The Class Clowns
I recall them one and all and sadly have to admit, that on some occasions, I could not resist becoming one of them. The class clown. Some topics were simply so boring or so poorly presented that interest just slipped away only to be replaced by silly, inane and corny comments from the "peanut gallery." The teacher would get angry and in some of my other classes, so would I. Not that I was ever a hard core learning nerd but some classes were simply more interesting than others and some I actually looked forward to attending. Cheap laughs but in the end, no one was the better for the actions of these silly little boys and girls. Keep those memories in mind as I continue with this latest of my pet peeves.
There are some places or situations where no matter who you are with or how much you are bored, you simply should not revert back to an old class clown act. Nobody cracks wise-ass jokes in places of religious expression. Nobody appreciates a clown at a symphony or opera. Jokesters arte not really appreciated at funerals except in some circumstances where such outburst would be expected and encouraged by the deceased. Keep this in mind when you attend my own final time on stage. Go ahead, have a ball when they stash my remains. I would expect and encourage it. The rather solemn events listed above are only several of the circumstances where outburst of silly humor and wise-ass remarks are out of place and reflect very poorly on the perpetrator. One other solemn occasion is the active and well prepared participation in our political system. Our system of government, with all of its warts and blemishes, came to us covered with blood and sacrifice. Ever since the first forays onto our shores in the 14th century, men and women have risked everything to include their lives to build upon the ideas of democracy so beautifully encapsulated by a tossed together speech at a bloodsoaked battlefield given by the 16th ruler of this new nation. Mr. Lincoln perfectly defined democracy when he noted that ours was a "government of the people, by the people and for the people. The founding fathers could not have stated it better. Therefore treating this wonderful institution we call Government with a flippant, destructive, abusive, libelous or with disdain not only exposes the perpetrators own personal ignorance but insults five centuries of sacrifice by those who have continually handed off the baton to the next generation.
When people gather to say they are organizing to take back our government, I would ask them when did they lose it? Since they have already demonstrated a lack of teamwork by not accepting with pride the baton of our previous generations, I would ask them what gives them the right to believe they can demand that the government be torn down and replaced with something they have replaced with some joke from the back of the classroom? Those of us who have actually sacrificed greatly on our nations battlefields find this government of ours to be quite acceptable even though its leaders may often be a bit unusual. I personally take with a great deal of insult the presumptions of cult like party members who want to destroy something for which I was prepared to die. Not only arte they attacking our government but they are attacking me on a personal level by intimating that I was wrong to stand my ground in far off jungles, suffer the intrusion of enemy bullets in my body, and carry with me the various diseases and maladies that my Western body was unable to counter in those far off SW Asian jungles. I don't think I was wrong in my willingness to do my duty in the name of my country. 58,000 of my closest comrades were not wrong either. Our cause may have been questionable but our devotion to this country was unwavering. So please, Donald. Sarah, Hailey, Mitt, Michelle, or whoever winds up as your party's selectee, before you start showing disdain for our government, first do your homework then realize that your "class clown" antics are NOT appreciated by everyone even though you probably feel all the spotlights are on you at the time. Some people really do believe that we should be a government of, by and for the people. Some of us who have sacrificed in the past are still willing to sacrifice more and really do find it disconcerting to see some who are not being asked to sacrificing anything to see this nation grow strong.
Sigh…
