www.associatedcontent.com/joedimeck
Author Joe Dimeck wrote an intriguing essay entitled, "The Petty States of America: Green Lawns to Brown Lawns". His snappy writing style crystalized the downfall of American society, as he penned, "You know things aren't so bad when most of the people in your neighborhood are worried about the quality of their grass.......Bad news lives on a street lined with brown yards......Pettiness is as prevalent as McDonald's and celebrity gossip......Ongoing educationn and learning, as well as shrinking the gap between the rich and the poor should be at the top of our to-do list. Ironically, both are slipping further and further down the list, bound to be lost causes in coming decades. In a life where we are guaranteed only the churlish certainty of death, we should spend more time doing as much as we can and absorbing as much information as possible. And the absorption of excess amounts of knowledge should not be limited to people with fat bank accounts and trust funds. The true path to a utopian and chaos-free society is through the pursuit of knowledge, not material items."
Dimeck nailed it!
Americans worried about the shade of green in their front yard; or Britney Spears' love life; or the 'performance' of that 'hot stock' our broker recommended; or the football hero who scored the winning touchdown in yesterday's big game; or whether tonight's episode of "Desperate Housewives" would be a rerun.
We'd been reduced to caring more about trivial matters than the important stuff that really matters.
People no longer cared about the politicians whom they elected to conduct the nation's business; and, conversely, politicians no longer cared about doing the people's bidding. City, county, state, and federal governments had abandoned the people because the people had abandoned those very institutions purportedly assigned to serve them. 'War' was just another epic television event played out on the network news, no different than watching "Saving Private Ryan" or "Apocalypse Now" in the calloused comfort of your own home. Busily engaged in the triviality and froth of their own shallow lives, America's no longer concerned themselves with matters of politics and government, no longer bothered to look after their fellow man, and pretty much avoided all contact with the sick, aged, dying, disabled, poor, disadvantaged, hungry, underprivileged, or homeless.
Let the nurses and social workers take care of those folks; it's not our job to watch 'em.
Oh, to be sure, we assuaged our conscience by sending a check once a year, but God forbid we actually roll up our sleeves and 'get involved' in such menial onus. Let someone handle that burden; we're 'busy' blackening the tires on the Mercedes.
It all came down to a matter of inequality.
If we enjoyed status in our community as a business leader or prominent citizen, our position and influence kept us from having to do the 'dirty work' of helping others. All we had to do was speak up and 'suggest' so-and-so needed help, and the church ladies or service clubs would do our bidding.
If we had enough money, it allowed us to simply write a check instead of actually working at the Kiwanis club's pancake breakfast benefit for the little girl dying of leukemia. Even though we knew her family, our contribution saved us the trouble of going to visit her in the hospital and contributing one tiny smile to her otherwise dismal day. The check wasn't really for the sick little girl; it was for us - to make us feel better about ourselves.
In New York City, a common, everyday sight was watching a bigshot executive get out of his limousine and walk right past a homeless beggar sprawled on the sidewalk. If the big shot had just received a blow job from his morning mistress, he might be in a generous enough mood to have his chauffeur throw the bum a few bucks. Otherwise, the poor slob could starve, as far as Mr. Big Bucks was concerned.
Everything was a matter of the inequality of our social status, our position within the community, our wealth, our health, or our personal level of exigence. The chronic alcoholic needed more help than those of us who sipped on chocolate martinis at the 'club'. There was no equal treatment between a poor black kid who stabbed a threatening gang member and a rich black athlete who stabbed his ex-wife and her young male friend. "Equilateralism" seemed to be the perfect solution to all this imbalance in America's society......or was it??
Those huddled in O.U.T.R.A.G.E. think tanks muddled over the viability of such a social doctrine.
Meanwhile, tomorrow was Tuesday, January 20, 2009. All of the new candidates would be inaugurated in front of the rubble that used to be the Capitol Building. Jil Adams, Bob Ryan, Ron Oetting, and Phil Baker (the AROB group) were already in the bombed-out, hurricane-stricken city of Washington, DC making all the arrangements. The flight to D.C. also included two planes full of O.U.T.R.A.G.E. volunteers: Mike and Donna; Bobby and Lovey; Boo and Jo; Connie and Chris; Sally and Ryan; Doc; 'Hammy'; Lynn; Michelle; Dana; Lynette; Kathy; Hooter - and even Bobby Cowles - had all come along to help set up for the swearing-in ceremonies. This really wasn't all that big of a project, but it was an historical event that many O.U.T.R.A.G.E. volunteers wanted to participate in; so all the troubadours trotted into town. 'Hammy' brought gaunchy; Phil brought an abundance of bourbon; Bob brought the beer; and Ron filled the cargo compartment of one O.U.T.R.A.G.E. executive jet with Captain Morgan, vodka, lime juice and soft drinks.