Help Me Finish This Story

I need your help.
I've been working on this story (off and on) for a couple of weeks now. The trouble is, I can't seem to decide how to end it.
Let me clarify.
This story is called Jumprope Politics. As you read, you'll notice it's a rather obvious allegory for the polarization occurring in the United States political system. The trouble I'm having with ending it is that I am torn between the boys (gov't) being remorseful for their actions or being sly and snide, continuing to plot further antics. They seem shy at first, but that's because they've just been busted.  Are they really sorry or thieving punks just waiting for the adults to leave them to their plotting and selfish endeavors once more?
I'm torn between what I think is realistic and what I hope for.
So, finish my story!
Write your own ending! (Use the comment section)
I'll pick one, and maybe there can be a prize of some sort. A printed and bound version of it or something. Or coffee or beer or something. You know, whatever. :)
Tell your friends! Let's have fun with this!
Here is the story. Pick up where I end.

Despite recess ending over an hour before, two oversized 4th graders from Washington Elementary remained fixed at their game. Billy Clifton and Georgie Baum each pulled mightily from either end of a purple nylon jump rope that was showing extensive wear near its middle. Hidden behind the bushes, they had evaded their teacher, Mr. Samson, as he marched the remaining student body back into the classroom. As their peers sweated over fractions, beads of perspiration formed a crown round each boy’s head as he kept his feet firmly planted, angled his body near parallel to the ground, and insisted through clenched teeth that he would not surrender.

Finally the rope snapped in two, sending Billy and Georgie soaring through the air, each landing with a great thud on the ground.  Holding back tears, each boy slowly pushed himself up from the soil. Georgie’s knee oozed a small stream of blood, Billy’s elbow began to develop an instant bruise.

“You big dumb smelly ass, Billy! I’m telling Principal Burgher you made me bleed!”

“Oooh, I’m really scared!” Billy retorted. “Go ahead, Dumbo! If you weren’t so fat, you wouldn’ta broke the rope.”

At this, Georgie lunged and seized Billy by the shirtsleeve pulling him to the ground once more. Entwined, each boy did his best to bring his fist to his opponent’s torso as they writhed and flopped in the playground dust.

“That’s enough, boys!” boomed Mr. Samson’s voice as he pulled the still swinging boys from each other’s grasps.  Holding them at arm’s length, Mr. Samson escorted the duo to their awaiting principal a few feet away. She did not look pleased. He left them to her stare and made his way back into the school.

The boys stood at her feet, Georgie digging his foot into the dirt, Billy suddenly fascinated by his fingernails.

“Sit.”

 Ms. Burgher spoke quietly, but sternly and with great authority. Georgie and Billy quickly took their place on the hard ground, eyes studying the soil beneath them. Dry and cracked, ants scrambled in and out of the crevasses and both boys felt just as small. Surely it was only a matter of time before Ms. Burgher would bring out a magnifying glass and let the sun do its work. They braced themselves for the scolding that was sure to come.

But Ms. Burgher did not speak.

She simply stood, one half of the rope dangling from each hand. Its once brilliant purple fibers now muddied and ruined. She laid each broken piece in front of each of them.  Billy and Georgie shifted uncomfortably, unsure what action to take. Should they speak? Should they continue to wait? The longer Ms. Burgher’s eyes bored into them, the more impossible to stay still.

It was then that Mr. Samson re-emerged from the school; a small girl clutched his hand as he led her toward them. Her face was smudged with dirt and grime, clean streaks present only from the tears that had cleansed away the filth. Her dress had at one time been lavender, soft and lovely, but was now a dull sort of grey. The dingy lace collar clung on by a few scarce threads here and there. Her knees showed dried scabs and mosquito bites. Her toes were evident through shoes too small. Her hair hung stringy and greasy in her eyes as she stared at the dirt below.

“I believe the two of you have something that belongs to Susie, is that true?” Ms. Burgher asked.

Georgie and Billy nodded their heads.

“And how did the two of you come to be in possession of Susie’s new jumprope?”

Several moments passed before Billy finally managed to squeak out the words, “We took it from her.”

