“Is It Not Time To
Just Get Back To Basics?”
As the aging process claims ever so much more of the life
force remaining within all of us, I am, in particular, extremely grateful for
every human contact I have had in the course of my journey. I think of the knowledge, wisdom and insights
I have gained from workmates, the casual conversations in the departure lounges
of airports, the interactions with seatmates on long, international flights,
and the numerous brief encounters with people of all sorts in the course of my
everyday life. There isn’t one who
hasn’t made me a better person in some perhaps small, but significant,
way. For all of that, I am most
grateful.
My treasure trove of lifetime memories with real people is
far more important and valuable than what I see with a current generation
totally fixated on electronic devices that enables them to tune out everyone
around them and engage in some sort of perverted communication with another
humanoid who shares their aversion to the life blood, soul and storehouse of
life’s experiences with someone who has lived.
Little do they know they are much the poorer for it? One of my rules for daily living is that I
forbid the use of those devices in my company and I will leave the room if
anyone fails to respect me and who violates that precondition. Does it bother me? Not one bit.
I have written a lot about my concerns regarding all that is
happening to our country, those in public office sworn to serve us, the people,
and the ever-increasing exploitation of the human condition and the most
vulnerable among us. Given what I see, I
take no reassurance that much of what I have written has probably fallen on
blind eyes. We have finally reached the
pinnacle of corruption on a grand scale, from every institution of government,
the entire financial empire and the corporate capitalists whose only goal in
life is to pillage and plunder as much as possible of what they no longer need,
but simply covet from a pathological and out-of-control need for money and power.
People seem to have reached the point where they are willing
to gamble on what the future holds for all of us, so long as they get all they
can as quickly as possible, the rest of humanity be damned. They rationalize their own greed with
abandon. They demonize those who are
having a tough time just making ends meet.
But, so long as I have more than I need, who really cares? What difference does it make? Globalization, global warming, environmental
pollution, disparity in wealth and the basic necessities of life, human dignity
and worth, governments that steal with much more skill than they govern,
etc. Who cares? They seem to simply ignore the mountains of
scientific knowledge that is shouting to the rooftops – “What is coming down on
us is a one-way street. It cannot be
reversed. It will, eventually, bite us
all in the backside. Get real!” The answer is dead silence. Live for the moment. Have fun and be happy – in all its
self-indulgent and perverted forms. We
are quickly becoming economically, politically and socially bankrupt.
The fact that virtually every facet of our government and
the hoards of parasites that bleed it for all they can get are
self-evident. Secrecy and discretion
long ago gave way to blatant disregard for any form of public morality or
standards of honest conduct. Go for
broke, the bottom-feeders living on the edge be damned!
Every sullied and tarnished form of private and public
commerce is regarded as fair game.
Nothing is off limits. Just look
at our paralyzed government comfortably ensconced in our nation’s capitol and
the surrounding environs of all those hoping the established hierarchy will
throw them a crumb once in a while. But,
the average person seems to be hell-bent on giving them all a free pass. Is it because they cannot fathom the
seriousness of what they are doing to us, or is it because they are simply too
passive and complacent to expend the time and energy to even try?
The nomenclature for the standards governing ethical, moral
and honest behavior is really quite simple and easily understood. The following definitions are courtesy of
Merriam-Webster. Permit me:
·
Common:
of or relating to a community at large.
·
Common sense: sound and prudent judgment based on a single
perception of the situation or facts.
·
Conflict of interest: a conflict between the private interests and
the official responsibilities of a person in a position of trust.
·
Credible: offering reasonable grounds for
being believed.
·
Integrity:
firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values
·
Simplicity:
the state of being simple, uncomplicated or uncompounded; freedom from
pretense or guile; directness of expression; restraint in ornamentation.
·
Transparency: the quality or state of being transparent.
·
Trust:
assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of
someone or something; one in which confidence is placed.
The above list is, by no means, exhaustive but it does show
that the indicators for being genuine, honest and forthright are not
complicated but, rather, quite simple.
Why do those in public service seem to have such an aversion to adopting
them?
I recall an English professor I had in college. She was a middle aged woman, rather buxom,
with flaming red hair and very animated.
She had done her doctoral thesis by living among the “Alaskan
Sourdoughs.” On the first day of class
she made it abundantly clear that she most treasured the art and grace of
simplicity. As she said, “I am not the
least bit interested in your attempts to impress me with your ability to
manipulate the English language. So,
when you are inclined to convey to me your ability to perambulate down the
boulevard, will you kindly just walk down the gawd damned street?” I have tried to remain true to the spirit of
that bit of wisdom.
