That Cool Breeze from a Cold Steel Rail

When you reduce society to its smallest component, it's just you and me, literally. That's all we are, just us and others who come along and join us, either philosophically, metaphysically, or geographically. I always smile when people tell me I'm not from here as if I didn't already know that. What they don't seem to get is I'm from here now.

Maybe like you and your local papers, I've been reading a lot of letters to the editor and on-line comments on news stories where readers invoke the ubiquitous and mysterious 'them' as the source of all unhappiness and problems. 'They' don't get 'us.' 'They' are out of touch, or set in 'their' ways and need to go home in November. It's always especially 'themy' when we have National Elections.

And all that carping is great stuff except if I may offer a distinction, 'they' started out as 'we' as in 'we the people, in order to form a more perfect union...' (Let me know when you've had enough, okay? I can quote this stuff all day-I am that good).

Here's a newsflash, sunshine. No one can do anything to you that you do not give them the power to do. If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice. Don't read newspapers, listen to radio, watch TV, or troll the interwebs and God forbid, do not dare to go to public meetings of your local government because you might just find out what's going on and then what would happen?

Here's what: You might have to do something. Maybe tell a neighbor, maybe bring a friend to the next meeting, maybe have to offer an informed observation on how you feel about a particular issue. Or you can keep your head down, get lost in the shuffle while shuffling along with the lost and never once risk being on the 'wrong side' of an issue by ever taking a stand.

So if you're reading this while wearing your "A Pox on Both Your Houses!" tee-shirt, or after you've repositioned your 3rd/4th/5th party candidates' lawn sign out front, I'm typing at you. You don't get to pretend to not have a dog in the hunt, because otherwise, it's over, Rover, for all of us. For the most part, I can understand your desire to NOT get any of it on you, but democracy is a contact sport so suit up and shut up buttercup.

Nothing in the Constitution, Bill of Rights, or Declaration of Independence says we have to like each other (thank goodness!) but we owe one another the opportunity to get along. 

Don't sit there with your arms folded, your eyes closed and hearts hardened. We need every oar in the water and put your back into it. Aren't you truly tired of watching and waiting-or have you forgotten what you were waiting for?

-bill Kenny