Believe it or not, today's audio commentary is the 120th Episode of Malcolm on the Right. I said at the very beginning that I hoped this adventure would become a two-way conversation between me and any post's commenters. So, don't hesitate to jump in with your own take after listening to it.
This commentary grows out of this week's Sunday column. The headline was:
Joe Biden Is Exhausted. So Is the Country. Our Rocky Road Toward Divorce.
An astute commenter there made a very important point amid all this shouting and anguish and ambition, the misdirection and falsehoods and covering of asses by so many people and sectors, especially within our mainstream media.
She wrote:
No one talks about the good of the country. It’s all about keeping the White House or staying in power. Sad. We are just collateral damage in their pursuit of power.
As a former boss of mine would say when someone made a great point in a meeting: "BOOM!"
That is a strong observation. Everyone is staring at who's winning. Who's losing? Who will end up on top? Who said what back then? So many people have been lying and obfuscating and covering up the truth about the current president because it might hurt their own personal plans or ambitions.
Elected folks are supposed to seek a higher calling than "Where's mine?'
The actual fact is that leading our nation is not a zero-sum game where everything one side gets, takes away from the other.
I have a fond favorite video online of two kittens eating from the same dish. One gets a mouthful and then, with a little paw, pushes the bowl over to the other, who repeats the cycle. I grew up in the country with cats all over. I don't expect that from cats. So maybe they were both rescues who knew hardship and the worth of cooperation.
Seems like a nation such as ours, as rich and diverse as it is, with some 333 million people and two political parties with such historical longevity, ought to be able to find qualified leadership to offer American voters.
That's what we chew on in this week's episode. Don't forget, you can chew too in the Comments below.
The most recent audio commentary proposed the need to study and be more aware of our history, and not just the recent stuff. It's a cliché, but an accurate one, that those who don't know their history are condemned to relive it.
Political and/or social eruptions like the current one can seem more calamitous and unsolvable if we go blithely along, unaware of all the many calamities our country has already endured — and solved — and moved beyond in its first 248 years.
Americans have displayed an impressive imagination and resoluteness over the generations. It would be a national tragedy if that strain withered through inattention and ignorance because our schools and families didn't bother to inculcate awareness of the past in the youth they are training as future voters.
So, they and ensuing generations end up reliving the same mistakes and difficulties that have already been solved, if only they knew their very own history.
Now, if you need to catch up on the biggest day-to-day stories, here's a great place to start browsing.
