NOSES AND FACES

     We all know the expression that reminds us that at times we are so bent on one thing, one direction, that we disregard all else and end up cutting off our noses to spite our faces. It is acting in  a blind manner, out of anger, and meanwhile the object of that anger comes off bearing the lesser part of the burden.
     So why are we beginning - no, cancel that - so deep into this harmful behavior? Why have our supposed leaders forgotten how to deal and talk,   to compromise and to put the benefits of bipartisanship before personal desires? Perhaps it is because we have become a nation of selfish toddlers, forgotten what it means to be an 'adult', and concentrated only on whatever 'baba' we wanted and just had to have, never mind the consequences.
     So for two years the biggest toddler ever controlled the whole entire government. He had two years during which he could have passed funding for that stupid and needless wall, but did not take advantage of that time. Nope, instead he and his minions, dashed the hopes and dreams of so many, adding to the nation's debt, as he cut taxes for the wealthy and that money, for the most part, did not return to the economy, to the States, but remained in the coffers of companies. He tried to totally take down the ACA and thankfully did not succeed, though he did damage this health hope for so many. 
     The worst offenders in the noses and faces games are those who strangely enough fought against the very programs they needed, the very programs which helped fight opioid addiction in rural areas - white areas! - that helped small time farmers, small businessmen, provided free and reduced fee lunches and not only in the inner cities as many would like you to believe and we could go on and list many more programs, including food stamps, unemployment benefits, retraining programs, but the point is made. Those who were led mindlessly down the 'smaller government' road, well, there went those noses, piling up on the sides of the road, on this long path to self destruction. It seems that some people never learn.
     So the Demented One threatens that he can shut down the government again.. He already owns the first one which, by the way, got him nowhere other than lower in the polls, and the originator of panic and desperation into the homes of so many - and by the way, this persists, for deadlines have passed and they could not be met due to lack of government. We were this close to shutting down the entire economy of the country and think of the global consequences if this had happened. And I do not blame the traffic controllers or anyone other than that orange man sitting there watching TV with a gaping mouth and hands crossed against his chest, his go to pose of antagonism, a constant antagonism.
    And what are we teaching our young when the contempt so many hold for this man spills over into everyday life? What do you think these kids will grow up to believe? Will they even trust anyone ever again and have we just begun to raise kids even more selfish and shortsighted than the Me generation? Noses  and faces, and we never seem to learn a lesson, do we?
     Allies are arguing, enemies are buzzing each other, playing chicken on the high seas, playing chess with the lives of people they claim as 'spies' and hold them hostage against the return of some of their arrested for truly spying. There is no safety anymore, and the American passport which once meant so much and provided protection for the traveler, well, that was the past, when our noses were still attached to our faces!
     The Middle East is in the midst of the hottest time ever, and I do not mean the weather, though that is another whole story, another whole group of noses that have been cutoff round the world for the temporary benefit of the few, the oligarchs of society, while the rest of us suffer, even unto the point of existence. But the bullets and the rockets and the missiles go on in that heated up territory, the mouths open and spew hatred, and people's lives are worth nothing on both sides of the issue. Why anyone would expect the situation to improve is beyond me, for without those very same noses that we have sliced off we cannot smell the coffee, smell the rising stench of death and bloodshed and instead see only the damaged visions of hatred and selfishness, the calculated use of the little people by their selfish leaders.
     Instead of banging our noses into the walls we are banging our heads and concussing them endlessly, over and over again. We have to stop being stupid!! We have allowed this situation to devolve more and more. We have allowed those who wield the sabers to slice off the nose of humanity to spite its face. Not good, not good at all. So whatcha' gonna do about this? Hell, I am trying to keep mine attached and perhaps if we all tried to do that, perhaps, just perhaps, we might save the face and the future of humanity.