The Harvest

The man works hard, believing in his heart that some day his years of effort will pay off. The seasons of drought, despair, long days and even longer nights are just part of what he knows it takes to “get ahead” and bring to his family a better life. He is building a business, and to that business he is the soil, the water, the fertilizer, and the Sun. He gives of his time, his energy, and too often his health. He brings in others to help the business grow, feeling the weight of their aspirations… and their mortgages. To fail now means others suffer, too. So he works on.

One year all his preparations, his struggles, and his sacrifices bear fruit. He is grateful to his land, and does not begrudge sharing the fruits of his many years of labor with those truly in need. Yet he also knows from experience that after the harvest, no matter how scant or generous, follows the winter. It is all part of the cycle of life, and his responsibilities do not end.

Yet, others see his fortune and exclaim, “He has benefited inequitably! In the interest of fairness, we must take more.”

The man is perplexed. Has he not already given a full half of his bounty to federal, state, and local authorities? Has he not already given generously to private charities to help others as well? And if more is taken, will there be enough left to keep the business alive and his employees and family provided for through the winters and droughts that are yet to come?

No one listens, for he in his moment of reward is now The Rich and no longer the working man who toiled 100 hour weeks to earn what he has received. So they take more, and more, and more, for there is no limit to their greed.

The man takes stock of what remains, and knows that he is still fortunate and has much to be grateful for. Nevertheless, he realizes that there is not enough left to re-grow the business nor keep all his employees if winter is long.

He wonders if there is any hope that those who choose to Take rather than Make will ever understand.

On taxes… April 15, 1993