Posted by
Gar on Friday, November 14, 2008 5:16:38 PM
But on the other hand, being a rabidly conservative sort of person. Life is fun.
The study which was reported on a few weeks ago about the differences between Liberal (angst filled) Americans and Conservative (mostly happy) Americans is utterly a truism today.
The political outlook for the nation as a whole has been bleak for the past eight years with a RINO POTUS in place and now with a sneaky Socialist about to take over.... damn!
But there is a great deal to be thankful for still and much to be not sad about.
Politics wears down the souls of all who enter it. The compromises, the back room deals, the shady underhanded blathering and nonsense parties to make appearances at.
All of that conspires to create a false sense of reality. Those who enter and remain in politics sooner or later will find themselves living in a bubble of sorts. A metaphysical bubble which is impossible to escape, since they don't know they exist in it.
Those who succeed at politics will soon find the common folk to be unworthy of notice, and truly mundane in their approach to life.
The common folk being engrossed in the trivialities of life in a way the average politician can no longer imagine. The common folk must do their own shopping, pick up their own dry-cleaning. Take the kids to school or drive themselves to work.
The average politician on the other hand, has an aide or staff person or intern to do all of the unimportant business of life.
And that is where they lose contact with the people they are sworn to represent.
They don't have time to find out what the clerk at the dry-cleaner thinks about the newest, latest and greatest tax plan, stimulus plan or even how that clerk feels about the security of their family in a world seemingly always on the brink of all out war.
The average politician doesn't have a chance to listen to the last minute fears of a first grader going to the class where the class bully is waiting in the hallway or where the first puppy love focus of her heart is waiting in the hallway before reading class.
The average politician by the act of being a politician becomes unsuited for the job they hold as a sacred trust to the people they serve.
When, not if, a person is so out of touch with the people they serve they can no longer connect in a meaningful way to be able to understand what most concerns the people they govern, it is time to step down. The problem with that picture is the addiction to power.
Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. (
Baron John Acton 1834-1902)
The idea of leaving the seats of power whether local, state or federal would rarely enter the mind of the common politician. And I do believe most of them are very common.
With the loss of ones seat of power in government, they lose the 'respect' of the common man. They must perforce perform all sorts of functions which they've not been in the habit of even noticing, not to mention scheduling time for.
The concept of a lifelong politician in the last election was given both a positive slant (Biden) and a negative slant(McCain).
The real battle for the office of President was not won in the debates or even in the stump speeches, the election was won in the same manner the primary for the Dem side was won. By smart , tactical decisions being made in the advertising and packaging of a candidate who would not likely pass muster if all of his blemishes were made known.
Was Frank Marshall in Hawaii a defining influence on a young skull full of mush?
Was/Is Obama a native born citiizen? No one really knows.
Was he heavily influenced by the Radical domestic Terroriust Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dhorn, again no one knows.
Did he or did he not sit through a countless number of Black Liberation Theology sermons by the Rev Jeremiah Wright, mumbling catch phrases of "I Hate Whitey!" "God is Black or we don't need Him" We're unlikely to ever find out now.
This nation has bought a
pig in a poke , only time will tell what type of animal is going to jump out when we untie the poke (bag)
But for the time being - Life is good, the stock market is down, up, down, sideways and down again but life remains and this nation remains for the time being one of the most blessed nations on the face of the planet.
When all we can cry about is our latte being to hot or not hot enough we don't have much to cry about.
When we have our children to laugh with and maybe even grandkids to spoil, we don't have much to cry about.
When we can live our lives in relative freedom still, we don't have much to cry about.
When we can jump on a plane and go to Hawaii for a week and play in the ocean, lay on the beach and climb a volcano, we don't have much to cry about.
Life is Good, try to keep that in mind the next time you feel compelled to watch the next President or one of the CONgressional New American Aristocracy tell us how bad things are.
It could always be worse, you could have elected Bill Ayers to be President.