And, yes, for you youngsters who are eye rolling and "whatever"-ing at the moment, trust me when I tell you that, eventually, you'll come around.
Ideally, those simpler times would look and sound a lot like life in Mayfield, heartland, US of A, with Ward and June lovingly guiding Wally and Beav through the pinnacles and pitfalls of daily life with a heart full of love and a satchel full of straighten up and eat your Brussels sprouts.
Of course, there's simpler.
And there's just plain simple.
Yesterday, I sent my friend Lin a link to a piece here on the old P.I.P.E having to do with the mystery of why so many people seem compelled to support a guy like Donald Trump, what with his obvious and inarguable lack of class, style, grace, compassion, yada, yada.
My friend, a talented artist and educator, posted the following on her own page.
Scott Edward Phelps says in his blog Politics In Plain English
"Put in blunt Trump-speak...just how many deaf, dumb and blind Americans of voting age are currently living in the United states? Come July in Cleveland or, God forbid, come November all across the country...we're going to find out the exact numbers."
I remember watching the Republican convention on TV where IKE was nominated for his second term in 1956...I was 8 years old. My first brush with presidential politics impressed me enough to remember that I believed what was being said...it must be true...who would lie or exagerate. Daily media coverage of a presidential campaign was maybe five minutes on the evening news. Most of the campaign battles were waged in the print media and some personal appearances. TV and the print media presented a very edited lens to what was being said and we only discovered, much after the fact, that most presidential candidate decisions were made in backrooms during conventions where influence was for sale.
Enter the 24 hour news cycle...the internet...social media. I remember thinking that NOW we will have all the facts in real time to be considered. There is still a lot of spinning going on but NOW we know that's exactly what it is. It's debate...trying to convince others of your point of view. The consequence of this, I thought, would be a more informed electorate...making intellegent choices in the face of the truth.
Unfortunately not so much... not all citizens are willing to see the truth or consider the whole picture to make sane and rational decisions. Many still want to live in that edited lens era...staying uninformed or not willing to consider the truth in their decision.
Congress has insighted the angry citizens. They sit on their hands and clearly don't work for any of us. Yet "us" elected them. Be careful what you wish for...it might become a reality in a way that doesn't resemble your original wish. All we can do now is VOTE.
In response to that post, one of Lin's friends posted...
"...If you can't say it in 100 words or less, I don't have time..."
One of two things struck me as options here.
Lin's friend was either weighing in, in sardonic agreement, with the premise of the ever shrinking attention span.
Or she was, intentionally or inadvertently, stepping up to be a stunning example of the premise.
Hard to tell which.
If the former, then "testify, sistah."
If the latter, well, to paraphrase an old saying about the American Vice Presidency, "to be just another face in the crowd is no disgrace...but it's no distinction, either."
Frankly, I want it to be the latter because the alternative is that the "dumbing down" of the culture has, of late, been taking on Invasion of the Body Snatchers proportions.
I even wrote on that very subject recently.
http://politicsinplainenglishsep.blogspot.com/2016/03/and-while-were-at-itgeneral-election-is.html
All of that said, and after all the humor of it is extracted, the sad fact remains that we are, ironically, living in a period filled with, literally, dozens, even hundreds of ways to communicate with one another and yet, increasingly, effectively communicating less and less. Nuance, tone, subtlety, critical details, key facts, notions, ideas and/or observations are being sacrificed on the altar of impatience and instant gratification. We read less so we learn less and so we benefit less while, again ironically, feeling more confident with each and every day that we know it all and that, more regrettably, is...
100 words.
Maybe it's just a simple case of misunderstanding.
Or misinterpretation.
Or, wouldn't you just know it, miscommunication.
The kind that occurs when people mishear what was said.
Like, for example, a few moments ago, I said we all long for simpler times.
Not "we all long for simpler minds".
Gee, Wally.
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