The most to lose

In a Season 10 M*A*S*H episode, Wheelers and Dealers, B.J. is beside himself. His wife had to take a little job to help pay the mortgage. B.J.’s response? He goes on a gambling bender, taking out his frustration on anyone he can hustle.

When Hawkeye and Margaret intervene, B.J. complains yet again about being away from his family.

It’s Margaret, who longs for true love and family, who snaps him out of the pity-party.

“Maybe you do have the most to lose,” she says through gritted teeth. “But that’s only because you’ve got the most.”

Go, Margaret!

About that same time, Ana was pretty little, and her older siblings started to go off on their own. They moved away and we saw them less and less. It was hard for a little one to understand.

I remember one particularly hard “goodbye.” Rene was returning to California and we knew it would be quite a while before we saw her again.

Ana was fighting back tears. “Why does everybody have to live so far away?”

Okay, Mom. How do you answer this one? “Well, if we didn’t have such a big family – and if we didn’t love them all so much – I guess, we wouldn’t have this feeling.”

Huh.

So because we have it good, we have it bad, too. Kind of an unwelcome balance.

Fast forward. Election year, 2016.

We hear a lot about what people think they are entitled to and what people believe they are losing. We hear about rights and discrimination. About what you have and I don’t. About you vs. me.

I will be the first to admit that I avoid politics and just about anything controversial (as well as horror movies and anything creepy, like spiders). But this isn’t about politics or controversy.

It’s about how much we fear we may lose. Or how much someone else has that we want…rights, freedom, protection, permission.

When I really look at the condition of the world – over there, right here, next door, north or south – oh, good golly, Miss Molly…

I am humbled by how much I have – how much we all have … rights, freedom, protection, permission.

And a little ashamed of how we freak out when there is a threat of losing even a little of it.

Maybe we do have the most to lose…

But it’s only because we have the most.

We’ve been told about this, about what to expect. Here’s a refresher…