What are our priorities

It is becoming harder and harder to determine where we stand as a people.

It is even hard to determine where to begin.

Here is a headline for you: "Ex-congressman send letters asking for leniency for Hastert". In case you have forgotten Mr. Hastert use to be Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. He is now being sentenced for some violations of bank fraud. Now did Mr Hastert get busted for accepting bribes? Actually no, he was the one bribing people to cover up heinous actions in his past. The back story is the real issue, but he may go to jail for the follow up crime. This story from the headlines about all the people who wrote letters to the Judge asking for leniency for Mr. Hastert. Reads quite the who's who in Republican politicians. They had written before, but the Judge said he would not read them unless the letters were made public. On a side note some of the people that wrote letters pulled 'em back when they had to make it public.

History is rife with stories of the abuse of ethics and in many cases serious abuse of people of lower economic classes by the sons and daughters (mainly sons) of elitists when there is no curb on power in a society. Basically our Constitution has been a fair check on elitists rum amuck. I won't say a complete check, but does allow the people a chance to keep an attempt at balance. As history has shown over time; the less the ruling class has to answer for their actions, the more heinous they act.

Distractions are wonderful. If you can keep people occupied with trivial matters they tend to ignore or forget what is important. Or they may just not realize what is important anymore. So let's pretend something called freedom of the press exists. And that freedom though is owned by the same group of elitists that want you to be distracted. What do you think you are going to get?

Now tell me; what is more important, the values that eminate from our leaders or the sixth round draft pick of your favorite football team or exactly what did so and so wear on the "red carpet"?  And if you believe actions speak louder than words....hmmmmm.....

It is hard. Everyone has a right to pursue what makes them happy.  Or do they? Huge question. Do you draw hypothetical lines?  Well.. as long as no one gets hurt.... Or well we can just move these lines around as we see fit because well you know...we need to make sure no one is offended.     So what does it mean no one is offended? Quite frankly I am offended by a few things which may be different from what offends you. I think child abuse at all levels is pretty damn offensive, or rape even date rape is horrendous and you may also.  Just what upsets our little apple cart of pursuing our happiness. I like football. I have lifelong favorite team yet I do not have a need to become obsessed with 48,000 mock drafts. Yet some people love doing this. Is it wrong?

And who am I to judge? So, how do we, as a people a society balance pursuit of happiness versus a responsibility to each other in society. I think it shows we are evolving as a species when we make those incremental steps in doing what is right overall and still being able to enjoy our lives. My fear that even with our technological achievements we still are lagging in our social evolution. Again yet who am I to judge.

So when I read a story that has many of our countries leaders asking for leniency for someone who for the majority of us has done horrendously despicable acts and only caught because of the follow up crime, what am I to think? Especially when there are more stories about the football draft or the red carpet or some other trivial matter that well can be fun or entertaining, yet pull us away from the deeper issues of our world. Where do we make the determinations to decide when I pursue happiness and when I wear the cloak of responsibility and address what is wrong in our world?

Obviously my fear is we are more obsessed with the trivial than what is happening in our world. If we can spend hours worried about a draft pick for something that is only entertainment why can't we spend hours drafting better people to run our country. Funny thing about it is; no matter who we want for our team we have virtually no impact on who the team selects yet if we exercise it we would have direct impact on who we choose to be our leaders. Irony? Or worse?

We are close to having two presidential candidates from the two parties that according to most polls are more despised than liked by the majority of the people. How on Earth does this happen?  And on top of this insanity you read leaking through the news of a constant stream of misbehavior at all levels of government. We know more why Jennifer Aniston is on the cover of People than knowing the people spending our tax dollars.


It is a beautiful spring night here in North Texas. I wish the thoughts in my head were just as beautiful.