On Flush and Flow

The speaker that night had been a politician.  He had been impressive on TV. Now he seemed happy but weary.  

He said, “I used to stay up all night thinking about my vote on a bill. What was best for the folks back home? For my party? For the whole country? For the future?”

 “Long story short,” he continued, “I started drinking in my office at night just to relax.  Two years later I was sitting on the edge of a fountain, drinking my dinner of whiskey and Coke from a Burger King cup.  I fell backward into the fountain. I threw up my fries. Somebody snapped a picture.  I tried to take their phone. The DC cops were called.

“I served out my term and didn’t run for re-election.  Looking back, it would have been so much easier to go with the flow -- check the polls or ask donors how to vote.” 

A pained look crossed his face. “It’s always easier to go with the flow.  Unfortunately, the flow starts when you flush something good down the drain, like your integrity or happiness.”

I thought about people who had to go against the flow to be happy. Some had to not drink in a drinking culture.  A woman I knew had to get a divorce both families opposed. Another married a man of a different religion. Her family cut ties to her.  Without whistleblowers, so much unethical behavior would flow unchecked.

Today I may have to not go with the flow.

Dogged Determination ©2018 & 2019 by Ken Montrose

Dogged Determination is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com https://www.pinterest.com/kenmontrose/mt-rose/