“I see,” said Ms. Burgher. “And what reason do you have for taking this little girl’s toy? This is the only toy she has, and she brought it to share with her schoolmates. You, boys, have now not only robbed Susie of her brand new jump rope, but have ruined the opportunity for others to play as well. What have you to say for yourselves?"

DC Dreamin'

This is what happens on the tail end of an overnight shift, mere hours before departing for the first leg of vacation to the East Coast,Washington DC, included. The beginnings of a story from the over active imagination of a small town girl soon to be roamin' the big city. (I'm great at starting stories, shite at finishing them. I'm pretty sure I have what I've dubbed "Writer's ADD," or probably just ADD in general.) I'll just toss the Flash Fiction label on it and call it done?

"Yep. This seems about right."These were the last words to pass through Thomas' mind before he expired. A gunshot wound to the chest has a tendency to have that effect. Though he couldn't quite be sure, what with his dying and all, it appeared to him that the only car passing by just then was a shiny black sedan,the darkly tinted window scrolling up as it turned the corner.It was merely days before his 26th birthday and he found himself on the steps of the United States capitol; the building that plays host to the civil servants working roughly 58% of the year to make the country a brighter place. Generally a peaceful bystander of American politics, the direction his country was moving (he pictured a rope fraying in the middle as it was pulled harder and harder by either side, its fibers nearly ready to give way) made him both uneasy and motivated.He had been standing ther alone, in silent protest, peacefully holding aloft a simple sign he'd made from tag board and construction papered letters. Across a hand drawn picture of his imagined rope, taut at both ends, perilously frayed in the center, he'd pasted the words
POLARIZATION IS DESTROYING THE NATION
As he sat there isolated on the chilly steps, munching an apple with one hand, holding the sign with the other, the only accomplishment he was shooting for that day was for passersby and capitol entrants to digest the message so dear to his heart.Apparently, message received.

Citizen's Duty

I generally try to stay away from writing about politics. But today, I heard some news that was the straw that broke the camel's back. I wrote a post earlier this year about the polarization I see occurring in all different avenues in the USA. This evening, it came to my attention via the news that should the democrats and republicans not be able to reach a compromise, the federal government may simply  "shutdown." Now, I understand that this would be temporary, but the fact that such a drastic measure could happen is devastating. So, for the first time in my life, I wrote a letter to the South Dakota Senator, John Thune. (Actually, in high school I had to write to a senator, but that was for a grade in American Government class) Here then, is that letter:

Dear Senator Thune,

            I know that you most likely get hoards of letters daily, and regarding the upcoming spending bill, which has gained much press as of late, I’m sure you’ve already heard countless opinions. However, I am not writing to you pleading for your vote one way or another regarding the upcoming spending bill. Generally, I’m fine with your decision either way, so long as something gets done. Honestly, you’re one of the few politicians I have any real respect for these days anyway, whether I agree with your policies or not. What I am writing about is the result of the potential “shutdown” of the federal government that may occur simply because those we’ve chosen to speak for us refuse to find common ground. I understand that an outcome of this magnitude is certainly a last resort, but should it occur, it will only serve as further degradation of the citizens of the United States. We, the hard working American people have entrusted you (collectively, in Washington) to govern us fairly. We should not be made to suffer the consequences which result from those who claim to represent us fighting like spoiled school children. Yet, this is precisely the effect of such unbalanced polarization I continue to see in Washington.

            Political polarization is destroying the nation. I implore you, please, to remember and remind your colleagues that before anyone in Washington is Democrat or Republican, they are first fellow human beings and fellow citizens of the United States of America. These battle lines that both parties continue to draw MUST be erased. America has become a fraying rope, with both parties pulling so strongly on opposite sides, that it is only a matter of time before the fibers give way, the rope snaps, and everyone is lying face down in the mud. 

I consider it a great privilege that I live in a country where I can write our leaders letters in which I can openly and freely express my opinions without fear of threat.  I am thankful that currently, I am allowed to send this letter, whether it will be read by you directly or not. I know that no matter what happens in Washington, there are millions around the globe who are dying simply for crying out for the right to speak their mind. However, if we as Americans continue to segregate ourselves (following our leaders’ examples), I fear our fate may be no different.

Thank you for your time. I’ll be in Washington in April. It would be fantastic to grab some coffee, sort some stuff out, and together plead our case for keeping these States of America United.

