Guest Author“A watched pot never boils!” You have heard that many times before. We all know it more aptly reflects our own impatience rather than our subjective reality. Of course a pot will boil if the heat is turned high enough.
Watching the news this week from Oregon, the image of a simmering pot about to boil came to mind.
At what point do we become aware that our collective pot is already a bubbling cauldron of violence?
Have we reached that point captured long ago by Thomas Jefferson when he wrote, “I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.”
Added to the stew in the pot are the effects of the 24/7 news cycle always in search of the sensational.
Social media turns up the heat with a multitude of postings comparing the protesters in Oregon to Ferguson and Baltimore. They offer opinions about Occupy Wall Street, police responses to acts of both civil disobedience and true violence.
People who normally oppose violence are asking why federal officials aren’t storming the seized federal building in Oregon, and many who would normally call for quick law enforcement responses are urging calm.
Another adage comes to mind. “Where you stand depends upon where you sit.”
However, where we now sit grows increasingly uncomfortable for many. We worry about things outside our control. Our fears of terrorist acts rise to a critical point, even while more people die daily from accidental poisoning than terror attacks.
Our president seeks to look like he is doing something so he causally tosses aside the Constitution and negates the power of Congress. He speaks authoritatively as if he has accomplished something to stem violence.
He hasn’t, but he has done great damage to future presidents and relationships with Congress. He has set a precedent that if you think your cause is just, nothing else matters.
That is not how our country was founded, and it is not how it should be governed. Laws matter. The Constitution matters.
When 70 percent of the country think our country is on the wrong track, perhaps that is a good time to reflect on what we think we are supposed to be. When the two leading candidates for each party for president each have higher negatives than positives, perhaps we should reflect on what is better for our country.
When the top four Republican candidates in the polls — Trump, Cruz, Rubio and Carson — collectively have only eight years of government experience, we are doing something very wrong and our choices are being driven by factors other than reason.
We seek to elevate candidates with little to no experience in making critical decisions that will affect our lives and our children’s lives.
We are truly a nation divided and we continue to boil over as a nation by turning up the heat on an already boiling pot.
We are placing our overly heated kitchens in a hot desert devoid of reason and rationality.
Frustrated and angry people are on street corners and on ranches. They are also in our kitchens and patience is wearing thin.
Pollster John Zogby thinks the choice this election year is between, “whether Americans want to tear things down and start over, or believe that government/ politicians are trustworthy enough to make required changes.”
Which candidate can turn down the heat? That is our real choice this election year.
Who is the one to lead us to where we need to be? The first step might be for us to dial down the heat. The best meals are ones that are cooked slowly.
The best political decisions are made in a calm atmosphere by strong and rational leaders.
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Ed H. Moore resides in Tallahassee, Florida, where he is perpetually awaiting a rebirth of wonder. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
