Tag:Political Hyperbole
Funerals, Flags and Football
Last week was a rough week. Two funerals for a parent of two different good friends. Those obligations just added to what was an already stressful week. Fortunately neither were unexpected. Both of of the passing parents were in their 90’s. It’s never good, though.
The second funeral was for a Navy veteran and he received military honors at his funeral. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this done. Both my grandfather’s and my mother-in-law’s 3rd husband’s funerals included military honors. It is always a moving and touching display.
The respect for the Flag that the seamen displayed was particularly noteworthy considering the current controversy. I wonder how many of the football players using the National Anthem and Flag presentations as a time to protest have seen this? Would it affect their choices?
I don’t dispute that they have the right to protest. That’s one of the things our Flag represents. Veterans often would be there first to affirm that, though often with a look of despair as they also recognize the disrespect. The Flag represents so much more to so many people. To many, the Flag is sacred. Would the players have better served their cause by choosing another form of protest? it would appear so… My favorite unsourced quote about Free Speech is, “While it is true that you have the right to free speech, you do not have the right to be heard.” To the NFL’s chagrin, some fans are now former fans because of the protests. They’ve chosen not to listen. Probably not what was intended.
I wasn’t an NFL fan before the protests started, but this has brought them onto my radar… and not in a favorable light. Without commentary on their goals, I wish they would have chosen another form of protest. Another comment I heard recently resonates. “If we don’t teach our youth respect for our Country, will they feel bound to protect it if necessary?” There was a news story about a Pee-wee football team that chose to kneel during the national anthem because that’s what their “heros” are doing. We reap what we sow… and sometimes we regret it.
Image borrowed from a Daily Mail article on Beau Biden’s funeral.
Happy 4th of July!
Tomorrow is Independence Day! Most of us around here will have to get our fireworks fix from the TV rather than in person. The county-wide burn ban has been extended to include fireworks. It appears that most of our region is under the same restrictions due to the drought.
It’s just not the same thing when you can’t smell the gunpowder and feel the boom in your chest. While it would be very cool to see the fireworks in Washington like in the picture to the right, nothing can really beat watching fireworks light up the sky over Lake Maxinkuckee. I think the water enhances the sound when you’re watching from a distance and often you get a double display as you see the bursts of color reflected on the water.
For many years we would make an annual pilgrimage of it and meet with friends and relatives at the lake to have a bon-fire and cookout as we waited for the show. Our nieces and nephews grew up anticipating the annual gathering. Unfortunately those days are gone.
July 4th, 2012 is falling in an election year. Once again we’re being told that this is the most important election ever! I’ve heard that a few too many times to put a lot of stock in it. Neither side’s dominance is likely to result in an Independence Day (the 1996 movie) destruction of the White House as depicted to the left. That doesn’t mean that the partisanship isn’t excessive in Washington right now. Whoever wins, even by a slim margin, will call it a mandate and think it gives them license to push the pendulum as far as possible in their direction.
I am currently reading a book about Benjamin Franklin. It’s been interesting reading about how one of our founding fathers struggled with the choice to fight for independence and the various minor grievances that were compounded to create the original decision. (I’ve always been partial to old Ben despite what he did to us with DST!) It’s enlightening to relate those historic events to current movements such as the TEA Party and MoveOn.org. To quote Dan Brown, “History is always written by the winners.” It will be interesting to see what comes of our current culture clashes.
Here’s another good quote I like from Winston Churchill, “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.” Despite the terrible partisanship, we are still better off than North Korea, Iran or any of the other radical governments out there. Tomorrow is a good day to set aside the politics and think about the positive things about our nation. Take some time while enjoying the holiday cookout to think about how our country started and what we have. Fly a flag and give thanks to those that created our nation as well as those that are currently protecting our freedom here and overseas. Happy 4th of July!
Mandate
Random Thought: As we progress into another election season and see how close the polling is, I wonder how is it that we allow politicians on either side to claim a win by 10% or less as a “Mandate”? That’s not even factoring in our country’s level of political apathy where 63% turnout of eligible voters sets a record!
Definition of Mandate from Dictionary.com: “A command or authorization to act in a particular way on a public issue given by the electorate to its representative.”
Political Hyperbole: Blame the Rich
An interesting tidbit I picked up from Nina Easton’s article The Pay Gap is Vexing, But Don’t Blame the Rich: A Defense of the 1% in the April 30th addition of Fortune Magazine.
“Harvard’s Lawrence Katz has calculated that even if all the gains of the top 1% were redistributed to the 99%, household incomes would go up by less than half of what they would if everyone had a college degree.”
