The times they are a changin’
written by
July 11, 2007
I think most Americans would agree with that statement. However, I do find it interesting inasmuch as the different opinions in regards to if the changes are for the good, or for the worse.
I have heard recently, more than once, that the smart man is only recognized for the place he is at, and not the place he is going to, or the place he has been in the past. If that is true, I must confess I am coming from a place of sheer stupidity. Not unlike when I was a little boy walking in the farm fields of Indiana and my dad would always tell me, "Son, never pee into the wind."
As I watch a great nation decay from within I think back to a time I was taught that was an impossible scenario. I was told that our forefathers incorporated a series of checks and balances in our government and for that reason democracy could withstand anything. Now I find myself being inundated with lies told to me by my elected officials: Distortions that we are led to believe shows us a strength and pathway to our future.
President John F. Kennedy said, If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be no help. As time accelerates, especially when you reach my age, you begin to understand the gravity of that statement. If words are substituted to create the illusion of strength instead of character of actions and deeds, then I find myself having a difficult time recognizing that democracy is the overwhelming answer for people to enjoy their life to the fullest.
I grew up with the understanding that democracy required participation for it to work to benefit all of us. When people are elected to office with only a narrow majority of less than half of the eligible voters there is a breakdown in the system. The decay of democracy is only symptomatic of the people that live in it; the mentality of drinking a six pack of beer and then urinating into the wind, (with the proviso that ESPN I and II are still available) does not mean all things are equal.
Hence my dilemma—are we literally so stupid, so caught up with the greed of what we have we can not turn around. Stop listening to the rhetoric, simply watch our leaders’ actions and then vote for what is best for our nation . . . and not the few who are considered “smart” by having figured out how to use the system. Perhaps it is time to stop acting stupid, but act with character. Don’t pee into the wind, regardless of what you are watching, because you just might find yourself urinating on your own country.
