POLITICS, A NON-SHOOTING WAR–But War Nonetheless
We now have two announced candidates for President, with more waiting in the wings. A colleague and I were discussing politics over lunch the other day and we agreed that the GOP (the Grand Old Party) was placing too much emphasis on the “Old” and forgetting about the “Grand”. So, when did this stressing the “Old” come about? We decided that, somewhere right after the American Civil War (which some call “The War Between The States”) and the influx of Yankee carpet-baggers into the South was when it started. In the years since, the distance between the two major political parties, seemed to grow wider. I remember my father, a staunch Democrat, saying that the Republicans were the party of big business and the Democrats were the party of the people…and I believed that, for a long time.
When, in 2009, the current occupant of the White House was elected, with a background so murky that no one could see anything, it became evident to me that things were changing, and it didn’t look like it would be for the better. I changed my affiliation right about then, and never looked back or tried to second-guess my decision. The party of big business was now the Democrats and the party of the people was now the Republican.
The saying that politics makes strange bedfellows has been brought home to me time and time again since then. Perhaps they should listen to a favorite Latin quote “Non sibi, sed patriae” which translates to “not self, but country”. Maybe there’s too many career politicians…and one would be too many, I think.
Having visited Washington, DC many times, the contrast between the central area of the district and the suburbs never fails to amaze me. In the half-mile or so surrounding the White House, it’s all prim and proper, the streets are clean and the people are mostly law-abiding. Get outside of that comfort zone and there is a stark change. There are actual slums in the district, and all sorts of people in the streets…homeless, beggars, and even foreigners. The various embassies along what some call “Embassy Row” usually have people out front, either protesting something or other, or they want to get in for a visa or protection.
For an architect the district is a wonderful place because there is a plethora of different types of architecture…at least to my untrained eye. I’ve seen homes that resembled Southern ante-bellum mansions, some New England Salt Boxes and even Ranch homes. That’s about the extent of my architectural knowledge, and there’s much more.
The district has some of the most draconian gun laws in the country…but it also has a high crime rate. It may not be the crime capitol of America at this point, but I’ll bet it’s pretty close. Some folks that lived in the district, and were gun owners and collectors, told me that the police could come to your house and ask to see your guns and if they were not already registered, they registered them on the spot. So, immediately your Second Amendment right was being disturbed (and that’s using a loose term), and my friend said that “back in the bad old days” guns could be confiscated for any, or no, reason, on the spot and you might have to buy them back in the form of an exorbitant fine. Also, then the DC police knew where you, and your guns, were, if they wanted to come and get them.
Someone sent me a new meaning for the acronym POTUS which stands for President Of The United States. They claim that POTUS could now stand for Piece Of Totally Useless S**t. Sounds logical to me. Why in the world are the candidates for President not vetted, by anyone it seems, when the ones appointed to this job or that, are thoroughly looked at by Congress? I don’t get it. Even now, in the last year and a half of his term, we still don’t know much about the current imposter-in-chief. Oh wait, this was supposed to be non-political…somewhat.
At a supper the other evening someone was rash enough to ask the question “Do we know, for sure, that Obama actually attended any of the colleges or universities, much less graduated from them?” We all looked at each other because no one knew the answer to that. In an age when you can go online and in a matter of minutes find out pretty much everything you ever wanted to know about someone…he remains The Prince of Darkness.
It will be interesting to see the various candidates as they inch toward the nomination, on both sides of the aisle. Mrs. Clinton seems to be the anointed one in her party, but the Republicans will be busy devouring each other until one is left standing. That one may, or may not, be the right one, or the one that the public actually wants. More and more this has become a big, nay, HUGE, money game, and the office of the President is actually for sale to the highest bidder…more or less. One might compare the political process of this country to a war, albeit a non-shooting war, but a war nevertheless…and in war the first casualty is The Truth.
Larry Usoff, US Navy Retired www.AirHumanityRadio.net
Image: http://www.paralegalalliance.com/paralegals-guide-to-surviving-office-politics/