Sincerely,

Melisa G.

Gandhi, Obama, and the Body of Christ

While it will most likely be January 13 when this is published, it is currently January 12 at the time of writing. Normally not a notable detail, however what I am writing about this evening entails events which occurred on January 12...2011 and 1948.  At least, those events will be the jumping off point. (Stuff happened on some other days, too, but, you know...whatever) We'll see where this ends up.

(Um, that being said, it should be made known that pretty much everything on this blog is a rough draft. I don't really edit or revise much. One of my main points in keeping this blog is simply to get myself generating material, keeping my writing brushed up on and the creative juices flowing.)

On January 12, 1948 Gandhi began his "last successful fast" meant to persuade Muslim's and Hindu's in New Dehli to work with one another toward peace. Despite being Hindu, he seemed to get Jesus' meaning of loving folks and is even rumored to have read the Sermon on the Mount nearly every morning. 

On January 12, 2011, US President Barack Obama addressed the nation at the memorial of those whose lives were lost in Arizona this last Saturday. Obama said something that has been on my mind for quite some time. He said, 

...at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized; at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who happen to think differently than we do, it's important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds.

Whatever your views of President Obama may be, and I know they are varied, and whatever sincerity or insincerity you attribute to this statement, I'm going to take that statement at face value and run with it. Not because President Obama said it, but because it is true. 

It was the word "polarized" that caught my attention, and it isn't solely to politics that I used that word in reference. It's true that polarization finds a fitting home in politics, and that issue crossed my mind. However, polarization has found it's way into the one place it has absolutely no right to be, and that is in the Christian Church; what is supposed to be the united Body of Christ. In fact, it seems because polarization is so at home in politics, it has been allowed to ooze into the Body. Rather than "separation of church and state" we are simply ending up with "Separation of Church." (Church. Capital C. The one meaning every single one of us in the whole entire world who have professed faith in Jesus Christ.) 

Both the United States of America and the United Body of Christ are nearing the point in which "United" could simply be stricken from their names. Democrat. Republican. Fox News. CNN. Red. Blue. Beck. Cooper. Conservative. Liberal. Catholic. Protestant. Evangelical. Emergent. I could go on. These are the labels that we allow to rule our lives and in turn separate us from one another. So many of us are convinced that the other guy has it all wrong, when, whoa! Reality Check...

WE'RE ALL WRONG!!
Wasn't that the point of needing a savior anyway? "For all have sinned..." Emphasis word "all." I'm sick of being in the middle of friends and family consistently bashing the other side. Through the course of conversations, had I taken what was being said and applied it to people I know personally,  I've heard my friends and loved ones be called "communists, bastards, assholes, naive, tree-huggers, biased, bigoted, uneducated, bible-thumpers, destined for hell, narrow-minded..." Well, you get the idea. And yeah, I've heard those pseudonym's come from professing Christians as well as professing atheists and humanists. I've been known to use a few of them myself, I suppose. 

I don't know. I wasn't there when he said it, but I'm pretty sure that's not what Christ meant when he said both "love your neighbor" and "love your enemy." 

So...I don't know where to go from here. People are set in their ways and will continue to watch one news channel over another, claiming the other is biased. Liberals will be liberals. Conservatives conservatives. Writing this has lead me to despair, the hope for unity perhaps too far to be grasped. It seems so simple to just say "get over it, love each other." I pray that our words as Christians become words of healing, no longer of wounding, for more often than not, it's only ourselves that we maim. I'm not really sure why that's hard. Are we that threatened by people who think differently than us that we either curse them or avoid them? Is there a place for conversation between two sides without one side getting offended or the other side getting riled?

Oh.

I guess it's probably at the foot of the Cross.

But, I don't spend very much time there. 

Maybe we can all meet there? In humility? Political and Religious agendas aside? And find commonality in our human-ness and just love and be loved by a savior? 

But, how do we do that, in a real life setting? If you have any ideas of how we can take this polarization thing and send it packing to the darkest pits of hell and instead, work on this unity thing, either as Christians or Americans, (no, they don't go hand in hand) your suggestions are more than appreciated. Frankly, I'm at a loss. Idealism occasionally gets the best of me.