The Pit and The Pendulum - We Teeter, We Totter...        

Of course, boys and girls, of course I’ve been reading; what else shall I do with myself? Bungee jump off Grandfather Mountain?  Do the Big Island Triathalon? Tsk, tsk dear reader, I’d rather take flying lessons from our minute Lt. Gov Andre ‘The Reckless’ or go hunting with our VP (quiet lately, aint he?) or take driving lessons from Teddy The K than expose myself to such heavy breathing and sweating. Heavens Forfend!

And in my recent reading, I’ve come upon something that has started to bother me and yet give me great hope too. It is Spring when we toss the dead earth and watch it give forth.

Point of Reference. I’m currently greatly engrossed in ‘The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt’ by Edmund Morris. He won the Pulitzer for it and it is a ripping good read.

Early on, as young Roosevelt studies at Harvard, his aristocrat father Theodore Sr. becomes embroiled in a nasty New York City political fight involving a public service appointment and the heavy political infighting and horse trading that often accompanies same. The entire family is chagrined and hurt and disgusted by the fray. Save for Teddy. He is angered and intrigued and drawn to it all.

Thank God for such.

And as the tale is told, Morris points out: “(they) belonged to a class and a generation that considered politics to be a dirty business, best left, like street cleaning, to malodorous professionals.”

Is this where we’re headed again? Are we already there, again?

The words ‘politics’ and ‘politician’ have become pejorative. It is easy license to lump all in a grab bag of sins, errors and omissions.

An eager, gotcha-again, thinner than sheet ice substance press with electronic immediacy pounces on every misstep, foible and gaff. Our computers and TVs, from drudgereport.com to Lou Dobbs to Chris Mathews, screech on and on and on about every little thing. Such heavyweights as Robert Redford, Madonna and Dave Mathews are sought out as perfectly legitimate commentators on the issues of the day.

It seems it costs more and more and more to run for office, that fewer and fewer ‘good’ people seek office, that the demands and sacrifices narrow the point of entry for most, that the compensation for those who serve is comparably modest (South Carolina’s legislators get paid $10,400 per annual session plus meager travel and lodging per diems-South Carolina’s legislative sessions are among the longest in the country each year: four-plus months. Looks to me we’re getting our money’s worth!)

And now, here it comes.

As it usually does.

If not a tsunami, then a political wretching of large proportion. So much in play, from top to bottom, this time around.

The May 26^th Kiplinger Letter (not exactly the National Inquirer or Star of the news/government/business management set...) leads in its first paragraph with the following:

 “AMERICAN VOTERS ARE ANGRY AND FED UP. A majority believe the government is inept in its handling of disaster relief, immigration, spending and energy policy...they want big change from Washington.”

I think the same is true, for the most and growing part about state and local politics.

We want better than we’ve been getting and my bet is we’re going to throw a lot of the bums out as we seek it.

Good. I’m sick of the same old, same old.

It’s time we renewed our national love affair with politics, with politicians. We’ve been passive for too long (again-what’s new...) and it’s bit us in the tail. Now, let’s bite back.

America’s national sport is not football or baseball, it’s Politics!

Politics, as the smart old guys still always say, aint beanbag. It’s hardball (Pssst. That’s why Chris Mathews calls his show that...)

Money is the Mother’s Milk of American Politics. And no matter what, Politics aint going away so...

Re-energize yourself and your family and your household. Start talking about the candidates and who you like and why and who you detest and why too. Send a favorite $10 or $25 or $50 or more. Start yacking with your friends and neighbors about the issues and the candidates. Go hear some of them speak.

Study their Ads on TV and Radio for content and substance. Look at their print copy in the newspaper. Check their mailings to your residence for spelling and content (One current candidate for SC Secretary of Education sent a bulk mailing flyer around that just sang her praises to the heavens-sorry, Charlie-It also contained a half-dozen misspellings and more than a few grammatical crack-ups; so much for that ‘check your work before you hand it in’. Gong Show for her!).

Get involved damn it!

You may not find Teddy Roosevelt, you may not find the Man on The White Horse, but I promise you this.

You’ll find the Citizen, the Voter that you need to be.