What Kind of Nation Do You Want?

I watched the Clint Eastwood "Halftime In America" talk (commercial?) during the Super Bowl, and I was impressed. It was well done and a sentiment few could argue with (I thought). So knock me over with a feather when I find out this pep talk to America is controversial!

I don't know about you, but I've about had it with all the manufactured "contROVEry out there.

• I've had it with the name calling
• I'm done with the vilifying 
• I'm turning off the "I'm offended" people
• Not listening to the couple of dozen 'pundits' who rake in millions dividing US.

The folks that interest me are the people interested in finding solutions to problems that are going to work for the most people. I want to hear from people that understand that politics IS the art of compromise.
I've been studying up on my history folks, and much of it is not a pretty picture. Large numbers of people oppressing or killing large numbers of people for reasons that sound pretty stupid (once you take the ego out of it).

Empires crumble from within because of the elements we are seeing on a daily basis now. When this happens, EVERYBODY LOSES.

If our professional leaders can't do their job, it is up to us to lead the way. Come on, try to go a whole day without calling anyone an unflattering name. Go a whole day NOT jumping to conclusion about someone's motives. If you don't make it, start all over the next day. Get some friends to join you.

There is a political group called the Coffee Party, from what I've seen, they seem pretty reasonable. We have to take back civility, be the example those at the "Top" need to follow.   

America Is...

During a period of sleeplessness, when many things that have been floating around in my head come up, links sometimes click into place and I get an aha! moment.

I have been staying away from the political fray lately, earlier last year, I got enough of it to understand how little my voice means to Washington or even Austin politicians. But these movements still fascinate me, like the Tea Party folks. I heard one spokesperson that was articulate enough that I could follow her train of thought, and that led to a couple of conclusions.

All the pushback and fear around concepts like Socialism, Welfare, Universal Health Care, Taxes, suddenly made a bit of sense to me... When I understood her view of the world:

America is a place where there are winners and losers; the winners deserve to win, the losers deserve to lose. This, in a nut shell is their definition of our country.

It caused me to remember Bishop Carlton Pearson, a preacher who built a huge following and religious institution around the traditional theology of "God loves me, but you're going to hell".
Bishop Pearson had an awakening one day when God informed him nothing of the sort was going on, all his children were on his 'saved' list, and that was that.

Thrilled and excited, the preacher brought this news to his congregation who (like the tea party folks) were less than happy to hear about universal salvation. As in ages past, I suppose many people have a mental list of who's going to hell, and they don't want that list disturbed. Something like 95% of his congregation denounced him and moved on (to someplace where "we're saved, and THEY are not").

I don't know how they square that with an image of the Almighty being identical to the program at a German death camp in the 1930's.

The Family Sedan

My earliest memories of family life was traveling around town in the family sedan. This was a daily ritual, as it seemed we always had to drive somewhere across town. Father in the drivers seat, Mother beside him, us kids in the back. That is one of my clearest memories of childhood; all of us in the car, driving across town a for bite to eat, grocery shopping, meeting someone up somewhere... As we kids got older, we started to call "shotgun" whenever we could, no longer satisfied to sit in the back seat. As kids became licenced drivers, we looked for the opportunity to sharpen our skills every chance we got. Meaning a parent would scoot over and let us try taking the wheel. Eventually, we left home to start our lives, and on return, the kids began to do more of the driving whenever we were with our family of origin, parent in the side seat. Years pass, as parents became grandparents, it was not unusual for my wife and I to take the front, and for my parents to ride in the rear seat. Now, as my kids are adults, I'm finding myself more calling "shotgun", as THEY insist on taking the wheel for our short forays. Although I'm not in the back seat yet, I know one day it's coming. And so it goes, the wheels of life, and the wheels of the family sedan. Bil Cusack