Tag Archives: citizens

The State of the Union: Oh, dear…

January 20, 2010

On this beautiful, warm, misty winter morning we awake to a new act in the play of national politics. With the election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts we will see if the dialogue reveals new plot twists, or if the script will simply continue in predictable fashion, unchanged by this new player upon the stage.

Winter sunrise

Winter sunrise

What is the State of the Union today? Who is watching the actors play their respective roles in Washington and the state houses throughout the nation? How attentive is the audience?

A rude awakening…

This morning I had a conversation that both saddened and disgusted me. Can you imagine a highly compensated, thirty-something professional, conservative in viewpoint, firm in faith, who had never heard of the Tea Parties or the White House czars?

When the person with whom I spoke related this I was astounded. I know the parties involved, both the one who shared the story and the young professional himself.

When told of the fifty (plus?) czars appointed by President Obama, he asked with sincere incredulity, “Do you mean they actually call them czars?” The only tea party he’d heard about was in Alice in Wonderland. (Okay, that is an assumption…he sure didn’t know about the grass-roots movement making headlines for nearly a year now.)

Such stories are usually considered the stuff of urban legends, interesting but probably overstated or untrue. In this case, the complete disconnect from the state of our union is completely true.

Talk about misplaced priorities…

How can a citizen be so obtuse? The young man seems to know every player in the NFL, yet nothing about the precarious state of his country. As a Christian, has he also abdicated a responsibility to his fellows?

What is the true State of our Nation? Our nation needs prayer… lots of prayer. And, there are some young “patriotic Christians” who need a good swift kick you know where.

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Washington DC – The Game of Fantasy Monopoly

December 16, 2009

The inhabitants of Washington DC do not live in the real world. They live in a make-believe world where they spend their days and nights playing fantasy Monopoly using other people’s money, where there are no actual consequences for going bankrupt. When the players run out of money they just start the game over again with fresh piles of fantasy cash.

Every couple of years a few players at the table change; but the number of seats at the table doesn’t change. The game continues.

So, what’s the problem with this pursuit? The money being thrown out on the table is not Monopoly money; it is the treasure of the citizens of the United States.

The gamers appear in the media and tell us how their play is progressing. Sometimes they are joyful, having just landed on Boardwalk with cash at the ready. At other times they preach the impending end of the game, as if it might truly be over. But they know they can always begin again. Selling their different strategies of play to any who will listen is just part of the game.

If we listen to them we hear dire predictions. One player threatens that if they lose control of the railroads and utilities they will not be able to keep the houses on Madison and Baltic Avenues. Properties are mortgaged. Foreclosures are made. Assets change hands – and the game continues.

In Monopoly there is one rule that never changes. The bank is a completely neutral party. Do you remember what triggers the end of a Monopoly game? The play ends when one player has all the property and all the money.

Washington DC won’t stop playing until the federal government owns all the property and has all the money. Citizens will have nothing. Unless something changes, play will continue, without a neutral bank, and without real representation for the citizens who provide the money, build the houses, and run the railroads.

The folks who created Monopoly included rules. The reason for the popularity of the game is that anyone can win if they play well enough. The game of Monopoly embodies the essence of the American Dream.

The game of fantasy Monopoly doesn’t have rules. The bank isn’t neutral. The players have no risk. The game will continue unless the people of the United States quit giving their money to the players.

It’s no longer a fantasy – it’s a nightmare. We must wake up.

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