Penny Thoughts: Where We Are Today

Many of my readers may not know – and might even care – but I spent
Christmas and New Year in the Whitfield Hospital. From December 23, 2020, to
January 10, 2021, I was the “guest” of the Intensive Care Unit in our medical care
institution.

So today, as I now have the capacity to get around with my cane, I had
lunch with my good friend, Jay Shows, and as we drove on our way to the
Canecutters Restaurant, I got to see some of the newly paved roads in the city and
other additions to our community. Demopolis just seems to be cleaner and more
organized. The city I have called “home” for over two decades is moving in
positive directions from my limited perspective. I was both surprised and
delighted, and I want to thank Mayor Woody Collins for getting these jobs done.

And, at the same time, I am well aware that nobody really cares that I have
been absent from this column since December 2020 – with the exceptions of the
entrees by my gifted son, Benjamin, whose three columns were quite good.

I have also been bed-ridden from January 10 to June 3 being under the
care of physical therapists and home visiting nurses.

As such, I have had a great deal of time to do some independent research
on issues which our Nation seems to be facing. I say “seems to be facing” since I
am loath to believe that the nonsense coming out of the idiot talking heads on
NBC, MSNBC, CNN, ABC, and CBS is a sketch for an accurate portrait of
Demopolis. They may well be a sketch of the crowded cities run by power-
seeking mayors and governors whose views of governing seem to be akin to King
George III. And not surprisingly, there have been more violations of the 9th and
10th Amendments during 2020 than in the 244 years preceding it.

The crux of my diatribe here is a reflection on how I see my Nation
changing while I was indisposed for a scant six months owing to my illness.
Please note that these are MY observations and not anything other than factual
occurrences I have seen since December 23, 2020.

• Gas prices have increased nearly 50%, and that’s just here in Demopolis
at Murphy’s.

• Food prices for milk, beef, eggs and a host of other food necessities has
increased more than the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

• A Marxist promulgation designed to emphasize the “inherent” White
racist nature of America under the guise of intellectual nomenclature
called “Critical Race Theory” has emerged and is invading American
education at all levels.

• Americans with any kind of thinking capability have grown deeply
skeptical of “science.”

• There is a movement referred to as the “cancel culture” which seeks to
destroy fundamental elements of American history with the destruction
of historical statues and the rejection and the editing of given elements
of American literature, entertainment, education and history.

• In some parts of America children are still not attending school owing to
the dictates of their governors under the guise of public safety.

• The promise of “unified” government with forms of “reconciliation” and
a “unified” Nation has been stalled and the game of “politics” in
Washington, DC, reigns more supremely than it has in 30 years.

• In some cities, authorities are reducing their budgets for police under
the thrust of “defund the police.”

• The security of our Nation is threatened more internally than externally
owing to a lack of Presidential resolve to effect National unity.

Facts that we are living through today have prompted me to offer my views here
on “Where we are today”. They may seem rather droll and negative, but no one
can deny their veracity. I am not proposing that they are permanent facts or
situations, but as much as I appreciate the “newness” that Mayor Collins has
affected here in Demopolis, I am saddened by where we are as a Nation
politically, morally, and culturally today.

Still, I am optimistic for America – after all, we have defeated socialism,
Nazism, communism and radical religious zealots. It is the fundamental Judeo-
Christian value system which celebrates the sanctity and individually of the Soul
which has served America well—and like the final message in Revelations shows
us, In the End We Win!

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of The West Alabama Watchman.