Of Pigs and Pearls

A few years ago, I toyed with the idea of participating in a local group blogging effort. This group (which never got off the ground), would focus primarily on politics at both the national and state level. Part of the reason I ended up declining the opportunity had to do with the lack of time in my schedule. To be of value and interest, a political blog needs to be up-to-the-minute and current with the day's events. I knew that I could never devote the time necessary, and honestly, why bother when there are several quality political blogs already out there encompassing all points of view. Indeed, it is daily reading for me, and anything I would end up posting would ultimately point back to what someone else already said. My posts may occasionally touch on the political, but rather than diving into the fever swamps, I would rather attempt to try to put things in a broader context of what events say about us, our history, and our future as a society. I make no apologies for being independent, quasi-libertarian, fiscally conservative, pro-life, and anti-death penalty in my views.

I confess to being absolutely stunned by what we are witnessing in our Nation's Capitol. Congress is running at a fever pitch to pass bills they haven't read, spellchecked, or analyzed. With seemingly no thought for the consequences to our economy and our standard of living, they seem to be driving recklessly headlong into a fiscal nightmare. Our government is binging on power and money, the future be damned. Where is the wise leadership, the thoughtful deliberation of solutions for real problems, honest but respectful debate? If one political party is to control all arenas of government, you would think they'd want to make wise decisions with thought to the future in order to maintain that trust indefinitely. What is the hurry, unless they truly fear the debate and/or revelation of an unpopular agenda? The voices out there are warning of socialism and the sort, but I'm not ready to jump off that cliff and presume I know their intentions. America's ultimate decline is inevitable - that's the history of human civilization - but right now I sense we have the foot on the gas pedal trying to accelerate the outcome.

Is there no one interested in knowing and understanding the truth? Basic logic, common sense and knowledge seem to be lacking - spend money to keep from going bankrupt? What is that all about? And the majority of folks don't seem to care. They remain oblivious, or maybe resigned to whatever happens. People have gone to the race, they've picked their horse, and no amount of reason or argument will get them to think with an open mind. They will stay with that horse until they decide they want a new one. The system is so tainted and so cynical, it’s a wonder that there are any genuine, authentic people at all serving in public office. And despite the saturation of political coverage in last year's campaign, the genuine excitement in some quarters and genuine dread in others - I get the feeling that the masses are largely ignoring it all. Until it touches them personally - and eventually a bad economy will touch everybody - they are going to continue to tune it out. And even then, few will educate themselves on the issues sufficiently enough to have a well-informed opinion. Because in our American Idol culture, it’s all about the personalities.

I know America will continue for decades to come. Our history has demonstrated periods of national angst and social upheaval before. For my generation, maybe we're due for a major downturn to shake us out of our comforts. But for all its predictability, I remain amazed at our capacity for self-destructive behavior and ignorance. To coin the phrase - the truth is out there. But it's falling on deaf ears.