It is shaping up to be a very frustrating summer and fall for the Colonel.
I don't think I have felt this at odds with the prevailing attitude of the bulk of my fellow citizens since I don't know when. Guess I shouldn't be surprised at the lack of acceptance of the philosophy of American Exceptionalism. Most everything we shallowest of people on this planet read, hear, and watch is filled with defeatist derision of the ideals that propelled this great nation on its triumphant trajectory from colonial backwater to preeminent planetary power.
From where I sit and watch (and maybe therein lies the problem), I see a people led only by their desires for the next "fix." I don't see the sleeves-rolled-up determination to overcome the obstacles that allowed our ancestors to carve a world-class civilization out of a wilderness; that drove them to dream big and literally die by the tens of thousands trying to reach lands further west, over mountain and across desert plain, on which to fulfil those dreams; that brought them together in the cause of freedom and national survival in the world wars (and the intervening economic collapse) of the first half of the twentieth century; and that placed our team, not the Soviets', on the surface of another world.
All I hear from pundits and political panderers are hollow references to the programs and projects that propelled us through those tough times--WPA, Manhattan, Apollo... What is missing in most of the calls for that kind of national rallying of will and wealth is the third leg of the stool of success--sacrifice.
All I hear from our leaderless people is whining about the high price of gas, groceries, and games. And, the two men who would be king are doing nothing but tickling our ears with pernicious platitudes.
Going to be a long, frustrating next few months. Just hope my Rebels will win a few in the fall to make me forget.
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