Celebrating Denial

Once again the seasonal holidays have arrived all too quickly. Many of us groan at the thought. Here we go again! We run to keep up the pace so as not to be swept asunder mankind’s marching advance.

Each year we’re a little older, and seemingly less prepared. As a nation, we seem less tolerant, and willing to reflect upon what has gotten us here. We recede to our homes, and whisper quiet thanks to our families. We no longer shout from the mountain tops about those things that have made us a beacon for the world

The common sense of “community” is slowly being abandoned in favor of “the self” Profit, seems to be top priority while our very laws are abandoned and perverted. We’ve begun to lose our souls.

The truth is that “actions speak louder than words”. Latter day American history has found us removing the underpinning of the nation’s Christianity. We no longer allow prayer in schools, nor humility toward something greater than ourselves. We forget to place our hand on our hearts during the National Anthem, and we prefer to use our military protectors as political pawns rather than recognize them as true heroes. We certainly have not accorded veterans the proper status in the more than 30 years. One look at any V.A. hospital will tell you all you need to know about our priorities.

Rather than protecting the rights of the minority, the hardening hearts in America are dictating law to the majority. Could revolution be far behind? We have lost our way. The very things that allowed this country to be strong for nearly 200 years are under attack, and systematically being dismantled. The slow water torture, drip, drip, drip we hear is our life blood being drained. What is worse is that we are inflicting the wounds upon ourselves.

Yes, we still celebrate Thanksgiving just like the pilgrims did. We were fairly puritanical and religious in the 1600’s. Today, the folks who made nice with Native American’s during that first feast would scarcely recognize their own country for its holy abandonment.

Christmas is a target. The idea of even calling December holidays “Christmas time” is offensive to some people. An attempt to secularize the nations institutions and traditions has been mobilized, but in doing so its supporters weaken the national foundation. We celebrate our holidays merely as time away from toil, instead of cherishing those days for what they really mean.

We don’t want to be reminded of the true meaning of Thanksgiving or Christmas. That would involve admitting to our own narcissism. Unfortunately, we can’t even identify how offensive we are to our founding constitutional tenants. The constitutional right exists to freely practice religion, not to curtail it. Thusly in rewriting the past we do a great disservice to those who will follow us. So gluttonous are we that we are about to choke on our own freedom. We fashion idols to the contemptible, and revere the truth less and less.

The first step on a road to recovery is to recognize the problem. We are still in denial over these suicidal tendencies. Unless we admit the errors, we are likely to falter and ultimately perish. The ash-heap of history is replete with other empires and paradises that disappeared because mankind wanted the one fruit that would harm it, instead of the many which will nurture. It’s time to redeem ourselves. Step out of the denial, and set a course of action to make us a great nation once again. Then we will truly have something to celebrate.

None of the Above!

Hollywood writers have gone on strike! Now some of our favorite television shows will be on hiatus. If this goes on too long, we’ll be forced to watch stale reruns endlessly. It’ll be like observing another Presidential election campaign.

We’re a full year away from the next election, and the gloves are off. Democrats are attacking the front runner, and so are the Republicans. Can there be any doubt that the recent hoopla over “the boys’” attack on Mrs. Clinton after the last Democratic debate is anything more than calculated political marketing by the Clinton machine?

For that matter suspicions abound regarding Bernard Kerik’s recent incitement on corruption charges. Is this the 1990’s again? It hints of the Clinton White House “Character Assassination by Association” routine. Mr. Kerik was hired by Rudy Giuliani; Mrs. Clinton’s likely rival in the general election. What better issues to use to try and wound Giuliani in the Republican primary. He’s the only one who has a shot at beating Mrs. Clinton. If they can get Giuliani out of the way now by denying him the Republican nomination, then it’s “First Gent Bill” in the Lincoln bedroom all over again.

It is not that Kerik may be guilty; it is the scent around the the indictment, and its timing. America spent eight years under the Clinton’s seeing their Nixonian method of operations. It is amazing that they are so like Nixon, and yet so revered in comparison by the political left. The country has become even more disenfranchised under the Bush administration. The folks outside of those corrupted by Washington’s lure of power, want some honesty.

Everything that is wrong in this country is brought to light in a Presidential election. The backstabbing, the conniving, the inability to live and let live with those of a different opinion are laid bare. Truthfully though, this country is better than that. It lives with fair morals outside of politics and the way media portrays it. In political and media circles, everyone is racist, sexist, homophobic, and greedy; especially if those messages enhance someone’s political chances of landing in a seat of power.

American’s love their system and culture. They feel ashamed however, to be associated with the way it is being used, and the people who are attracted to it. In the election process, what is being trampled under the bus is the populous. Regardless of which party lands in power, the citizens are the losers.

It is time for the population to inflict its will on the politicians. It is time to list the phrase “none of the above” on our voting ballots. When we elect “no one” to power, then those losers standing with their gaping mouths open will understand that even “no one” is a preferable choice to their tainted values. When “nobody” is better than "anybody", a real dialogue can begin between politicians and the population.

So the next year might be very interesting for politics watchers. For all of the hoopla though, the discourse will be as much of a waste as the hot air congress spews. The vast majority of the electorate won’t be paying attention, or really deciding who they will vote for the next eleven months. Until then, we are left to the spinners, media outlets with particular agendas, and the machine’s that some candidates bring to the table. Basically it is reruns of the last thirty years. We’ve seen this show, turn the channel and let’s see what else is on! We need a petition to get “none of the above” onto ballots in next year’s election.

Since Hollywood writers went on strike, I’m willing to donate my talent and take credit as a scab for that new literature to appear on ballots. Come to think about it, since Hollywood writers are not working, how much could it possibly cost to persuade political candidate writer’s to go on strike in sympathy? About a year’s walk-out is all we need. Without their pupopet masters, the candidates won’t have anything to say (not that they say much of use anyway). That sounds like a breath of fresh air coming from the political scene. Afterward, the population can do its own talking by voting for “none of the above.”