Opuscula Ugly signs Of the times

I JUST CAME BACK FROM EARLY VOTING. I don’t know who the folks were voting in the booths on each side of me, but everyone was considerate.

Ditto the poll watchers and the ladies checking IDs and handing out ballots – mine was TWELVE pages long – but it was in English, Kreyol, and Spanish.

ON MY WAY BACK TO THE manse, some jerk angerly laid on his car’s horn because the vehicle in front of his – or hers – failed to move the second the light turned green.

Angry is not a supposition.

The driver didn’t just “toot” his car’s horn to alert the driver in front.

He laid on the horn – a l-o-n-g, loud,angry blast.

Above image of cartoon character Homer Simpson in rage behind steering wheel.

That seems to be happening a lot lately.

I don’t blame it on the snowbirds, already filling the streets.

Most of the cars driven by angry people have Florida plates.

Granted, they may be newcomers; Florida still attracts its fair share of snow ex-pats. Likewise other mostly warm states such as Arizona and parts of Texas and California.

Florida and the other “mostly warm” states are plagued by drivers from the north who bring their driving habits with them; they don’t learn the locals’ ways.

Nothing new

There is nothing new about horny drivers. They are an abundant species everywhere. Always have been, always will be.

But there seem to be more and angrier horn blowers than before. Certainly things were more civilized when I got my first license in 1957. (Since then I have been licensed in at least eight states.)

Likewise politics and politicians who used to lie about each other now take things out of context, twist words, and otherwise prove they rally are not the type people who should be in office. The nastiness is not limited to any party, but the worst always is reserved for the party’s head.

Obama was excoriated by conservatives and Trump is the target of liberals.

The PROBLEM is that no one listens to anyone who holds an opinion even slightly different than the one offering his or her thoughts.

The other day, in Tennessee, a woman candidate for something called for a moment of silence to remember the massacre at the Pittsburgh synagogue.

The moment had hardly begin when a protester starting shouting about how it was a politician’s words that caused the event.

Words CAN hurt and certainly can inflame. It is no secret that President Trump often speaks first and regrets it later, but his opponents often twist his words or modify what he said to suit their own needs.

I have an acquaintance who is is somewhat to the left of Barry Sanders (who is to the left of Hillary Clinton).

It used to be that we could have a civilized exchange of ideas.

Of late, his actions are similar to Trump’s – they are “knee jerk” and I think the emphasis must be on “jerk.”

He no longer thinks objectively, rationally.

I once enjoyed exchanging emails with the man because “back then” he considered both my remarks and his response before hitting SEND. Not so today.

Everything is black (Democrats) or white (Republicans). I write that at the risk of being declared a racist by someone. Nothing seems to be “PC” anymore, what is “PC” for me is anathema to the man with whom I used to exchange emails..

I see America’s lack of civility reflected in other countries as well.

But I LIVE in the U.S. and I am bothered by the state of politics.

Abraham Lincoln said and did a lot of things, some good, some not, but he did understand that

A house divided against itself, cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.

Slavery as it was known in Lincoln’s time is not the issue today.

Slavery to an ideology – be it liberal or conservative – is the issue today.

Until people begin to LISTEN to one another without twisting words or adding things not said, this nation will be a “house divided.”

Unlike Lincoln, I expect to see the “house” further divided until it will be hard pressed to heal itself.

It seems we lack leaders – not just political leaders, but influential people from all walks of life –who can bring civility back to our debates; people who are willing to listen to others and consider their position before replying.

It’s a pity we can’t have simplex speech.

In the “old days,” as anyone of my generation will remember, when someone communicated using a two-way radio, the speaker ended a thought with “Over” and released the Push To Talk (PTT) button. As long as the PTT button was pressed, the other person was unable to communicate.

Now we are duplex – everyone may talk at once and no one listens.

Over

And out.

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Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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