ON US

     Life. How many of us go through it oblivious to anything and everything not in our immediate purview? And maybe these people are the happiest around, for there are those who say that "ignorance is bliss". But I disagree, for eventually a roof somewhere falls in and leaves one standing there bewildered and helpless.
     So many of us have decided to ignore things these days. "I don't watch the news." Or, "I never pay attention to politics." And similar statements, but one cannot live in a bubble all the time and when it bursts, well, it ain't great. This is true no matter on what level the chosen ignorance exists.
     Take the meeting we are to have today in the Village to discuss new by laws. It will affect the very life we lead here and yet, I bet we have a tiny percentage of Villagers attending. In a way they are correct, for after all, no matter what they say, it is the delegates who will vote on it and these are the very same delegates who obey the Grand Master of it all! 
     On the other hand, if we do not attend, then we lose any right to complain and try to mend the problems. And trust me, there are many problems here, some big, some small, some preventable and some not, but certainly we can insist on a more transparent administration, open role of finances and expenditures, civility in government, and an insistence that the officers actually DO something and not just eat their snacks, chat all morning with each other and the hanger ons at UCO, and write nonsense for their reports in the Rag. What truly gets my gourd is when after a month, when asked to report , they say, "Nothing to report", so what the hell have they been doing for the Village, a role they took on and then obviously lied about!!
     There are those who do work and we know who they are, but on the whole, the administration stinks. It is on us to insist on change, to demand answers, to take up the cudgels of words and actions so that we improve our great home and life here in the Village.
     This necessity to change is in the big government as well. When a woman who served so many years, asked for the funds for new voting machines which was denied, is then tossed out due to the breakdown of the very machines she wanted to replace, and then the next appointee, a Republican appointed by a Republican governor, gets the funds immediately. Stinky odor, here, folks. The usual crap of politics. But must we endure this unceasingly?
     The nation as a whole needs help. We have a dangerous goofball as president, a man who pretends he knows it all and is exempt from all rules of civility, of society and the law itself. He has encroached more and more on the executive and even judicial branches of government and this administration is beginning to look and act very much like a tinpot dictator what with his blowhard threats, his ignorant tweets, his lack of basic intelligence and his crude behavior and statements.
     And we, the people, have lost sight of the truth and what violations need harsher consequences than others. The Trump administration is replete with trash and ugliness. It seems that every time there is a scandal, Trump and his loyalists, his moochers, his golf clubs and hotels, are involved. Mar a Lago is teeming with Russians, including criminals wanted and criminals accused. Is it any surprise that a woman connected to the trafficking of women and abuse of them in massage parlors is conected to Trump and arranged access to him?! Feh!!!!! Ugly is the word. Ugly are the deeds.
     Yet his friendly crooks receive a relatively short term for multiple counts of criminal convictions all the while the parents who took part in money for admissions are threatened with major, truly major, terms in prison. Why am I not so angry at this business? Because if anyone ever thought that money did not play a part in admissions, well, I have several bridges and tunnels for you. Admission to and remaining in posh boarding schools also depend much on 'donations' so why the shock here? This is nothing new, just a continuation of what always was, except that this was organized, nation wide, and this is what needs to be addressed. One is a parent wanting to get the best for a kid and the other is criminal greed. That is the distinction and that is what needs consequence. But to threaten to expel the kids, retract their diplomas, even fire them from jobs, well, that is ridiculous and unfair. If they maintained what is needed to graduate, to keep a job, then they earned it- period. Continuing into the future, fix the system.
     While we are at the business of cleaning the nation, get rid of pigs such as Tucker Carlson, and his disgusting statements that are almost akin to urging criminal behavior in others, particularly with his racial and misogynistic statements and views of young girls and their sexuality. Ich!!!!!
Why is this man still on the air, Fox News? Why has he not been removed for moral turpitude? Do his conservative hallmarks make him immune to decency? To having his mouth figuratively - literally? - washed out?
    When has it become okay to mouth off in the most disgusting ways, with the worst words, with the most dangerous of attitudes. It follows a path directly to Trump, but also to us. We have allowed this to grow, like a tumor on the nation's soul. We have allowed this because we turned away, got on with the business of acquisition, of 'stuff', of cars, of bigger and bigger houses, of manic behavior . We lost our way as individuals and as a nation.
     We need to find our way back through the jungle that we have allowed and even encouraged to grow up around us. We need to get rid of the selfishness in our lives and pay attention to the world at large. Thankfully we have youngsters who are way into the environment needs, the necessities of change in so many areas, but they must be tempered with the wisdom of older people who have not caved in to pressure and threats and we must come out of this with a good and positive working order or we are doomed. Yes, doomed. Pick up some papers and magazines. Listen to the world news. Listen to the weather reports, to the national news and then ask yourself how we got here and how we get out of here?
     It is all on us. It is said that one gets what one deserves and/or earns. Are you thinking yet?