Mood:
not sureTopic: "Two Americas" (9)
It seems like such a long time ago when the handsome young attorney with the dynamite wife stood before the Democratic Convention and uttered the phrase "two Americas." Few shared the belief at the time, but history has shown us that as a nation few things have united us as much as the revulsion he generated in our behalf. Frodo has thought often of his misjudgment of John Edwards, but he is unable to shake the notion that even today there is no majority "for," there is only division.
We are not simply black-or-white, rich-or-poor, liberal-or-conservative, relgious-or humanistic, rather we are some of all of these. We are closer akin to the Italian Parliament and its multitude of parties unable to obtain a consensus on any issue, destined to grow increasingly frustrated with one another, facing governmental gridlock.
In the 2012 Presidential Election, nary a single electoral district in the State of West Virginia registered a majority for the eventual winner, President Barack Obama. Since that time, West Virginia has aired the belief of the citizenry that they have no need of the "big" government in Washington. Things, it seems, go better (even in West Virginia) when the "best" government is the smallest.
That is until somebody notes the fact that things are not going better with either coke (as in coal) or Koch (as in brothers). Today continues the tortorous amalgam in which the State of West Virginia has shown itself to be absolutely and totally incompetent when it comes to determining the safety of the public water supply. A previously unknown Governor (at least to Frodo) has exhibited the fact that only the "big" national government has sufficient resources and technical capacity to allow people to bathe in or consume the water supply of the capital city, Charleston.. The citizenry has no alternative but to seek the help of those whom they verbally chastize at every turn.
Frodo hopes that the "big" government does step up to the plate, without fanfare, and delivers for the health and safety of his fellow citizens. We are, after all, "not the red states, not the blue states, but the United States. . ." and maybe the people of West Virginia paid attention this time. They need, like Frodo, to recognize when lied to, to say "thank you" to those who pull them out of the fire, and to mean it.
