Sharon Kennedy: Take a couple deep breaths
Everything’s going haywire and everyone’s going mad — or at least that’s the way it seems — so let’s all take a deep breath and calm down.
As one feller pointed out when I wrote about assault weapons, “the wily old bat” has no idea what she’s talking about.
True.
Like some of you, I might not have all the facts. I might parrot an opinion based on what I’ve heard on the Thom Hartmann program. Other folks might echo something they heard on FOX News. The difference being Hartmann is a thoughtful, well-read, intelligent, fairly calm individual whose research for his books on American institutions is impeccable. I can’t say the same about the latter. FOX devotees are free to stew in their own fury as I stir the pot.
I’ve been listening to the Select Committee question people privy to conversations unheard by us. We have no idea if witnesses are telling the truth because “truth” no longer means the same to everyone. What you think is true might sound like fantasy to me. However, there was a time when most Americans believed what we read in newspapers or heard on the evening news. We might have disagreed with newscasters like Cronkite and Brinkley, but we wouldn’t have called them liars or fools.
All that’s changed now. If I look back over the decades, it’s obvious politicians have muddled our brains. In attempting to please everyone, they borrowed what opponents of Herbert Hoover called his “chicken in every pot and two cars in every garage” pledge. A 1928 “Vote for Hoover” ad in the New York Times read, “Republican prosperity has reduced hours and increased earning capacity, silenced discontent, put a proverbial ‘chicken in every pot and a car in every backyard.’ The Republican Party rests its case on a record of stewardship and performance.”
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Folks who know history also know the Great Depression started on Hoover’s watch. What started on former President Trump’s watch is something else entirely.
We’re all riled up now. We argue over everything and believe only what tickles our ears. We dismiss opposing viewpoints as mere nonsense. Whichever camp we lean towards, we’re convinced we know the truth: The Democratic Party is composed of corrupt progressive and socialist crooks who steal elections. The Republican Party consists of liars, fraudsters, fakes and felons. Common sense should tell us such sweeping statements are made to arouse emotions and discourage intelligent discourse. The Democrats are a little lazy when it comes to hysterical rhetoric and going a few rounds in the verbal ring. Not so the Republicans.
What’s in store for our country? Will one segment of the populace devour the other? I don’t know. I’ve seen contempt for politicians throughout my lifetime but never as hate-filled as now. I have a hard time believing voters want anyone other than honorable, trustworthy and temperamentally moderate persons in Congress and the White House. Surely there must be some candidates who will earn our respect in the upcoming midterm and presidential elections. We shouldn’t have to choose between kindly, somewhat unbalanced grandpas and boastful, chest-beating wrecking balls.
Perhaps I’m being naïve. Perhaps I should stick with stories about the days of my childhood when I was unaware of world events and happy in my ignorance, but I’m an adult now. I’ll take a deep breath and refrain from throwing plates at the wall or twisting facts to suit my fancy. What will you do?
— To contact Sharon Kennedy, send her an email at authorsharonkennedy.com. Kennedy's latest book, “The SideRoad Kids: Tales from Chippewa County,” is available from her, Amazon, or Audible.
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Sharon Kennedy: Take a couple deep breaths
