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Last week I stirred a number of readers when I made fun of presidential candidates and their possible drug use that allows them to campaign 20 hours a day. It was repeated to me that I did not give the proper respect since one of them will be elected president. I wonder why this society so reveres politicians, actors, and musicians? While painting with a wide brush, politicians, actors and musicians tend to be mostly style with little substance. There are exceptions, would those three exceptions please stand up? With politicians there is not much fidelity, that is, loyalty and attentiveness to one’s duty unless we allow their own needs to be their duty. Politicians speak of serving us when they constantly work for us to serve them. Most are functionally useless in the real world. When the toilet is overflowing, I am interested in who can fix it. The good life ends when the porcelain convenience puts human waste on the floor. Those who fix real problems stand a whole lot taller than politicians who mainly try to fix problems that they created in the first place. Just as important are the New Mexico ranchers and farmers who make sure that when you order a meal, the diner has something to sell. Some people make discourteous comments on their provincial garb. And, they do not get rich. Life for many of them is a hard old dog and then they die. Still, some of them are my good friends and better friends you could not find. I know this, if today’s society had to go fetch their own food, we would not have an obesity problem. We do not think of this because we do not have to, they are so dependable. We watch hours and hours of presidential candidates who essentially do nothing other than ask for money and repeat what their handlers tell them to say. The real heroes of our society are rarely acknowledged even though they solve our problems while risking life and limb at less that star quality wages so that our lives roll easily. We see them and yet we do not see them. Truckers driving at all hours of the day and night conveyed the goods on store shelves. Their job has plenty of danger, as do many more. On the Discovery Channel is a series, The Deadliest Catch. I got the entire first series in a boxed DVD set. Like everyone else, I now have a new respect for Crab on the menu. We would not have seen this except that series producer Thom Beers nine years ago filmed the Crab process. He commented, “When I came off the boat after 11 days, I felt like I had spit in the eye of the devil and walked away from it.” I hope someone else decides to concentrate on other high-risk jobs that we take for granted. I will not list them because I am afraid I would forget one or a dozen. They all deserve our respect and gratitude. While some politicians give lip service to the military, it is the politicians who start the wars, but at some point some 20 year old has to kick a door down and go in blazing. The politician risks losing prestige while the people serving in the military risks injury or death. It has always been this way. Only today, the military has to fight the enemy along with many American politicians who do things harmful to the safety of our military personnel. Additionally, they have to put up with a media that is calculatingly against them. The media shows the negatives while concealing the positives of our military’s actions. My friend Charlie ends his emails, “America is not at war, the military is at war. America is at the mall. Congress is out of touch. We voted change in 2006, vote for change in 2008!” Many young people have never done any of the gritty slimy odorous work that keeps our society going. They live privileged lives without realizing how really fortunate they are. George Orwell said, “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” While only half of the people bother to vote, everyone benefits from farmers and ranchers along with many other unglamorous professions. We need to hold them in our prayers every day. I have the utmost respect for leadership, doing the right thing at the right time in the right way regardless of opposition. These Presidential Candidates do not give me any hope they will serve with fidelity, rather, they will continue to sway with every passing breeze, as they do now on the campaign trail. Whether I like what they stand for or not I respect those who do not sway. Let us spend our time and attention celebrating our real heroes and ignoring the egomaniacs running for president. When we do vote, we should vote for the least swaying politician. Maybe we can even elect a plumber for president. It sure works for me.
© 2007 Michael Swickard, Ph.D. |
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