It’s been a goofy Fall. Regardless of views of Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan, regaled with October’s golden hues amidst a cloudless sky, the global recession brings to mind the eternal conclusion of The Doors’ Jim Morrison:
The future’s uncertain and the end is always near.
What is quite certain is the outcome of the United States presidential election. On November 4, 2008, America will repudiate the conservative agenda (primarily because the Republicans in Congress and Dubya repudiated it themselves first), and we are likely to have a pendulum swing back to the days of the so-called Great Society circa 1964. I would be more disturbed by this were it not for the words of Thomas Jefferson, who prophesied these swings, albeit in a more graphic manner, when he said:
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
(Hey Tom, so who’s the patriot and who’s the tyrant? Inquiring minds want to know!)
The best thing about this presidential election is Governor Sarah Palin satirizing Tina Fey. Or is it Tina Fey satirizing Governor Palin? I don’t know but wish that these Saturday Night Live episodes would continue after November 4. I do believe that Governor Palin has some potential to rival the great Maggie Thatcher if the Gov becomes a seasoned US Senator and develops expertise in dealing with national and international problems, as opposed to those affecting Alaska. But that scenario is down the road and not just around the corner.
We recently finished watching the John Adams HBO mini-series. Every citizen should see this perceptive account of the genesis of the USA. The truth that jumped out at me was that this country was born out of both weakness and truth. The truth is that All Men are Created Equal; the weakness is that kings and dictators can often gain enough power to hide the truth. In significant ways, this country is just as fragile today as it was when John Adams worried about whether we would be ruined by an enveloping conflict between Britain and France, or when Abraham Lincoln confronted the horror of the United States of America on one hand and the enduring Confederate States of America on the other.
Our history teaches that the survival of our country has always been a near thing. Our country's continued existence is the result of over a half million of American men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve it. And perhaps a larger force that has, thus far, been mercifully patient with our numerous defects and decided to preserve us as the “shining city on the hill.”
So, vote for the Presidential candidate who you truly believe will preserve and nourish that image. If that person is not on the ballot, it is the nation's loss.
Thanks for blogging with me… thus far.
