MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN 2011

Excuse me, but am I missing something? Did I just hear that Mr. Nobel Peace Prize Winner himself has sent troops to Uganda to help track down a ragtag band of murders that have rallied under a quasi-Christian banner and are trying to liberate that country (of all places) of superstition and witchcraft, among other things. ‘Among others things’, being of course, get filthy rich off the spoils of war.

Where are all the jobs that this “Yes, we can” administration promised the electorate? Well, we now know where at least a hundred of those jobs went. Those proud recipients of the Jobs Program are now mugged down in the jungles of Africa on a mission to free that continent (or at least part of it at this time) from one gang of thugs to hand it over to another gang of similar predilections.

Seems like déjà vu all over again.

I thought we were going to bring the troops home, not shift them off to police in dysfunctional places like Uganda. Getting rid of the pirates and other rift raft in Somalia would make more sense. But, hey, I am just an average citizen, what do I know?

Well, I may not know a lot about politics, but I know a little about what makes a successful society tick, and we just ain’t ticking right now. Our whole political structure has been jolted by one bunch of loonies after another. A horde of loonies now want to occupy Wall Street. Are you kidding? Reform Wall Street? Sure. It could use that. But, occupy the place? Come on let’s get serious.

Let’s just imagine for one moment that these bunch of economic nihilist were successful for just 48 hours. Let’s shut the whole system down for just 2 days. Within 48 hours or less, the buses they ride would stop running. No more gas. Remember you can’t buy something that is shut down. Mom and Pop’s 401K would be just a memory, especially if it were payday. That’s gone. Why? Because the banks are shut down. And with the banks, groceries, medicines, and utilities will no longer be available. Really, is this what they are after? I don’t think so.

But what does Washington do? Washington does nothing. The politicians sit on their fat fannies and create even more gridlock. As a matter of fact, I think I would like to coin a new phrase. Let’s call the present malaise in Washington: “Fat Fanny Gridlock.” That’s far more descriptive than I have heard yet. No plan. No program. Just idle chit chat given in a kind of sing song cadence while they sip on mint juleps and pass the time away on their fat fannies.

But, really what should we expect? Who knows? Eventually the ideal American family just might turn out to be a transvestite daddy married to a trans-sexualized mama with surrogate children who live in an eco-friendly home and enjoy nothing more than to set down at a vegan table each evening to discuss the qualities of inequality. Make sense? Friend, brace yourself. It does to just a whole lot of people. And, that’s scary. Really scary.

Well, believe it or not, the Bible talks about a world like this. Not in the good sense, however. That apocalyptic event is just around the corner, too. And, I should quickly say that you don’t have to be a preacher or a Bible scholar to see the handwriting on the wall. It is there in clear letters. It reads, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. (Daniel 5:25)

Ask any insightful, truthful sociologists and they will tell you it is written there. Any economist will tell you that it is there, things can’t go on like this forever. Hey, why bother with academia. Ask your local grocer and he will tell you the same thing.

Is there hope? Sure there is hope. But not the kind of hope that politicians preach about. That hasn’t worked and it never will. Our only hope is to return to the sound principles on which this nation was founded. The principles of love, and justice, equality, and mutual respect in an atmosphere of loyalty to the one and only true God.