Don't Forget About the Sea

When the ebbing tide retreats
Along the rocky shoreline
It leaves a trail of tidal pools
In a short-lived galaxy
Each microcosmic planet
A complete society

A simple kind of mirror
To reflect upon our own
All the busy little creatures
Chasing out their destinies
Living in their pools
They soon forget about the sea...
Neil Peart
Natural Science, 1980

Sometimes you can hear a song a hundred times and not really hear it. You know the tune and the words but that one time it suddenly hits you, "That's what it means." I've always loved the song Natural Science but I can distinctly remember the moment when the opening totally revealed itself to me. The music has a rolling sort of feeling as of the tides flowing in and out which fits the lyrics perfectly. I was on one of my drives to see my future wife, then fiance, from L.A. to San Diego. The song was rolling along with me and, while passing through Orange County, the freeway rose above a surface street which gave a startling view of the vast expanse of neighborhoods stretching in every direction. Right at that moment, Geddy sang:
"Living in their pools
They soon forget about the sea..."

I remember thinking that these are our pools but we're part of a much larger sea. People live and work in one area so it's easy to think that's all there is. We create labels and groups to make ourselves seem more important and better than others. I'm white, you're black. I'm rich, you're poor. I'm Christian, you're Muslim. I'm straight, you're gay. The old 1980s Straight Edge punk group, Youth of Today, said it best:

I used to think that labels were just symbols of pride
But over time I see they only serve to divide
Ray Cappo
Break Down the Walls, 1986

We keep ourselves divided as if admitting that people are just people somehow diminishes our own uniqueness. It's a hard pattern to break because, like religion, these views are reinforced by our sacred canopy. I have a friend who majored in Sociology that started me on the road to not labelling people. We were standing around at work one day and someone started a story about "this white guy" and my friend immediately interrupted, "Is that relevant to the story?" We were all kind of stunned because to describe people is so common that none of us caught it. The guy finished his story without really answering the question (it wasn't relevant to the story) and we went back to work. That moment always stayed with me. (Thanks, Marc.) Do I label people without realizing it? I'll have to drop those labels from my vernacular. This is not easy to do. This incident took place almost ten years ago and I still have to make a conscious effort when launching into a story because these labels are everywhere and most people use them. But I try. I suggest that we all try. We are all busy taking care of our own little worlds but don't forget that there's more out there. Even with all our differences, we're all human beings. People are people. Don't forget about the sea.