No Mas
Posted by TFG on January 23rd, 2008
No mas Fred, that is. And surely that’s news to precisely nobody. He’s the only guy on the campaign trail who blew my skirt up even a little bit.
Oh, well. As some long-dead bright boy once said, we Americans get the government we deserve, and we get it good and hard.
January 23rd, 2008 at 9:57 am
Long depressing post eaten by the ether. Oh well.
January 23rd, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Something else another long-dead bright person once said: voting against is as valid as voting for. And either way it goes, the Dems are going to give us a nominee who is really worth voting against.
January 23rd, 2008 at 5:02 pm
Recently, I wondered how I would have responded at the age of thirteen if someone asked me to explain the greatness of America. Of course, thirty-five years on, it is unusual to find people who still believe in American exceptionalism and wish to promulgate it, but I digress. I think I would have proudly and unselfconsciously responded with an idealistic, if naïve, soliloquy celebrating the ideas of liberty, equality under the law, and government of the people, by the people, for the people. Those were ideals that were taught and which I accepted then – and still do now – even if the concepts are a bit tarnished by the unforgiving climate of the real world. I certainly have a greater appreciation for how difficult it is to live up to those ideals and know from bitter experience that reality deals harshly with those who choose to pretend it is something other than what it is. To borrow a phrase, as a young person there was an awful lot I didn’t know that I didn’t know. Nonetheless, I still cherish those ideals and try to honor them and impart them to my charges, as I believe many others of my generation do.
Next time you run into a boy or girl who has recently entered teenagerhood, ask them to explain the greatness of America. I’d be interested to hear the response you get. What worries me as I sit through parent-teacher meetings now is that the curriculum seems to be lacking much of the catechism of democracy that I took for granted. Meanwhile, there appears to be not enough time in the day to proselytize on diversity, environmentalism, popular culture, and select perspectives on “truth”, “justice”, “peace” and “equality”. When the cruel winds of the world start to blow, to what will these tender young reeds tether their still developing sense of morality and ethics?
Well, before I wade too deep here, what I really meant to say was that I too will miss Fred Thompson. I’m guessing his run was the last hurrah for a presidential candidate who understood these concepts and was able and willing to articulate them rather than pander to audiences more interested in Santa Claus than principles and media more interested in the horse race than the eternal vigilance required for constitutional government.
Maybe I should see a doctor about an antidepressant. Man, I feel old.
January 26th, 2008 at 9:57 am
…and we get it good and hard.
I gotta remember that one.
January 26th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
And now I don’t know whether to vote for Daniel Gilbert or Ron Paul (literally the last and first candidates on the ballot) in MO’s primary. I am disappointed that Fred dropped out.
The R Man