The political jungle that exists amongst the members
of the PCRs is a microcosm of the macrocosm that exists in American politics
today. Some, like Big Man, are always
vying to be leaders. Sometimes he cheats
by starting a race that nobody knows about until it is over. To be the leader he
has gone to such not so subtle extremes as passing out literature to other members
on “followership”, but in the end everyone wants to be a leader, nobody wants
to follow--least of all Big Man. Some
members, like Mr. MBA, resort to name calling, hoping taunts will embarrass
others to follow. Still others, usually
Mr. MBA, think they are clever by resorting to psychological gamesmanship by planting
the seeds of their ideas into Big Man’s mind in so he believes them to be his
own. Others like Prez. Hale, just go
their own ways, hoping the rest will see the wisdom of their ways and follow,
which rarely happens. Sexy Legs tries to
influence others with his good looks, but alas the rest are so old they just
don’t care anymore. Dr. Hicks, on the
other hand, tries to impress with bling, but if you are seldom in front others can’t
even see your impressive attire. Then
there is Animal Bruner, who could care less about any of it. He just wants to ride his bicycle. Breakfast at the Ridge Market and Café on
Saturday was no different. The group
ordered family style and bickered for half hour over what portion each would
receive, and where the lines of demarcation of food on shared plates would be
drawn so that pepper was not sprinkled where another did not want it.
But
this week something remarkable happened during an early morning ride. In the wake of political turmoil Mr. MBA,
hereinafter (“Mr. Switzerland”), persuaded Big Man to follow Prez. on the first
part of the bike ride and shamed Prez. to partially follow Big Man on the way
back home. You see Big Man, we did listen
to some of your lesson on changing people by building relationships, listening,
learning and communicating. (Where does
he get all of this stuff?). It remains
to be seen how long this group with diminished mental capacities can remember
what Big Man taught and what can be accomplished through compromise.
So
went the political season this year. The
presidential race was a prime example.
If there was a coherent discussion on important policy issues that our
country faces it was obscured by the invective coming from both sides. One presidential candidate, now the President
Elect, is taunted for being a misogynist, racist and religiously intolerant,
and the other candidate Ms. Clinton was smeared by mistakes she made in the
past. In the aftermath of the election political
pundits give us their analysis describing Trump’s supporters, in a seemingly derogatory
fashion, as “uneducated white men.” But of course the fact that one is uneducated
surely is not demeaning inasmuch as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Harry S. Truman never
finished college, all of whom made significant impacts on the course of
American history and beyond. Some
Americans took to the streets to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the
results of the presidential election. Fear
mongering before and after the election was and is being used by both sides to
describe the appearance of the landscape of American life if the other side
prevails. Of course all such apocalyptic
scenarios are possible, but only as likely as the Big Man being a serious contender
in the Tour de France. The benefit of
American politics is that the policies espoused by our leaders move at glacial
speed, just like the PCRs.
The cacophony of
post-election political rhetoric overshadowed observance of Veterans’ Day this
past Friday. On that day we honor all brave
American men and women who served in the United States military, especially
those whose sacrifices beckon from their final places of rest: “When you go
home tell them of us and say: for your tomorrow we gave our today.”
Such calls come from remains
of 9,387 American military dead lie, three of whom are women, most killed
performing their duties as a part of the Allied Forces’ invasion of Normandy on
a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France. There is a peaceful, orderly, solemn air
about that sacred ground created by flawlessly aligned tombstones, and well-manicured
grass and shrubs. A bronze statue of the
“Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves” depicts an American youth with
arms outstretched, looking skyward centered within a colonnade at the head of
the cemetery. The serenity found visits
feel visiting the site belies the terror, pain and loss that occurred on June
6, 1944: D-day. During that fateful
operation the Allied Forces suffered 120,000 casualties, our foes 113,000. France granted America a perpetual concession
to the land on which the cemetery is situated.
At the entrance way to the cemetery is inscribed these words written by General
Mark W. Clark: “If ever proof were needed that we fought for a cause and not
for conquest it could be found in these cemeteries. Here was our only conquest: All we asked … was enough … soil in which to
bury our gallant dead.” General Mark W.
Clark. America suffered the loss of over
400,000 military personnel during that war.
It is estimated that over 60,000,000 people were killed during that conflict
in just 6 years.
Just
80 years earlier Americans struggled to keep their Union together which
resulted in the Civil War. From July 1st
through the 3rd 1863, General Meade’s Army of the Potomac fought
General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia on the now famous patch of
ground Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Each
side suffered over 23,000 casualties in just three days during that battle. On a Thursday afternoon of November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, just four and a half months after the Union Army’s victory, President Lincoln reminded
those in attendance of the ultimate sacrifice the soldiers made in that heated
battle: “that from these honored dead
we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full
measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not
have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of
freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people,
shall not perish from the earth.” In his first inaugural address, just three
years earlier, President Lincoln, pleading with the Southern States to resist the
temptation to secede from the Union, urged: “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.
Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The
mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to
every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the
chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better
angels of our nature.” The South failed
to heed his plea. In less than 5
years the Union side suffered over 640,000 casualties, the Confederates nearly
300,000.
Like
the PCR members this week, may we all be touched “by the better angels of our
nature”, and seek to listen, learn and communicate with each other in
constructive ways. With the death of
this bitter election may we seek a “new birth of freedom”, by learning and
employing the art of compromise--no matter how painful it may be to follow in
the slip streams of the likes of Big Man. President Lincoln stated, in his
concluding remarks to Congress on December 1, 1862, a month before he signed
the Emancipation Proclamation, that the world was watching what Congress would
do to preserve the Union (and by the way the world is still watching) and that:
“We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.” We are still are the last best hope of
earth. We enjoy many freedoms most
others don’t. Let us not forget the
sacrifices of all those who went before us to pay for those freedoms. We should rejoice that we can speak freely
and have the right to protest, as many do when Big Man attempts to tyrannize
us. Our differences do not make us enemies. They are the spice of life. Our cause is, as Thomas Jefferson so ably expressed
on that day on which all American’s celebrate their independence: “that all men
[and women] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit
of Happiness.” May we and all of our
politicians should remember, as President Obama reminded us last week: “We are
Americans First.” Let us seek common
ground and build on all that is good.
And if you need therapy, the best form of it is getting out on your bike
with the PCRs!
This message is endorsed
by the PCRs would be leader Big Man.
YIPPY SKIPPY
Morning Awakens
Are you feeling the Gung Ho spirit?
If the Men's room is full, go into the Women's
You never know who you'll meet
If these three guys show up on your front porch, call the police.
They are dangerous!
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