A long, long time ago, in a small village, everyone worked, and everyone had what they needed. When a neighbor fell on hard times—maybe they got injured or just couldn’t work anymore—the village pulled together. No one questioned it. Helping each other wasn’t a debate or a policy—it was just what people did. That was community. That was love in motion.

But then one day, the king rolled into town. He saw that the people had enough to share and figured, “If they have extra, they can give more to me.” And just like that, everyone fell on hard times. Suddenly, everyone had less. And as they struggled to get by, they started resenting the very people they used to help. Not because they stopped caring, but because the system made it such that they couldn’t afford to.

And maybe the lesson here isn’t about kings or taxes, but about not forgetting who we are. We’ve always been at our best when we take care of each other—not because we’re told to, but because we want to. That spirit is still in us. We just have to remember.