Political Ambiguity - The Divide Widens



Pick a donut, any donut!



"Which one is Fred?"

Last February, I wrote a blog, http://kellykonecne.blogspot.kr/2012/02/out-from-wild.html, expressing concern over the political division infecting our country and a hope for reconciliation.  Far from resolving our differences, the past election has only widened the gap dividing us.  Stubbornness and resentment has blinded many to the serious crisis rapidly unfolding in front of our very eyes.  With only hours left until we cascade over the fiscal cliff, a solution isn’t within sight.  Perhaps it’s time to select a scapegoat.  Any suggestions on an appropriate choice to burn on the stake of public ridicule?

While browsing the Internet and pondering over a cup of coffee at the “Hanshim Institute of Baking and Coffee” (seriously) on Christmas Eve afternoon, a worthy candidate to receive blame came to light.  The media is surely culpable for our downfall!   Responsible journalism has been replaced with practices previously reserved to a handful of disreputable rags.  Sensationalism and the advancement of political agendas have superseded the search for truth and protection of the public interest.  On my way out the door, I vented part of my indignation by purchasing two overpriced donuts.

Martin Luther King himself couldn't have put it better when he said,
'Don't believe everything you read on the Internet.'

 

Undeniably, irresponsible media is a fitting choice for our derision. Their coverage of the Sandy Hook massacre and the underlying role they play in encouraging unbalanced individuals to create atrocious acts is a good illustration. I’m certain many (if not most) of you’ve seen some moving words attributed (wrongly) to Morgan Freeman on the Internet,

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2012/12/morgan-freeman-newtown-quotes/60047/. 

I wish the words were from Mr. Freeman. Beyond providing a lit match for my bonfire proposal, his next role could’ve been our next actor president.  

 

The feeding frenzy surrounding the Gen Petraeus scandal is another good example of misleading information virally spreading and the impetus behind the image I created above.  Allegations the FBI agent who “sent shirtless photos of himself to a woman involved in the case prior to the investigation” were factually true, but were widely presented with underlying sexual connotations.  Once the actual picture surfaced, it was clear the likely motive for sending the picture, two years earlier, and to a large audience (including a reporter) was humor.  The photo of the bald, bare-chested agent, taken a shooting range, showed a striking resemblance, and in my opinion, was amusing.  A shirtless photo of me, at a kitchen range with donuts in hand, would surely invoke a few laughs from friends and family.
 

 On Christmas morning, my intricate plan to parody the media began to unravel.  Waking to the welcome smell of brewing coffee, my cheerful demeanor rapidly turned south when my lovely wife returned my heartfelt gratitude for the coffee with “You’re welcome, and thank you very much for the donut!”  After angrily (pretend) letting her know she’d ruined Christmas, my feigned rage was softened by her contrite (actually sincere) offer to acquire a new donut.  Even after explaining why I needed the “Institute’s” credibility for my piece, convincing her to make the 2-hour drive was a forlorn hope.  I didn’t even suggest a trip to my favorite, but equally distant, coffee shop in all of Korea.  “Shut up and Take Coffee” http://10mag.com/shut-up-and-take-coffee-incheon-korea/  is a great place to visit if you ever have a few hours to kill at the Incheon airport.  All conversation ended abruptly as Hyesuk darted out the door.  Fifteen minutes later, a replacement donut from a local Dunkin Donuts franchise arrived at the same time as a new roadblock.

 

My original plan to replicate the shirtless FBI agent photo didn’t set well with Hyesuk and she refused to help out with the camera.   I couldn’t come up with a rebuttal to her, “Are you stupid?” argument even after showing her on the Internet that it  would be perfectly acceptable. 
http://shine.yahoo.com/love-sex/photographer-8217-self-portraits-ballet-skirt-weapons-wife-185500363.html
 I finally caved on her suggestion to take the photo in a T-shirt and was actually pleased with the outcome.  Shortly after the photo was taken, two thirds of the donuts quickly disappeared.  I tried to refocus myself on the media’s advancement of political agendas, gun control for instance, but somehow drifted off in reminiscence.

If every parent kept their firearms unloaded and locked up, the completely fabricated story of an individual shooting a beer bottle out of his brother’s hand while showing off his quick draw at the Cheyenne Wells dump probably wouldn’t even plant a small seed of curiosity…and while we’re on the subject of the dump, I remember a group of mostly young adults building a ramp to jump a bicycle over a sizeable bonfire there.  The first individual to emulate Evil Knievel came barreling down the hill, hit the center of the ramp, soared well above the fire, and landed gracefully on the other side to the cheers and adulation of all witnesses.  As the evening progressed, and courage increased, numerous victories were achieved.  Inevitably, as inhibitions and physical dexterity decreased, one participant’s rapid descent down the hill was followed by sliding off the side of the ramp and directly into the fire.  Fortunately, the rider’s scrapes and burns weren’t life threatening and his failure achieved the greatest exaltation and most raucous celebration of the entire evening…and while we’re on the subject of alcohol induced foolishness, I remember another individual capturing a rattlesnake while working in the field.  After completing his day’s work, he placed it in large glass jar and took it with him to the bar and an inevitable result.  What’s the point of this rambling disjointed paragraph?  Here it is.  We have to find a way to keep guns, bicycles, and rattlesnakes out of the hands of idiots!

 

A few moments of reflection, and Hyesuk’s “Are you stupid?” denigration, still ringing in my head finally brought me to my senses.  Why should I risk raising the ire of the National Rattlesnake Association, the Concerned Citizens for Bicycle Fireproofing, and especially Mother’s Against Telling Lies About Your Brother.   Expressing displeasure with our elected representives over their mishandling of the Fiscal Cliff is considerably more likely to incite a torch bearing mob.  Even though Congress is returning this Sunday and the President is returning early from his vacation in Hawaii, I'm still angry.

  http://kellykonecne.blogspot.kr/2012/12/no-christmas-for-congress-no-aloha-for.html. 

The importance of making a deal is far more important than whether we tax the rich or prevent a few freeloaders from taking advantage of the system.  Since they aren't listening to us, maybe they'll take the advice of some of our greatest leaders.

Abraham Lincoln said, "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew."

 

John F. Kennedy said, "let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer.  Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past.  Let us accept our own responsibility for the future."

 

Ronald Reagan said, "When I began entering into the give and take of legislative bargaining in Sacramento, a lot of the most radical conservatives who had supported me during the election didn't like it.  Compromise was a dirty word to them and they wouldn't face the fact that we couldn't get all of what we wanted today. They wanted all or nothing and they wanted it all at once. If you don't get it all, some said, don't take anything. I've learned ... you seldom got everything you asked for...If you got seventy-five or eighty percent of what you were asking for, I say, you take it and fight for the rest later, and that's what I told these radical conservatives who never got used to it."

Regretfully, I don’t have much hope in a gathering of politicians finding either wisdom or common ground soon.  Hopefully, an agreement will be reached to at least postpone the drastic impending consequences.  I hate to end on a down note, but at least I enjoyed the donut.  Stay away from the dump!