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Wednesday Morning Ramblings

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How many of us feel like we’ve been transported to Bizarro World when we weren’t looking?  It really feels like our society is collapsing all around us.  Basic etiquette is dead; common decency is so rare that when it does happen it feels foreign and out of place; patience has faded into the past; personal pride is vanishing before our eyes.  What the hell is happening to us?  There’s no simple answer, and any solutions will be met with resistance and controversy by the ones who wish to maintain the status quo, but one of the biggest issues we now face is the rampant apathy that has seeped into every crack and crevice of our culture.

When Christina Aguilera flubbed the National Anthem at the Super Bowl, at first, I wrote it off to nerves.  I mean, with hundreds of millions of viewers in nearly two hundred countries, anyone could be overwhelmed by the pressure.  However, it turns out that one of the biggest factors is that she blew off rehearsal beforehand.  One of the basic tenets that will hold true for as long as people attempt anything is this: “You are going to play how you practice, so practice how you want to play.”  I don’t know how many thousands of dollars she was paid for that performance, but whatever the amount, she should have had the gumption to at least rehearse it fully on the stage before doing it live.  But I believe apathy took over.  Who cares if I get it right.  It’s just the National Anthem.

How many times have you walked into a business and been greeted by someone who seems as if they would rather be anywhere but at their job?  There’s a Subway on Douglas Dam Road that I won’t be a patron to anymore because the workers there are the most apathetic, lazy people I’ve seen in a business.  But they aren’t alone.  Nearly every cashier in every fuel station I’ve been in for the last ten years has had a glazed, dull expression on their face.  Now, I get that those jobs aren’t the greatest in the world, but could it possibly be that the reason the person is stuck in that job is their attitude?

I’m a classic Gen-Xer, so I’m not claiming that I haven’t had my moments of apathy, but I like to think that in every job I’ve ever held, regardless of how menial, I’ve taken pride in the work I’ve done.  I can’t comprehend this new level of detachment that is ruining us.  Not too long ago, we were the greatest nation on this planet, and we carried ourselves with pride in our lives and jobs.  Now, we just seem like a bunch of slouchers going through the motions.  That’s not my country.  That’s not the society I want to live in, but how do we change this?  From my experiences teaching, I’m certain education alone can’t fix it.  So how do we restore our national pride and get people back to caring about the quality of their lives?

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Climate Change Ramblings

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Photo by Marty Carson

Because this winter has been especially harsh here in North America, I decided to do a little investigating on if the record cold temperatures and record snowfalls could be related to changes in the global climate.  Since all scientists are scheming to squeeze grant money from taxpayers and the Jew-run liberal media is using the climate as a conspiracy to spread socialism, I decided to interview unbiased experts in climatology.  I returned to Goose Rock, Kentucky and met with Bubba Blacklung, graduate of Oral Roberts University and meteorologist for the Goose Creek Missionary Baptist Church Newsletter.

“It’s purty clear that global warming’s just a hoax,” Blacklung said, lighting a cigarette.  “I mean, I’ve left my car running for two months straight, trying to warm things up a bit, but instead it just keeps gettin colder.  I knew all along it weren’t true cause I got an electronic mail from the World Wide Internet explaining how all science is just a tool of the Devil to turn our younguns into queers.  What could be more credible than an electronic mail?”

Now suspicious of the conspiracy, I rushed to South Carolina to speak with Joseph Cartwright III, conservative blogger and talk radio host for WHTE-All White, All the Time.

“Mr. Blacklung is right.  We on the frontline of this war between whi..er..I mean Christian values and the Devil worshiping scientists have been saying for years that this is just a conspiracy cooked up by Al Gore to control energy markets.  This cold weather is proof that Obama wasn’t born in this country.  I’ve gotten thousands of emails telling me that fact.  Thousands of forwarded emails from undisclosed origins can’t be wrong!”

Now convinced, I headed straight to Washington to share my findings with Billy Joe Oilmoney, Tea Party Senator from Texas and champion of all things American.

“This conspiracy is bigger than you think.  They want to bring down oil companies to destroy the American way of life.  Who ever heard of America innovating industries and leading the world in the advancement of technology?  That’s just dirty Commie talk.  America’s always run on oil and always will.”

Concerned for the American way of life, I pressed Senator Oilmoney on how long the world’s supply of oil would last at our present rate of consumption.

“That’s another lie spread by the Commies.  We got plenty of oil, enough to last years and years.  There’s no need to worry about our oil supply.  I mean, most of it comes from the Middle East, and what could be more stable than that region?  There’s no reason to believe that the flow of oil will ever be disrupted there.  Besides, Armageddon is on its way, and those of us who aren’t Devil-worshiping Commies won’t have to worry about this earth anymore.  I’ve got proof that the end is near.  Let me show you this email.”

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Tea Party Ramblings

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Following the lead of Utah in adopting the Browning Revolver as the official state gun, the state of Mississippi is moving to adopt a new symbol of its own.  While the majestic magnolia blossom is the official state flower, leaders in this proud and diverse state believe they need a new symbol to more accurately portray the state’s vision for the future.

“The time is right,” says Konrad K. Kristian, business leader and Tea Party activist.  “We Mississippians need to embrace our heritage and return this state to its once proud stature in this union, and we in the Tea Party believe that this symbol send the proper message.”

Curious to learn more, I pressed Mr. Kristian for more details surrounding the as-of-yet unveiled icon.

“Well, you don’t seem like one of them socialist members of the Jew-run liberal media, and you are blond haired and blue eyed, so I reckon I can trust you with this information.”

He reached underneath the counter and produced a picture frame covered by a velvet cloth.  Slowly, like a highly skilled exotic dancer, he pulled the velvet away from the picture.  Having covered world events as dangerous and threatening to world peace as the Grenada invasion, I thought I was emotionally prepared for anything, but even my hardened journalist’s sensibilities were shocked by the icon: On a dark background for contrast was a picture of a tightly drawn noose swinging from a tree branch.

“Ain’t it beauteeful?” Konrad asked, his eyes welling with tears.

“Um, do you think it might offend the African-Americans of this state?” I asked.

“Well, it might offend the sensitive ones, but in our new vision for America, them sensitive liberal types don’t have much say so anyway.”

Shocked and dismayed by what I had seen, I politely excused myself and rushed to Washington to speak with Rob R. Barron VI and Billy Joe Oilmoney, the two most prominent Tea Party members in the Senate.  After I had described the icon to them, both men stared at me blankly.

“Aren’t you offended?” I asked.

“Why would we be offended?” Oilmoney responded, his voice rising an octave.  “The folks of Mississippi have a right to embrace their heritage.”

“You don’t find this racist?”

“I knew you liberals would find a way to twist this around to racism,” exclaimed Barron.  “We in the Tea Party don’t hate minorities.  We’re not against minorities.  As a matter of fact, some of my favorite athletes and entertainers are black, and all of my servants are Hispanic, so I don’t know where you could get the idea that I’m racist.”

“Look,” interjected Oilmoney.  “That noose is just a symbol of the strength and vitality of the people in charge in Mississippi, and nooses don’t kill people.  Depending on the knot, it’s either a snapped neck or lack of oxygen that kills people.  A noose in the hands of law abiding citizens is harmless, so don’t go trying to demonize a piece of rope.”

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