J. D. Pendry

J. D. Pendry

“I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies …” Hillary Clinton

Just before the 2004 elections I had a self-chat about the state of things. The conclusions I drew were that Washington’s (unfortunately our country’s) politicians have little in common with me or most of us for that matter.

Yesterday was a yard work day for me. My once nice green piece of West Virginia hillside, due to a lack of rain since late May, now more closely resembles the desert landscapes I recall from my short stay in West Texas, El Paso. When you are out raking, digging, mowing, seeding and generally admiring God’s creation, your mind dwells on many things. You wonder why, when surrounded by a half-acre of yard that the squirrel’s favorite place to dig is in the middle of your flower beds. You wonder why the deer eat only the blooms and leaves from the Impatiens and leave the naked green stems sitting there to stare at you. You almost want to toss a blanket over them as you would if you discovered a naked person hanging out in your back yard. Instead, you rip them from the ground and toss them over onto the compost heap. Their purpose served. New blooms will take their place in the spring. You discover some unusually soft spots as you trudge around the back. Moles. Moles mean a grub infestation. The mole and grub solution (don’t tell Al Gore or PETA) is generally chemical warfare. Depending on your perspective on life, a day of yard work could be a long, tedious and tiring one or it could be most relaxing.

Simple physical labor causing a blister or two and getting some dirt under your not professionally manicured fingernails is about as basic as life gets. You realize that you can clean, prune and groom a little piece of earth, but there is little actual improvement you can make to the creation. While people are working themselves into frenzy about the plight of the planet over such things as global warming, you also realize that there is not much chance that you’ll be able to destroy something you didn’t have the power to create in the first place.

Sitting there on the brick patio, that you also built, enjoying the autumn sunshine and a little breeze while sipping your coffee you realize that you are as middle as Middle America gets. You wonder if some people truly know you. You started your adult life with little more than the values and work ethic bequeathed to you by your parents. You worked hard, sometimes more than one job. You served when asked. You met your obligations to your family and others and tried to stay true to your faith. In the great scheme of things, you have much for which to be thankful. When compared to the rest of the world you have it pretty doggoned good. You have never been interested in getting something for nothing. In fact, you know that if you are offered something that sounds too good to be true, chances are it isn’t true, except to the gullible. You view most political promises in that regard. You achieved a standard of living considered filthy rich when viewed from some corners of our planet. In the United States, you may be far below what most Americans might classify as wealthy yet are well beyond being poor or needy of a government handout. Much of the world would like to be you. That’s why they sneak in here every day in such great numbers.

While watching a squirrel dig up the winter Pansies you just planted, you wonder what is so broken about Middle America. Certainly, it must be broken because so many of our politicians promise us they’ll fix it. What separates the United States from many other countries of the world is our strong Middle Class America. As you ponder that, ask yourself a simple question. Was the United States of America built by and is it sustained by politicians promising handouts or by people who don’t mind doing the work that elitist politicians wouldn’t do.

The axiom says don’t fix what isn’t broken. I don’t think it’s Middle America that needs fixing. Politicians can create the environment through sensible policies that allows a strong Middle Class to grow and prosper. Alternatively it can destroy the individualism and work ethic that built and sustains our nation by replacing it with a Welfare Class that looks toward the government to solve its personal problems and meet its basic needs. Things are of less value to you when you don’t have to work for them. Socialism is a historical failure, wherever it’s been attempted.

My Mom worked Mrs. Clinton, sometimes she had to. She also found time to bake cookies for us. It didn’t take a village to raise her family. That’s the glaring difference between you and her and the glaring difference between Middle America and most politicians.

Middle America is in good shape I think. What needs a complete overhaul is our Political Class. The class that seems bent on the destruction America’s greatest strength.

Copyright © J. D. Pendry, 2007, All Rights Reserved.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 28th, 2007 at 7:12 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.