I find it hard to say that I am not of the mind to inundate people with my political beliefs while I sit in bed and type this sentence. But truth told, after I look at it I realize that I am not so much spewing (thanks Carrie) my beliefs so much as taking the political pulse of my peers. In my own ground rules I asked for your opinions and asked that you respect the others you read in these passages. With a rule like that I might as well test its elasticity and see what happens so here goes.
This afternoon I was watching the Bloomberg report when the story broke that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had finally resigned his position after 18 days of protests. While watching history occur before my eyes via a 52” TV I was struck by the fact that Bloomberg seemed indifferent. Sure they were excited in the moment but the political speculation and opinions that other channels were vomiting up all over the airwave just wasn’t happening. It was almost peaceful. I was learning that as the rest of the world stopped to watch, the Egyptian oil industry kept on churning.
After a brief pause the US financial world went up all across the board on all three exchanges and that is never a bad thing. I listened intently to an Egyptian born professor of economics at some really big US college talk about how Mubarak’s exit stage left would not only help to stabilize the volatile mid-east market but could have long lasting positive ramifications. Of course he talked of change and hope and pride and even dabbled in what he thinks could happen but only a little. That was a refreshing change in and of its self.
After a while I switched over to the other channels and half heartedly listened to ‘experts’ on middle eastern affairs set up the different models for what we should expect in the next 12 months. I skimmed through FOX News, MSNBC, Headline and CNN (Communist News Network was one title I heard today) and quite frankly, none of the above impressed me. Depending on which channel you listened to one of two things was going to happen; we were either going to have to prepare for al Qaeda to take over our own soil while based out of Cairo or we can all go on smelling the daisy’s while some great democratic government materializes out of the desert floor but still nothing would affect us here in the great ‘ol United States of America.
But what prompted this post, what set my mind on fire, what really sent me into a frenzy of thinking (and yes it hurt to think) was an interaction with a friend of mine about it all. Now this guy truly is a best friend, the kind of guy that if given the right set of circumstances would do anything for me. We served in the Marines together, fought our way out of more than one bar together and shared our hopes and dreams. He is a cop’s cop in a big city somewhere west of here and he’s a hell-u-va guy, no two ways about it. We are probably more like brothers than I am with my own blood brother at times because the way we think, the way we react to life and the way we navigate through this world are so much the same.
But today my buddy responded to a post on Facebook that took me by surprise. It was totally of the FOX News Channel ilk where as the new ‘power vacuum’ created by the president’s departure was definitely the start of something negative for the free world. How could anyone make such a statement at such an awesome time? How, in the very bosom of freedom, could anyone not in the CIA begin to set up such negative thoughts about the day’s events? Really, the birth place of al Qaeda because at one time it was a Muslim ran country? Egypt?? One of America’s most strategic partners in the Middle East and we would let it get that far as to go backwards?
I won’t go into the details about the interaction that followed because that is not important but my mind was already ablaze with emotion about it. Not long after my buddy’s post I received two different private messages blasting him and one was supporting me for “putting that pig in his place.” Do what? That is my best friend we are talking about, I would take a life for him and you call him a pig and I put him in his place simply be sharing my opinion with him? What the heck is wrong with people?
We can sit and listen to our preferred flavor of news and that is what we take as bible? Concrete evidence of the world as it is because you heard it on the idiot box? What happened to the good in people, to the innate ability to look for the good in all things before you discover otherwise. To hope for the best but to plan for the worst if it comes? Now we jump to conclusions, expect the worst outcome in everything and secretly pray it turns that way so that everyone else involved can suffer with us in our own destructive attitudes. No one and I mean no one on the news reports today acted as if a positive outcome was going to come true. And because of those opinions that is how a couple of my friends think too?
I’m asking, are we that far gone now as a society? Is everyone that negative and I am in the minority or is the world, America specifically, full of generally positive people who don’t care what the news ‘experts’ think? Is it just me or do we all wish politicians would just shut up and act right, work for a common good and expect the same of the news channels? Do we still hold doors for others, do we still allow the guy to the right to go first and tell the lady at the checkout counter to have a good day after getting change? If “we” are the majority why are there not more people ringing the bell for the common good to be a common value?
Tell you what; post your opinions here and send the link to your friends. This is my unofficial poll for these questions. Do you care what the news says and think that they have the master plan or are you hoping for the best in the Egyptian situation? Do you hold out hoping that the common good is the common value in society or do you think we are too far gone as a nation to care and just secretly hope that others suffer and our personal space is unaffected? Tell your friends, I want to hear about it. And remember, opinions are just that so respect others as they will respect yours!
This could be fun!
db
Seriously, feel free to leave your opinion and please spread the link. If I build some steam I may turn it into something different altogether - Davis
ReplyDeleteMarines and Cops have worn the title "pig" with pride. Since I am both - let the nose fit. Great thing about this country is that we can disagree with each other and still be best friends and get drunk about it while making more fun of the people who make fun of us. Love ya, Bro! (If anyone needs me I'll be duct taping my windows while crying along with Glenn Beck...)
ReplyDeleteDavis, No we are not too far gone, but it is becoming apparently clear that too many are thinking more along the "let them suffer right along with us" syndrome. We have to remember that the United States was founded on the type of unrest that is taking place in Egypt. There are still people out there that has hope for the future, hope for our children to succeed, and hope that our country will truly be great again one day. Yes, I said one day. Our country has become more of "what is best for me" instead of "what is best for the majority” land. You see it in congress, at the store, on the road, and especially at work. When you go to work each day in a place that should be accepting, promising, full of hope for the future because tomorrow's future is walking the halls but the attitude is "How soon is the next holiday?, When is my next paycheck?, and blame the children for the parents short-comings" and then you see the leaders of the local education budget waste money on programs that aren't needed, on buildings that aren't necessary and on new schools that causes a depletion of the monetary resources for the county. Then you hear on the news that so-called political leaders will cut the education budget which causes the local education leaders to cut funding for the students instead of first cutting the money that is wasted at the administration level. Then the political leaders raise their pay, purchase unnecessary equipment, and non-emergency federal, state, county, and city employees are still driving around in cars/trucks/SUVs that cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars each month.
ReplyDeleteOur country is not too far gone, but is way over the line and we need strong people, strong leaders, and little unrest to get us back over that line.