Here are some random thoughts or reflections on life in America based on my observations from the sidelines. A few are major points and the rest are quite minor.
I have modeled this post after the random thoughts columns that Dr. Thomas Sowell periodically wrote when he was writing for Forbes Magazine and, more recently, online. Dr. Sowell often made me laugh with his pithy comments and often gave me pause. Let’s hope I can achieve a comparable result.
I have not had a television since I retired in 2003 and moved to Reno, Nevada in 2004. Fortunately, I am an avid reader with reasonably good attention to detail, and I continue to take a keen interest in what I see around me in daily life. Moreover, I have ready access to the Intenet, which offers me much grist for my personal mill.
A Few Random Thoughts from the Sidelines
I hope they amuse, inform, and cause you to ponder.
When I was a young man, I believed that the best and the brightest men and women rose to the top in American politics, especially to the halls of Congress. Now I believe otherwise. Who in good conscience can look at Messrs. Schiff and Nadler and Ms. Pelosi and point with pride at their demeanor, behavior, and speech? In the interests of fairness and equal treatment, I cannot find many politicians whom I would follow into battle, regardless on what side of the political spectrum they reside.
I do not believe Americans should ever re-elect any senator or congressman who puts his or her name on a bridge, road, or building.
Americans like to be seen as unique individuals, yet they steep themselves in conformity like a herd of sheep. Wherever I look, I see the same tattoos, the same body piercings, the same hairstyles, and the same clothing.
Why do young American women spend so many dollars to buy a pair of jeans that is ripped and torn?
How is it that the Supreme Court is divided into two legal camps? I thought the law was the law. And how is it possible that a simple majority of just five people on the Supreme Court can decide what is right for America and its 320 million people? If it were me, I would want at least a 7 to 2 vote on any decision. 5 to 4 seems ludicrous to me.
Who decided that B.C. and A.D. were no longer appropriate because of supposed religious connotations and substituted B.C.E. and C.E.? For me, Before Christ and Anno Domini (Year of Our Lord) make more sense than Before Common Era and Common Era. And just what does Common Era mean? Common to whom?
Has anyone noticed besides me how complicated the FBI and the Department of Justice are in their organizational hierarchy, policies, procedures, and processes? The Russian Collusion misadventure and related investigations have revealed how the heavy hand of bureaucracy has tainted even the best of our institutions. Those investigations also revealed that the Peter Principle is alive and well in the Federal Government. For those of you who are younger, the Peter Principle states that everyone (in time) rises to his or her level of incompetence, and some much faster than others, just look at Messrs. Schiff and Nadler.
Why is it that so many talking heads appear to be devoid of common sense and rational thinking? How is it that they seem to read from the same set of bullet points and talking points when they report the news?
Isn’t it far easier to throw away the box then it is to think outside the box?
Why do we refer to the 17 or 18 agencies that are involved in intelligence activities as the Intelligence Community? There is no way they are a community with any commonality of purpose or aspirations; after all, they are staffed with somewhere between 200,000 and 800,000 analysts and agents. How do you keep that number of people on the reservation and their eye on the ball?
Why is it that so many people with cell phones never pick up?
Why do we, as citizens, have to continue to suffer when a law results in egregiously wrong unintended consequences? Why is it that a law passed by Congress cannot be undone easily? Why is it that we cannot start repealing laws? Surely laws that were passed prior to 1950 are ripe for repeal. How about this, for every new law passed, we have to repeal two laws already in existence?
What do Generation X, the Millennials, and Generation Z watch on their smartphones? What occupies their attention so much? What am I missing?
Why do so many people believe that they can make life fair? Life is structurally unfair, and the only way to make it fair is through coercion or force. That cure is worse than the condition.
Why do professional athletes who are playing a team sport strut like peacocks and pound their chests when they score a goal? Wasn’t it a team effort?
I hope you have enjoyed these random thoughts and that they prompted some reflection. I look forward to preparing more comments from the sidelines in the future.
Outbound Link to The Asian Antiquarian: https://theasianantiquarian.com/
Internal Link to Thoughts from the Peanut Gallery: https://whitebeardwisdom.com/thoughts-from-the-peanut-gallery/
