NBC quotes our fluidly articulate leader this week as having proclaimed: “It’s a disgrace what ‘s happening in this country. Other than that, I wish everyone a very merry Christmas.” For one of the few times it’s ever happened, I agree with him. What the disgrace is, I suspect we may disagree on.
See, I have this funny idea that a president’s job is to keep the government running, not bog it down in political sparring. My civics 101 class must not have contained the same lessons Mr. T’s did.
Oh well, let’s look forward. A recent Time magazine featured dozens of fascinating new products that were amazingly creative in their ability to match technology to real needs of human beings.
Most of these are a blend of one person’s idea about something with the wonders of electricity, mechanics, physics, mining, biology, sociology, psychology, engineering, chemistry, and variously new emerging sciences.
It’s particularly interesting to me that the discipline of science is disparaged by Mr. T. I suppose it’s natural though. After all, Science is the discipline of using the human mind to test and attempt to determine what is tangibly real and functional.
It’s about trying to figure out what is concretely capable of at least approximating the elusive concept of The Truth of our Universe. This discipline is not one of the more formidable items in Mr. T.’s toolbag. But as I said: Forward!
If the world’s leaders – all those blustering, self-centered, aggressive, and always wealthy producers of devious words – were required to meet in a locked sports stadium somewhere, and not allowed out until they agreed to stop fighting wars, we might achieve some real Forward progress.
They do seem to have a great deal of trouble understanding the concepts of cooperation and collaboration in the service of the human race, don’t’ they? It’s a shame, because it’s obvious the troubles of the world are brought on mostly by their limited faith in the human mind to better our situation.
We don’t often get a Ghandi, a Christ, an Einsteins, or other visionaries in life. They come few and far between. And the rest of us – us fumbling ordinary people – we seem compelled just to watch and wonder at the mess they commonly make of things.
Which is why I so fervently say in my stumbling way that all of us need to wake up and demand all those guys and gals at the top get their acts together. It may be beyond our ability. But it seems like it would be worth a try.
I’m beginning to believe there’s an actual “Leader Gene” that is built out of fuzzy but persuasive rhetoric, and a “Follower Gene” that is built out of our unrelenting naivety and acceptance of BS arguments by such leaders. (BS is “Blustery Stuff,” of course.)
But I promised Forward thinking. So here it is. If I’m elected president, we’re going to pass a law that requires every politician and bureaucrat (under fear of losing their jobs if they don’t do it) to begin with the following statement when giving a speech:
“Before I begin, let me repeat that another in the U.S.’s monthly meetings of world leaders debating how to end war will be held next Monday on the White House Front lawn. Any leaders wanting to get a loan from or do business with the U.S. in any way are required to attend.”
My theory is that such a repetitive strategy will help unbrainwash all of them, get some common sense into them, you see. I know. I know. You think that’s more hopeful naivety. Maybe. But it’s the best I can come up with.
I mean, if we use the irresistible temptation of money repeatedly to require all the leaders to get into one sports stadium together and talk about the idea over hotdogs and beers, they ought to quickly warm to the idea.
That’s my Christmas present to all of you. Think it over. It depends on us getting our acts together and agreeing to the scheme.
