SALUTE!

I remember when this one television program devoted to Country Western music used to have this segment where they would pay tribute to some city with a salute. I thought it was a nice touch and a good effort to give some recognition to some small town that might not otherwise get any attention.

Most of us probably don’t get much practice at the usual type of saluting unless by some chance we are in the military. Otherwise it just come up as a rule I imagine.

However with the kind of salute that celebrate what normally does get attention we call all participate. The problem is that we probably won’t. It just isn’t important to us to spend that much time doing such activities.

I do sit and ponder at times why we aren’t as inclined to enjoy the joy of saluting as much as the thrill of complaining. Just look at the talk shows sometimes or the rag gossip magazines. How often do they concentrate on some problem or negative aspect of human nature?

Part of this is to me the result of living in a land where we are told in our literature and movies how our dreams can come true. Then we get bombarded by advertisers who tell us we aren’t good enough unless we buy all their crap.

So it is really all that surprising that we would remain in a perpetual state of being pissed off from the inundation of such stimuli? Not too me.

As a politician of course that does work to my advantage. It gives me plenty of reason to be happy. I can do what I do best, peddle the illusion of hope. And then I can season it with a certain element of tugging at the heart strings as the mirage of self esteem. It gives me a shot at looking like a nice guy. Boy is that a stretch at times.

In the meantime all this wonderful saluting that never takes place just leaves me to have cause to smile. For as long as people don’t decide to do it themselves, I can rejoice in being able to do so myself.

Perhaps my biggest fear is that someday people would actually figure how out be nice to each other and passing around a few salutes would end with fewer frowns. Then the next thing you know people might be in a good mood more often. That would really be something for me to dread.

Still I am happy to know that at least for the foreseeable future I can depend upon such time of situation not occurring. I like it that way. There is just no reason to be too much in a rush to change a system the gives me every chance to victimize people.

Ah, heaven is different things to different people. For me it is about knowing as long as we spread more hell than hope, I can always get people to listen to my version of paradise, which is something I’ll never complain about.