Dear President-Elect Trump:
I had never heard of an epiglottis. I was even more surprised to learn that I have one. I didn’t remember ever buying one, nor had I ever received one. But, it turns out that we all have an epiglottis. It’s a part of each of our bodies. That’s probably news to most, except for the doctors and the physiology whizzes among us.
The epiglottis is a flap made of elastic cartilage tissue that resides in the back of our tongues. It knows when to open and close, covering the larynx. When we eat or drink something, it closes so that we don’t fill our lungs with food or drink. When we’re not eating or drinking, it opens so that our lungs may receive air.
It’s one of the unsung heroes of our bodies. We can’t live without it. It’s every bit as important as any of the more visible components of our bodies that everyone knows about. Yet, there it is, day in and day out, never resting; always on call. If it doesn’t do its job, we won’t live long. It’s rare that an epiglottis doesn’t show up for work. Because of that, not many people get epiglottitis. That may be why most of us have never heard of it. But when people do get epiglottitis, they often die.
Ironically, George Washington is believed to have died from the failure of his epiglottis to function correctly. The British couldn’t kill George Washington, but his epiglottis did. It’s one of the crucial members of our bodily society.
Two days ago I wrote about Viktor Yushchenko, one of my Ukrainian heroes. As I said, he is a man you ought to know. He could help you a lot with a perspective that is perhaps different than what you’ve experienced with Russia. Yesterday, I wrote about Rafim, another of my Ukrainian heroes. There is only one Viktor Yushchenko. And there is only one Rafim. The former, everyone has heard of. The latter, no one has heard of.
A trap we fall into as people is that we believe that only the Viktor’s and not the Rafim’s are important to our society. Often, we believe that about ourselves. Visible, well-known citizens at times think that they are the most important among us. Conversely, the rarely seen but always doing members of our society tend to believe the message that what they do doesn’t matter.
How wrong we are when we view ourselves from either perspective. Like our bodies, we each function in a way that completes the whole. When a part of us doesn’t function, our society suffers. For that reason, we must find ways to nourish, build, and provide for each piece of us.
Maybe that is part of the answer to my question of two days ago. Who are we spiritually? We are each part of an interconnected system that is derived from a common spiritual source. That is our connection. That is why each of us is essential.
You’re President-Elect of the United States. You are the most visible among us. You are our head. But don’t forget about or neglect the epiglottis among us—those of us who function in unseen or unheralded jobs. We’re more likely to perish from neglecting the American whole, than from our visible enemies.
Sincerely,
David O. Leavitt
