Fate of a Nation

Games are big sport in America. Always have been. The biggest sport, of course, is politics. Someone is always looking for fame, power and money. Make no mistake, there is plenty at stake and always willing players. I know this sounds cynical, but truth is often nasty business. We adults need to deal with life the way it is if things are to advance on a better path.

Better outcomes beckon our attention. Getting along with people in the world is pretty important. We are on the edge of two or three abysses at this very moment. How did we get here? What ball was not being watched? Who is responsible for this calamitous situation? How do we repair it, so it doesn’t happen again?

The pandemic is a challenge. Has been. But we have created vaccines in a hurry, we have amassed knowledge on the virus and its permutations. As well, we have pivoted several times to address health concerns caused by the shifting realities of the virus. Nothing stayed the same. How we met that challenge constantly had to change to be effective. We have been effective. The pandemic has not stopped our nation from functioning or our advancing its future. Not everyone believes this; that is a sad reality.

Disbelief in one’s government is a sad disease. Those folks feel better when they think skullduggery is afoot. They feel omnipotent, powerful in going against the grain of authority. It is their right to be this way. No one in America can dispute their word and their belief. Or so they say.

What they forget is their actions and lack thereof affect the fate of many other people. Right or wrong has consequences. They expand the toll of the pandemic needlessly. But it is their right. Right?

I don’t think so. I think governments are formed to minister to the needs of the bulk of the citizenry of that nation. Cooperation is required from all of us. We give up some freedoms to gain knowledge, health, freedom, power, safety, whatever. It is the premium we pay for being engaged in our nation’s life.

To do otherwise is a fate of ill for the nation.

Going against the grain seems to be a plague today in many places. Not just in America, but especially in our nation. It matters. The fate of many lies in the balance. America’s influence – not power – rests in its ability to do big things, right things, caring and Samaritan acts. When we are in fault for our own people and commonweal, we lose that influence bit by bit.

Senators from Arizona and West Virginia are blocking advancement of both removing the Senate Rules on Filibuster, as well as Voting Rights Act of 2022. There are other advancements being blocked, namely the Build Better program of President Biden’s. Also, dozens of presidential appointments have been endlessly delayed. Two senators playing a game of power while the rest of the country hurts. The filibuster is a shameful means of eliminating majority voting in the Senate. A full 60% of ayes are needed to pass most legislation. Simple majorities no longer count for much.

The translation to the rest of us is that a minority blocks progress. Also, voting rights to the most vulnerable among us are reduced and blocked. The minority continues to get is way over and over again.

If this is the American way, I don’t want any part of it. The Mitch McConnell’s of the Congress can drop off the face of the earth for all I care.

January 19, 2022

 

 

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