INAUGURATION DAY

INAUGURATION DAY

The other day I got an anonymous e-mail from someone who had somehow interpreted one of my blogs to mean that I was a fan of the President. I have to say for the record, I am not a fan. Politically and socially, I have too many disagreements with Mr. Bush for me to feel that way. On a personal level, he rubs me the wrong way, too. That part is not his fault. But I know that somewhere around fifty percent of the American people feel pretty much the way I do. So it’s especially painful for me to see the airwaves filled with news of the inauguration today. It’s like watching a scary movie – I just can’t look.

On the other hand, as my husband reminds me whenever I begin to wax eloquent on the subject, this administration is having its day, and soon the tide will turn. The pendulum always swings, and I have great hope that I will live to see it swing again – soon.

What is absolutely amazing to me about this country is that – in spite of the fact that virtually half the population is opposed to just about everything this administration is and all it stands for – the protests remain peaceful and lawful. There is no hint of civil war. There will be no bloody coup. Blue states and red states continue to do trade and there is civility between neighbors who voted for Bush and neighbors who voted for Kerry. Congress may be lopsided in favor of Republicans, but rules and procedures are maintained. I have friends who voted for Bush, as a matter of fact. Nice people. That actually comforts me.

As I have said before, but it bears repeating – nothing would make me happier than to find out I was wrong. I would love to find out that this administration (and I know it’s not just the President) was right all along. I would love to find out that, indeed, the war in Iraq transformed Iraq into a democratic, free state with equal rights for women. I would love to find out that a victory in Iraq would, in fact, lead to a newly liberated and peaceful Middle East.

And wouldn’t it be wonderful if the “War on Terror” actually ended terrorism? Or even made a big dent in it?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we found out (somehow) that indeed, Social Security was on the brink of bankruptcy in 2005, and that this administration single-handedly saved it by partial privatization? (That would be a confirmation that our young work force has the wisdom to invest their money wisely!)

A return to “Christian Values”? Okay by me, as long as we’re talking about the values espoused by Christ, which were inclusive, forgiving and peaceful. (As opposed to some of these ersatz “Christian Values” which I suspect are exclusive, judgmental and antagonistic).

I’m going to get off my soapbox, now. I may not particularly like the President or his tactics, but I respect the office and the system that it represents. I’m just waiting for the tide to turn and the pendulum to swing.

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© 2005, Robin Munson

A DISORGANIZED REVIEW OF 2004

A DISORGANIZED REVIEW OF 2004

I have an undisciplined mind. Even eighteen years of school could not change that fact. My mind swings from idea to idea, like a monkey swinging from tree to tree. The connection between ideas may be paper-thin, but my mind leaps and soars without hesitation, in spite of the fact that often, that fragile connection actually snaps, leaving me with a string of virtually unconnected ideas that vie for my attention. When I write my blog, I pick one of them and try to ignore the rest, chattering in my ear.

So, my idea this morning is this: Goodbye to 2004.

It was a good year. I survived, as did most of my immediate family, in spite of a couple of scary health issues. However, we lost our beloved cat, Natasha, which was incredibly sad. We spent lots of time back East with Art’s family. That was wonderful. My younger sister was married. That’s a plus, since she falls into the category of “happily married”. My other sister got engaged. Hooray! Everyone is happy about that. My nephew started college, which is a bittersweet thing. Another nephew moved to New York City and launched his career. Spectacular, but we miss him, here in L.A.

The Boston Red Sox won the World Series – I consider that a plus. . There were no terrorist attacks on American soil. That’s a huge plus. S.U.V.s began to fall out of favor – that’s good – because gas prices soared – that’s bad. There are promising new treatments for cancer out there, the so-called “targeted therapies”. I think that’s good, but with the way health news has been shaking out lately, we won’t really know for a few years for sure. “Reality Shows” saved the networks bundles of money, but dropped the average national IQ by a couple of points. (No, I don’t know that for a fact, but I suspect it’s true).

George W. Bush won a second term. Saying that is like presenting an image on a Rorschach test. Some people will interpret it one way and some will interpret it another way. Some people will say, “It was the will of the people, so it’s a good thing”. Others might say, “It was the will of Karl Rove, so it’s a bad thing”.

The war in Iraq got stickier and trickier.

Colin Powell resigned, or was resigned to resign.

There was no shortage of natural disasters – There were multiple hurricanes in Florida and of course, the catastrophic tsunamis in Asia. There were huge winter storms in the Midwest.

And here we are, only a few days left in 2004. It feels like the dregs at the bottom of the cup. You just want to empty them out quickly so that you can get a fresh, clean cup and start all over again. You think that next year will be different, and better.

It’s kind of the attitude my husband has when the jelly jar is almost empty. He doesn’t want to bother with scraping the little bit at the bottom out. He just wants me to discard the old jar and crack open a new one. I have tried to reason with him, “But it’s exactly the same at the bottom as it is at the top!” Nothing I can say deters him. So I surreptitiously wait until I’m alone in the kitchen. I take the last of the old jelly and mix it into the new jelly, because I hate to waste anything. For a long time he played along and pretended he didn’t know, but then one day he looked up at me and smiled and said, “You put the old stuff in with the new stuff, didn’t you?” We both laughed.

Well, I think someone is going to put the old stuff in with the new stuff in 2005. I think we’ll have more than a few S.U.V.s on the road. I think the war in Iraq will still be sticky and tricky. I think we haven’t seen the last of so-called reality shows (sigh). The Bush administration will still be here.

But there will be surprises, too. As all new years are, this will be a blend of the old with the new. I hope it tastes more sweet than bitter.

© 2004, Robin Munson