I try to be careful about not pointing to a specific political leaning in either my book or in real life. Honestly, I find it distasteful when currently-serving Senior Military Officers, or former Senior Officers for that matter, spout off their politics in a public forum. The Government Shutdown has unfortunately engendered much comment from both sides of the aisle. The rhetoric is down right heinous, and yes, I’ve even heard Senior Military officials weighing in on the topic. This is precisely why I won’t. Do I have an opinion, yes I do, but it is mine. Still, the entire process, disgusting as it may seem, is nothing new. There are stories, some of which appear quite accurate based on the old Congressional Records, that show that the floor of both the House and Senate are no strangers to acrimony. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your perspective, there was no 24/7 news cycle in the 1850s, so the hateful words were not always shared in real time, if at all. This does take me to my point. There is nothing new here, and while we would like to see ourselves as great innovators, we’re not doing anything any differently than we did 200 years ago. I know several of the people from both sides of the aisle, and to them it would be easy to say “play nice”. Still, this flies in the face of reality, and here we are, where we are. Is it a little scary? Sure it is, but it is actually democracy in action.
I think it was Will Rogers who said something about how Politics are like making sausage, it just isn’t something you want to see happen. Now, thanks to the almost instant news cycle, we’re seeing it up close and personal. Another quote, which really isn’t as much a quote as it is an old curse. (There are many derivations and claims to this one, so I won’t attribute it exactly.) This curse goes like this, “May you live in interesting times.” Now whether you think we’re there or not is purely a matter for conjecture, but the entire process can’t help but leave me just a little exhausted. ~ Michael S. Pauley
I think it was Will Rogers who said something about how Politics are like making sausage, it just isn’t something you want to see happen. Now, thanks to the almost instant news cycle, we’re seeing it up close and personal. Another quote, which really isn’t as much a quote as it is an old curse. (There are many derivations and claims to this one, so I won’t attribute it exactly.) This curse goes like this, “May you live in interesting times.” Now whether you think we’re there or not is purely a matter for conjecture, but the entire process can’t help but leave me just a little exhausted. ~ Michael S. Pauley
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