I hope the New Year finds y’all in good spirits. And remember, every New Year is virtually a new beginning. To quote a good friend of mine from the Dayton area named Vicki Billheimer, “Each day is a gift. That’s why they call it ‘The Present.’” So, go ahead and enjoy yer present.
Regarding new beginnings, I’ve recently found out that the movie “Easy Rider” has a sequel that will be opening in theaters this spring. It’s called “Easy Rider: The Road Back” and centers on the premise that Captain America (whose name in the screenplay for the original movie was Wyatt Williams and played by Peter Fonda) had a younger brother (played by Phil Pitzer, originally from Cincinnati) who restores Captain America’s star spangled chopper. From what I’ve heard, the movie does justice to the original and I’m looking forward to seeing it.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been over 40 years since me and some friends went to a Drive In theater to see the first Easy Rider. Hell, it’s almost impossible to even find a Drive In these days. But I do have fond memories of riding the bike to one with a date, spreading out a blanket, and laying back to watch a movie. The Drive In I most often went to eventually stopped letting bikes in because the bikers were getting a bit too rowdy (imagine that!) But while it lasted it was definitely a trip to lay back, look up and watch the HUGE screen on a warm summer night with yer honey.
As a matter of fact, I haven’t even been to an “inside” movie theater in years either. The last time I did go, the other people were so loud and childish that Julie and I weren’t even able to concentrate on the movie. What gets me is since movies are relatively expensive these days, you’d think the morons making all the noise would wanna shut up, sit back and watch the show instead of loudly yapping on their damned phones and throwing popcorn at each other. And I’m talking about so-called adults here! I think the ushers with the flashlights who used to control things are now concerned they might get shot or stabbed if they tell someone to settle down.
Ya know, in many ways we’ve matured as a society and as a culture. The field of medicine makes incredible advances every day. Technology allows everybody to use the Internet for entertainment, communication, shopping, research and whatever else we wanna do with it. Automobiles are lasting longer and getting better gas mileage (I remember when a 5 year old car was a gas guzzling bucket of rust). And in many ways we’re finally getting a grip on the ecology and what it takes to live in our world without destroying it.
What I can’t understand is why our society sometimes appears to be breaking down. We clamp down on some minor offenders for the most ridiculous things, while we allow others to trample on everyone else’s rights by letting them get away with irresponsible and really screwed up behavior (like the jerks in the theater that day). We’re a nation of people who have been more or less enlightened culturally regarding social prejudices and things like mass manipulation by corporate deception. The days of citizens sitting back and just accepting outright political corruption are gone. Also, it’s unusual to find absolute hunger among even our most needy. And even in these days of gross unemployment, people can still struggle on and at least hope for a brighter future. But while I think that the 60’s and 70’s decades of social upheaval might have been a cultural revolution we liberals think we’ve won (speaking for myself), in many ways we’ve also lost. As the cartoon character Pogo used to say, “We have met the enemy and they is us.”
Political correctness now dominates to the point that we’re afraid to actually speak our minds about some things, and when we do, we chance that the things we say are misunderstood. So most of us, including our politicians, are afraid to use whatever common sense we have because we might be labeled as “anti-social”, “nationalists” or “too American” (as if there could be such a thing!)
One example of this is our government’s “Cash for Clunkers” deal to stimulate our economy. At first it sounded like a great idea, but it wasn’t specified that you had to buy a car manufactured in America! The result is that the only economic stimulation that occurred was for the banks, car dealers, and foreign auto-makers. AMERICAN workers might have prospered a teeny bit from it, but the majority of it benefited the wrong people. Hell, Toyota liked it so much they continued the deal and paid for it themselves even after government sponsorship ceased. But it was politically INcorrect to insist on using it only for cars “Made in America”, so our politicians didn’t consider it when the deal was drawn up, IF they even considered it at all.
And in the mean time things like the Fort Hood massacre happens. I mean, where the hell was our multi-billion dollar Home Security plan when THAT occurred? And that happened on a secure army base right here in America where one of my own sons was once stationed!! Didn’t anybody notice the red flags that asshole Major was waiving so enthusiastically? Or in fact did those who are supposed to be paying attention to such things just write off his anti-war tirades as politically correct religious fervor? In any case, it’s one thing for you and I to vocalize our opinions regarding the war, and an entirely different thing when an active senior officer in our military does it (especially when he’s slated to GO to war).
I find it hard to understand how someone could speak out against killing fellow Muslims, then go ahead and kill fellow soldiers. Some people’s interpretation of “religion” baffles the hell outta me. Just today I heard a long news report about this incident and it’s aftermath on public radio, and all they talked about was this mass murderer’s mental health issues. Nothing was even mentioned about his fanatical religious agenda because talking about THAT wasn’t politically correct. All I know is brave young men and women in uniform, and their families, suffered the result of authorities “looking the other way”. Thus, our concerns about offending some people has cost the lives of others.
There HAS to be a balance when it comes to any political doctrine. Most liberals like myself do NOT want the government prying into our personal lives and watching over our shoulders any more than the conservatives do. But come on….some people obviously need to be watched, and watched closely! If we can make an attempt to keep an eye on child molesters and sex offenders, why can’t we do the same to those who make it clear they want to destroy all of us AND our way of life?
By the say, while I’m bouncing around about things (I’m in that kinda mood), most liberals do NOT think that anyone should be able to take advantage of and “live off” of the system (translated as other people’s tax dollars). Being a liberal doesn’t mean you’re an idiot and ya think everyone should get a free ride. Neither are all conservatives the “Scrooges” they’re made out to be, and I’m sure even they are surely willing to let the government shoulder the actual living expenses of some of our society’s most helpless downtrodden. Sometimes just about everybody needs a boost up, whether it’s a no-nonsense welfare plan, college education paid for by your parents or you’ve inherited your daddy’s stocks and bonds.
But sooner or later we’ll get it all straightened out. We’ll HAVE to if we wanna continue this grand experiment in democracy that we call America (we’ve only been around a few hundred years). It’s such a good idea, if we can only make it work properly by utilizing rational, responsible thought.
In the meantime, let’s try to begin this year with the previous thought that every New Year is indeed a new beginning. And like we used to say in the old days,.......
“Be groovy and keep on truckin” (I’m showing off how hip I used to be)
Bummer
