Written by C Gardner Wilson   

It was a perfect day at the beach. We lazed around and did this and that. We happened on a big old metal jungle gym. There were a few adults leaning against it, and one mother hovered near her young son as he climbed. He made it all the way to the top. Then, damned if that kid didn't just let go, all of a sudden. The other adults tried to snap to, but there wasn't enough time. Luckily, the young mother was near enough to catch him. She admonished him to be careful and don't do that, again. But, you could see it in his eyes, this idea that he could do anything and she would be there to catch him. So, he climbed to the top, again, and, yes, he let go, again, all of a sudden. But, this time the young mother was distracted and just a lttle too far away. He was falling. He could see that she was not going to catch him. Yet, luck still was with him. Not all the adults had relaxed, so a few of them reached out and caught him. Everyone shook their fingers at him, and then everyone slowly settled down. Sure enough, that kid climbed right back up there, and, yes, he let go, all of a sudden. The young mother was a bit too far away. The other adults tried to snap to, but, no, they were too late. We saw as he fell, bouncing off the metal bars here and there. There was real concern, all around, but that kid got up a bit dazed, and, the look in his eye gave us hope that he had learned that lesson.

It struck me how much we, as a people, are like that young kid. Every election, we climb to the top of that old metal jungle gym, and, then, we let go believing that those we have elected will be there protecting us. But, they are not there protecting us from the Wall Street Bandits who eviscerated our retirement accounts and the equity in our homes. They are not there protecting us from employers who play us off against desperate third world workers. They are not there protecting us from the insurance companies that "pump and dump" us. They are not there protecting us from unnecessary wars. They are not there protecting Social Security. And, they are not there making sure that those who benefit the most from our governance, pay the most for our governance.

I am tired, and I am sad that, as we approach another election, we are still climbing that same old metal jungle gym, and, soon, we will be letting go. I can only point to the articles A Truer Democracy and Democracy Revisited, the last few articles in my list found at http://www.bluetabletalk/category/comment/c-gardner-wilson/. There is another way. But, probably, not this time. So, get reday for that free-falling, bouncing off metal bars, dazed thing, again.