For at least a year – and probably longer – we have been bombarded with an audio and video barrage of conflicting philosophies from an increasingly (but fortunately) smaller number of aspirants to political offices of every size, shape and description. This process, we are told, is completely legal – even when the arguments advanced range from the generally rational (infrequent) to the completely ludicrous (far too often).
From my perspective, the frequency and volume of this intrusion should be as illegal as is waterboarding at Guantanamo. If the message can’t be expressed in a sentence or two – and delivered only once or twice – then it should be prohibited. Any further pronouncements should be grounds for a capital offense!
I trust these views are stated clearly enough to establish my credentials as a conservative curmudgeon. I find the current process apparently now necessary for an individual first to be nominated and then elected an outrageous affront to the sensibilities of any individual willing to be subjected to this repetitive drivel. But, on the other hand, if we as a nation are willing to pay money to endure endless hours of “Lost,” “Survivor,” “Judge Judy” and “The Biggest Loser,” maybe we deserve the current political circus.
And, on the topic of circuses, if this excruciating campaign process is deemed so necessary, why in the world don’t we wind up with better elected officials. I am undoubtedly biased as an Illinois resident (motto: “Our governors make license plates”) – but New Yorkers and residents of other states cannot be any less ashamed.
Congress? Where in the world do we get these people! Did you and I really pull the lever that established these folks as permanent DC residents controlling our future? Shame on us!
At any rate, at least for a few months, all this political nonsense should be behind us. Unfortunately, now the scary part begins. Now we get to see what really happens when those individuals who talked the longest and loudest start playing with our money (what little we have left after bailing out the wizards of Wall Street).
Does it bother you that the pilot and co-pilot now in charge of flying the government beast have never before been in the cockpit – much less gone through any flight training? Give me U.S. Air’s Captain Sully, please, and let the amateurs sit in back.
We’ve been told repeatedly that the flight plan for this government bird is but a single word: Change. As a professed registered curmudgeon, my exclaiming that I don’t like change shouldn’t come as a surprise.
I not only like things the way they are – I like them the way they used to be! Sure, medical advances are great; I love my titanium hip and chrome alloy knee. But these devices were developed by people who were trained to do this – and installed by surgeons with in-depth education and even more training. I like that kind of change. But it scares the pants off me to consider what a group of amateurs supported by an applauding Congress is contemplating.
One thing I like about the heavy-duty aftermarket is the fact that it doesn’t change much year-to-year. Yeah, it went down four or five points this past year – and probably won’t grow much this year, either. But it’s run by professionals, both sellers and buyers, who know what they’re doing. And when it needs to change, it does. But it does so carefully and rationally.
The folks running these enterprises didn’t get elected; they learned the business from the ground up. They accumulated thousands of hours of experience before getting into their respective cockpits.
Maybe the folks that are running the heavy-duty business should consider running the country. This old curmudgeon would certainly give them my vote – as long as they didn’t run any ads!
