I watched State of Play over the weekend; engaging, but not great film making to be sure. The plot begins with a married congressman having an affair with a staffer. Hmmm, where'd they get that idea? As in real life, the fictional representative believed he could get away with it and keep the affair hidden. Well, no.
I was wondering why it is that people in power -- men mostly -- always seem to think they can get away with stuff? Now of course powerful men do get away with stuff all the time, but that's mainly rape the environment, spit on the constitution, defraud the American people kind of stuff. When it comes to shtuping your secretary, that usually gets found out. Why don't they know that?
Cut to last week, driving to work. I saw a large man wearing a t-shirt that proclaimed, in very big letters, "the rules don't apply to me."
And there's my answer. This guy, like the congressman in the movie, like certain senators and presidents, thinks the rules don't apply to him. And this guy ain't alone. I would argue that we are becoming a nation of selfish egocentrics who think the rules only apply to other folks. Why else do so many of us run red lights but bitch about the people -- not us -- who do? Why do so many of us leave our shopping carts anywhere we want in the parking lot, instead of returning them to the corral? (This is one I DON'T do; I made it a New Year's resolution years ago and have stuck with it). How come so many of us talk on our cell while driving?
Because the rules don't apply to us -- only to them!
I've often said that if America had to fight World War II today we'd lose. We just don't have the willingness to sacrifice and to pull together that we had 70 years ago. As we celebrate Independence Day I fear that the sacrifices made in our name 234 years ago are out of reach for most Americans.
Happy 4th everybody!
Jane Ann and I were watching the Boston Pops this evening and got to talking about how our feelings about the Fourth have changed in the last ten years. It was by far my favorite holiday for years. Now, not so much.
ReplyDeleteAs a country, we have deluded ourselves about who we are and how we got here. I said for years George W. Bush was born on third base and was sure he had hit a triple. Now, as a country, I think we ALL fall into that trap.
We are less than 5% of the worlds people, yet we use an enormous percentage of its resources. We have a standard of living where our homeless people live better than maybe 20% of the people in the world. This was built by those before us, so we didn't earn it, we inherited it.
Now, we don't make anything, we don't really serve a purpose (Freedom's Factory, etc.) and while we could feed ourselves, I think, we don't make clothes anymore, we don't make much steel or much else we consume each day.
Remember Pogo? "We have met the enemy and he is us!" As a people, we have exploited others and are pissed when they are not grateful.
If we were invaded, would not every American with a rifle or a handgun be out there fighting and trying to kill those who invaded? Yet when an Iraqi or an Afghan does the same, it is *insurgency*, which is made to be a bad thing.
Why is it okay for us to be patriotic but not for an Afghan to be patriotic? Yet most Americans would be outraged that I even ask the question. Somehow a Right-Wing Radio Host would make the person asking that question out to be a traitor.
When we see ourselves as being right no matter what we do, when we don't question why we are doing whatever it is we do, we have lost our ability to reason for ourselves. We have also lost any "moral high ground" presuming there ever was any.
So of course the rules don't apply to us, any of us. Why? Because we lost our way. I don't know where or when but we did. All the signs say so.