Building a Nation

Have you ever played Jenga Blocks? Players take turns pulling or remove a block from a tower built at the beginning of the game and stack it on top of the tower. The tower becomes increasing taller and more unstable. The game is over when a player knocks the tower over after removing a block or knocks the tower over placing the block on top of the swaying unstable tower.

For the past couple of days, my son Domenick has engaged in a different sort of Jenga. He has been building structures, buildings, and what I think...look like palaces. It's been wonderful to see what he has come up with. He hasn't said it but I think he's building for the sheer beauty of it. He's building for the opportunity to create something, not knock something down. I hope more of tomorrow's leaders think this way.

And by the way, jenga is the imperative form of kujenga, the Swahili verb "to build."