The Story, for those of you who must have one... I hear you, my fellow American. You are beleaguered, lost in the wilderness, stubbornly trudging out your own path as the flora and fauna laugh and dance just beyond your periphery. I've been... No, I'm there right now. And I'm doing just fine, which is the confusing part. What an age we live in: War, deficits, scandals, things we've all been through before. High gas prices, military tribunals, acid reflux, these things all go hand in hand to form our great cultural daisy chain. It is a mean one, with a great cracking of the whip every now and then to give the last (or weakest) link an unhappy exit. Never mind the Democrats and the Republicans; I don't know which group has suffered more, those who make up the middle class or those who would seek the middle ground. Conservatives are quite happy about the way things are going, and aren't afraid to show it, any more than they were shy about their mindless hatred for Bill Clinton. Today, there is little respect among the two Parties, and neither can claim much in the way of admirable qualities. As a public entity, we are faced with a lose-lose situation when it comes to our government. The ruling party abuses power, the opposition has none. Either way, they both cost us more than we can ever possibly afford. The difference is that, given the chance, one side flies off the handle and starts unnecessary wars, and the other doesn't. As Iraq is currently demonstrating, common sense has always said we should err on the side of caution when it comes to such off-the-cuff foreign entanglements. Democrats, generally speaking, are in a state of devastation. Their foes have feasted upon them in recent elections, and who would have guessed that the GOP majority would rule with such an iron fist? No matter what else happens, President Bush is in office until 2008. Regaining the Senate is a long shot in '06, and wresting control of the House looks like a three-cycle process at best, and no one seems sure how to do it at any rate. So, should you worry about stuff like the direction of the Supreme Court, or the impending appointment of a raving lunatic to the U.N., or the flagrant graft and fraud perpetrated against taxpayers by the Department of Homeland Security? Why bother? Does it particularly concern you, the potential violation of your inalienable rights, political sundries like that? I guess we'll all just have to get over it. The hard part is already over, anyway. As a nation, we followed Bobby Knight's advice: If it's going to happen anyway, relax and enjoy it. Besides, life is nothing more than a long series of disappointments, and that kind of suits our nature. If we didn't exist in a state of complete crisis, we'd probably kill ourselves out of sheer boredom (some thrill-seeking adrenaline junkies, like Howard Dean, are already doing this). That's the collective pain of humanity, and it separates from us the rest of the beasts, who probably have more in common with the Creator than we do. So, even when it feels heavy, try to lighten up a little. You have to do that now and then, even if those conservatives who revel in their disastrous turn at the helm are more than willing to grind their heels into your neck, unless or until you are one of them. Whatever else you do, just keep shopping. Everything will be okay, I promise. Trust me. How do you know you can trust me? Well, have I hit you with any ads? All right, then. Paul Heller 7/28/05 << Back to the Home page << Read Heller's Latest << Enter the Archives
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