Bill Kenny of Norwich: Gap between what we say and what we do grows wider and wilder
One of my favorite expressions is, "He who abandons a sinking ship that doesn't sink, needs to be a very good swimmer." Or at least look presentable in his Speedos and bathing cap. This is the time of year to try to get some laps in at the old swimming pool unless you can walk on water.
I've written before about the six phases of a project: Enthusiasm, Disillusionment, Panic, Search for the Guilty, Punishment of the Innocent, and Awards and Honors for the Non-Participants.
Whatever we do for a living and whoever we are, that same pattern holds even if we pretend otherwise. As an example, we all cheered that brave soul who volunteered to lead the team that would turn peanut oil into jet fuel, until it was demonstrated that it absolutely, positively couldn't be done, and then all we could do was shake our heads and roll our eyes the next time their name as mentioned ("I could have told you ..."). Sound familiar?
Look to our nation's capital, if you want to see a collection of people dedicated to the proposition that government of the people, by the people, and for the people should go chase itself, Lincoln be damned.
But, if you watch only one minute of C-Span, all of them are so relentlessly polite and respectful to one another while being disagreeable in the most agreeable way imaginable. Thank goodness for The Loyal Opposition and My Distinguished Opponent. Whom else would we, currently in charge, blame for all manners of awfulness and illness if we didn't have The Other Guys and Gals?
Practically all of the "issues" and "hot buttons" that have driven our national discourse over the last eight to 10 (and more) years are still with us like Banquo's Ghost. They've gained a few pounds and some fellow travelers. But they’re still here. We have more conflicts, less money, more anger, and fewer reasons to be hopeful than at any point in my almost 72 years here on earth.
I'm sad not so much that we seem to have lost our way (an unoriginal thought we've often had in our 248-year history as a nation), but that we don’t want to find our way back to who we are. We’ve decided to settle instead of continuing to strive to succeed. We decided success and happiness were like pie – there’s only just so much. If you and yours have too much success, there must be less for me. Absolute insanity.
We don't even hear the cognitive dissonance as the gap between what we say and what we do grows wider and wilder. "Vox Populi" has been replaced by "ST*U" and "e pluribus unum" is now rendered as "nolo contendere" and is usually part of a plea bargain for time served accompanied by a weepy-eyed televised apology where someone takes "full responsibility," whatever that means.
If our children ever figure out what we allowed to happen to their dreams, they'll never let us visit our grandchildren and they'll be right, but everything will still be wrong. You can break things only so often and only so badly before they cannot be made whole again. We may be nearing that moment – Armageddon, End Times, oops!, whatever it's to be called.
We will not have to worry about what the day after that happens is called because we will not be here to experience it. But don't worry, we'll blame someone (just not ourselves), because that's how we're wired.
Bill Kenny, of Norwich, writes a weekly column about Norwich issues. His blog, Tilting at Windmills, can be accessed at https://tiltingatwindmills-dweeb.blogspot.com/.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Bill Kenny of Norwich: We may be nearing Armageddon
