AT ISSUE:
Here it is, another Fourth of July week. But is it any different
than any other holiday? Yes, it is. Too many people recognize the
Fourth of July as just another holiday and not as the day this
nation celebrates its independence. Sick and tired hardly describes
how one should feel about those people who don't know why the Fourth
of July is observed as a holiday.. Yes, there are many. It is also
the time to reflect how this nation came to be and is there a need
for another revolution?
IN THE
MOVIE, "Monster-in-Law," Wanda Sykes, whose character is fed up
with the self-indulgent, spoiled, tyrannical behavior of her
employer, finally lays down the law.
"I'm sick. And
when I'm not sick, I'm tired. I'm sick and tired of your...."
A lot of us
are sick and tired. We're sick and tired of a lot of things. What
goes on in Washington, for example. Is our President, our Senators
and our Representatives actually living up to what our forefathers
fought for in that Revolutionary War so many years ago? Do their
actions today live up to the words and spirit of our nation's
Constitution?
I WISH I
COULD let this go, but I can't. And this week, the week of the
Fourth of July, Independence Day is a good time to vent. I wish I
didn't feel compelled to read the paper and watch the news. I wish I
could shake my head in passing regret, then move on to the business
of the day with no further thought. But I can't.
Are things in
Washington really running amok? I am reminded of the bromide,
"Absolute power corrupts, absolutely," or something like that. Is it
because of our current administration that there are so many people
running for the top job in Washington? Never before in our history
has there been such a large conglomeration of people who want to be
our president.
Here we are,
focusing on Iraq and the current Sunni versus Shite conflict, but
our America has its own revolution. Abortion, stem cell research,
death penalty, race, global warming, health care and what it means
to be a "real" American.
YOU NAME IT
and there is a debate. Not just a discussion, but a
throw-down-the-gauntlet, your-mother-wears-combat-boots,
no-holds-bared brawl.
Liberal versus
conservative. Evangelical versus anyone more moderate, and in some
cases, even conservative. Illegal immigrant versus citizen. Religion
versus state. Straight versus gay. Politicians versus the
electorate.
Some of these
thoughts were in a commentary I read recently, but many of us share
these perceptions. During this Fourth of July week, it is time to
decide who really runs this country. I say we do. You and me. The
people of this country, as diverse and as opinionated as we are. But
how do we do it?
AS WE
OBSERVE this Independence Day, we must realize that somewhere we
share a common goal and I can't believe it is to see those folks in
Washington get rich with our money. What we need to do is unite,
just like they did more than 200 years ago. We must find common
ground and bury the intolerance and lack of action that seems to be
burying us. We have to end our domestic wars and bring peace to this
country as well. Then, share that peace with others.
Not knowing
Independence Day from any other holiday, I am also reminded of a
television show this summer that is getting good reviews, "Are You
Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?". A high school history teacher had to
say into the camera, "I am dumber than a fifth grader." He didn't
even get to first base with the contest with some fifth graders.
That truly is a sad commentary.
WE CANNOT
JUST blame the shenanigans in Washington. There are some right
here in South Dakota. For example, our attorney general, Larry Long,
has been trying to get Brandon's state Representative Hunt to reveal
who contributed the secret $750,000 to Hunt's campaign against the
abortion issue in the recent political campaign.
A U.S. Supreme
Court decision handed down last week all but destroys the attorney
general's court case against Hunt. But this does not release Hunt on
moral and ethical grounds from telling the public where that money
came from.
This goes back to the premise
that all governments and their issues, such as political and
non-political contributions, are transparent. I am just mentioning
the Hunt case, but there are others....
Gordon Garnos was long-time editor of the Watertown Public Opinion and
recently retired after 39 years with that newspaper. Garnos, a
lifelong resident of South Dakota except for his military service in the
U.S. Air Force, was born and raised in Presho.
