This well-known phrase is often assigned to Patrick Henry in his 1799 speech urging against dissenting factions that could have torn apart the fragile union of the United States of America. The phrase, however, existed long before Henry uttered those words as it was found as far back as Aesop’s Fables in “The Four Oxen and the Lion.” In the fable, the four oxen grazed in a pasture, and every time the lion would near, it would be met by the horns of at least one ox. The lion could not sneak up as one ox was always ready while the others grazed. The oxen survived for a long time until they began to quarrel moving to separate corners of the field.
Sure enough, the lion destroyed each ox one at a time.
We would be hard-pressed to find anyone who would dispute those sage words of “united we stand; divided we fall” whether heard from a football coach, a sergeant, or even the father of a family. We know and believe in synergy which means that the whole or result is greater than the sum of the individual parts. In other words, working together/collaborating will achieve more than what individuals working alone could achieve.
Thomas “Cookie” Marsh could not have written Black and White Like You and Me by himself. I could not have written it by myself. As I say, “No Cook, no book.” Cookie and I could not have written it without the help of Spider Daniels and Derek Palm. Take a moment to think about how even the smallest accomplishments rely on a collaborative effort. Much easier and less frustrating to have someone help you put the barbecue grill together or the new crib for the baby.
If we all agree and have understood this from time immemorial, then why do we act like the four oxen literally destroying ourselves. It does not take much effort to see the divisiveness that works against all of us daily.
Please join our movement: blacks and whites united. Haven’t we fallen enough? Christ fell three times carrying his cross until Simon of Cyrene helped him. Do we have any Simons out there to help all of us stand?
