I often tell people how difficult it can be to put 1,000 words together every week with the expectation those words will somehow make sense and in so doing entertain readers for a few minutes. I tell people this because it is easy to write stories about early times, youthful times, the times most readers of this column look fondly upon.
The difficulty lies in the desire to rant on about the current political upheaval now sweeping the halls of government and non-government buildings and the scurrilous behavior of our elected officials; and especially of one man of African-American ancestry who is not elected. My choice for this column is to offer up some things that I find almost incredulous mixed with some more positive items.
If tomorrow any of my Republican friends were to tell me they are pleased with this Elon Musk fellow and all that he is doing to American institutions, I am not sure I would fully believe them. I would understand supporting their party’s overall, traditional goals, but I would find it hard to fathom how they would reconcile it with the present assault on American institutions. We are told Elon Musk as an organizational whiz kid that he is the best man in the whole world to fix our broken, money leaking system, never mind he is a billionaire and out of touch with real life as we know it, as is his compadre Donald Trump, and so has little empathy for the common citizen. He is behind the shutting down of American aid to foreign countries, Africa among them, which will result in the spread of disease and many unnecessary deaths; including many of his once fellow countrymen.
Another 17 months will tell what affect all this government housecleaning, or gutting, has on the country. Still, I can remember no time in our history, excepting the Marquis de Lafayette, when a foreign-born individual was given so much honor and power in American affairs. I wish us all good luck.
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Years ago, I did some editing on my daughter’s college thesis and so know her stance on child predators/abusers; she was tough on the perpetrators, of course, but didn’t have a lot to say about victims. Well, some nonprofit organization in Florida came across that paper and contacted her about writing protocols for dealing with human trafficking victims, especially the recidivism rate of those who went through established programs designed to get them back into society as functioning members. She will be the director of one of several houses in Florida, houses established by a network of six nonprofits, and see how her proposals work out.
That is honorable work; but surely tough on the psyche given some of the horror stories associated with human trafficking, which was once called child prostitution; just as involuntary servitude was once called slavery. Both are conditions of human trafficking and the victims of either can have a tough row to hoe after being removed from their situation. While doing this, she is still employed by the Sooners of Oklahoma as legal liaison in the medical department. Busy girl.
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“I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and not lose voters.” That was a claim made by presidential candidate Donald J. Trump on Jan. 23, 2016, at a campaign rally in Iowa. When I read what he had said, I thought, as did many other people, that this was just another wild statement made by a man with a reputation for outlandish remarks and was to be dismissed as just another narcissistic trait.
Now, given the unfettered actions of the man and his gutting of American institutions, I believe he could do exactly what he said he could do and get away with it. And he would not use a “temporary insanity” defense, he would simply dismiss all professionals who would dare prosecute him. And he would get away with that, too.
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My son Steven is a musher in Montana, he and his 53 dogs pull sleds with paying customers over specially prepared trails in the Bitterroot Mountains. He had a bad year last season when no snow fell; it was the same this year until two days ago when so much fell it meant reworking the trails so he lost customers, again. Then, to add insult to injury (as they say), an order arrived with an extra $58 fee tacked onto the price. When he asked why he was told “Ask your Mr. Trump.” You see, in his profession many items come from, you guessed it, Canada; he became a victim of a tariff levied on one of our oldest allies.
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Every year there are two events aimed at helping youth and I am honored to be part of both. I recently received five applications for the Rusty and June Houx Scholarship offered by the Stage Hands acting troupe. You have heard me say Scholarship Night is the best thing we do as a society; I stand by that. College is expensive and many applicants are from lower income situations, many are the first in their family to attend college, so financial aid is a great boost forward. If you could read some of these stories you would surely be moved by their earnest desire for a better future and their reverence for the sacrifices made by their parents, or, as is often the case, a single parent.
The other event is the Lion’s Club Student Speaker Contest to be held Monday, Feb. 17, in the Long Branch at SVF. I will again be one of the judges for this very worthy night. It is always gratifying to hear the voices of today’s young as they express themselves on the given topic. Contrary to some media pundits, these youths are well attuned to the world they live in, and have good ideas on how that world should work.
Take care. Peace.
