by Native Americans and not “discovered” - except from a European perspective.
3) This Land was not only occupied “illegally” but moved into ownership by the illegal colonies (immigrants).
4) Every group that has followed since was not necessarily welcomed except as they – the immigrating group – provided “cheap labor.” The immigrants, except in special cases, were not welcomed as “new citizens.”
5) The Point: We are all illegal immigrants to this Land we call America!

Animal Kingdom has been a part of my life for over three years now. The theme of living humbly and compatibly with the global community weaves its way through issues in my personal life and helps me see the underlying meaning of what is happening on a global scale. Understanding the concepts Animal Kingdom raises makes my interactions with people at work, at home, and in the community more meaningful.

In my opinion, Animal Kingdom is not a feel-good, self-help book. I believe Animal Kingdom has different meanings for different people. Because it is a fable, we can interpret the meanings in many ways. To me, that is the power of this little book. It doesn’t take long to read, but once the story is in your head, you are likely to see, as I have, its thread running through everything you experience.