At some point, it seems to me that the average person has to
become so saturated with being exploited and patronized by a ruling elite that
they will say, “enough is enough,” and start to move this country in the right
direction.
Honesty and all its manifestations are not difficult to
understand nor apply with a certain facility.
Those who would continue to deceive us, the populace, need to reflect on
that fundamental tenet and assess who they are and where they are in the grand
scheme of things before it all comes back to bite them in the ass, as it surely
will.
Have you noticed that the so-called political parties
operating on the fringe and that are vociferous during the campaigns for
national political office, fall silent the minute the polls are closed and the
votes are counted? Where are they now
and what are is their game plan? Don’t
they have a thought in their heads that just might help to raise questions
about and put in place the means to change the complexion of this country, and
become active change agents for all they profess and want us to be?
Where are the Green Party, Rocky Anderson and the Justice
Party, and Buddy Roemer and the Freedom Party, with all of their prominent
spokespeople? Can’t they see what is happening
to this country? Why do they, and we,
have to wait for the next election cycle?
Time has not stood still, as far as I can see. Surely they still have a definitive role to
play on myriad issues constantly before the people of this country. If nothing else they can help to keep us
informed, educated and sufficiently agitated to want to do something meaningful
about what is going on.
Did their ideas for a few new and, hopefully better
political parties simply vanish when the polls closed? Did they become devoid of any original
thought when the votes were counted, only to wait another four years before
they raised their heads in protest once again?
Are they more interested in public office than public service? If so, we should rethink what they are all
about and look for better alternatives.
It is an inescapable fact of life that this country must have some
courageous, committed and determined political parties to seriously challenge
the alliance of Republicanism and Democrats that have
a strangle-hold on the nation, its people and all we
cherish.
This country has the finest collection of universities,
colleges and think tanks imaginable.
Therein lays one of our greatest resources that never seem to be called
upon to commit to the service of this country and its people. Their knowledge, alone, would vaporize the
massive corruption and obscene wealth that keeps most of us in a constant state
of living on the edge, with each passing day more of us falling into the abyss
of abject poverty and despair. Surely
some force, or collection of forces, can mobilize them into getting us to move
toward a better future.
What is preventing us from calling on the rank and file
citizens of this country to serve on purpose-built commissions to study issues,
and refine and revitalize the means for making it all happen? When the purpose(s) have been resolved, they
pack up their bags and go back to the lives they lived before. Squatters rights on any government service,
with the speed and skill they use to corrupt the system and lace their pockets
with the money, perquisites and all of the under-the-table favors they incur
never stop engaging in patently illegal and self-serving practices. Most of that could and should be stopped
forthwith and without further adieu!
Just imagine how refreshing it would be to silence all of
those orators who bore us with their deceptive practices that they have
mastered so well, and serve up to us every day of our lives? Just having a respite from Diane Feinstein’s
political drawl would be a welcome relief.
Taking God from the Tea Party and putting their genie back in the bottle
would be like a breath of fresh air blowing over the parched lands of the Western United States .
The political establishment has made “compromise” a dirty
word. It is a euphemism for lacing their
pockets at the expense of the taxpayers.
They have been accorded far too much deference, secrecy, money and power
for that not to have happened.
All of those of you who have risen to the pinnacle of your
professions and vocations, and who have this country at heart, have a moral
obligation to get off your duffs, enlist agents of change and turn this sad
state of affairs around. To do less is
an indictment of you and all that you represent. A first step, and a crucial step, would be to
publicly call out the crooks on Wall Street and in Washington, D.C., and
reintroduce them to all the virtues subsumed under accountability, public
service and public trust; how to recognize them, how to acquire them and how to
practice them. You certainly have the
law on your side.
At the end of the day, “Absolute freedom, if not nurtured,
will become the barbaric state.” That is
a dimple fact of life and, sadly, I fear we are perilously close to having
arrived at that point, or we already have given up and are prepared to let the
chips fall where they may.
This country and its entire people are made of good
stuff. The spirit of ’76 still courses
through our veins. It is time to revisit
that fact, breath new life into it and put it back into service for everyone.
Virtue will always be found in simplicity and basic human
decency, the spin doctors not withstanding.
Cowboy Bob
The Sagebrush Philosopher
August 7, 2013
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