Bellyaching, bitching, pissing and moaning …

Those of us in the blogosphere continue to bemoan the fact that our elected representatives in Congress are just not getting the job done. Pelosi fails to do this. Reid can’t get that done. What’s wrong with this bunch of panty-waist Democrats that we sent to Washington to do our bidding …to take out the policies of that bastard, Bush? We empowered them and now they tell us they don’t have the votes. What’s wrong with this bunch of losers?

As our fingers float merrily, verbosely, and [in our own minds, at least] decisivly over the keys of our keyboards, shouldn’t we stop and ask why we aren’t getting the job done. We voted. We raise our heads and complain about virtually everything that our collective governments and our respective representatives do. Anything accomplished is never good enough to satisfy what we demand. Our reps are failures or more likely, your reps are a failure…. Mine are doing a fine job. So, I will continue to vote for my own, but suggest that you rid the nation of those from your district, state. We hate the world and the world hates us. Our Country has gone to Hell in a hand-basket. We continue to piss and moan. Why aren’t the right things getting done?

Maybe, fellow bloggers, we should look in the mirror. Pogo Possum, the mayor of Camp Swampy …deep in the Okefenokee Swamp, defined the problem [about forty years ago] with his pronouncement that: We have discovered the enemy, and the enemy is us.

I, like, most bloggers enjoy pontificating on the issues of the day. Like many of you, I read a great deal. I analyze the things that I am able to acquire. I review and critique the writings of others. I, too, do considerable bbp&m’ing. But, when I am honest with myself, I look at the processes, the mechanisms of our government, at the Constitution, our laws and I wonder if our society is capable of swiftly about-facing on any issue. Can we reverse direction on a dime or must we go through these painful fits of start-stop politics? Is our democracy capable of stopping an ill-advised war …assure that no one lives in poverty …able to provide health care to everyone …skillful enough to cherish our friends and admonish our enemies? Are we competent enough to expeditiously and efficiently satisfy all our domestic and foreign needs and responsibilities? Is our government able to meet the specific needs of each and every one of us even before we realize our own needs? Can our government provide for our general welfare; provide the security of our persons’, our liberty and an environment that allows us to pursue personal happiness? Does the government have the capacity to bless us [our pluralistic society] with all that we demand of it? Obviously, the answer is a resounding, NO. What government could do so?

…a government of the people, for the people and by the people. What part of this reality excuses us from being just as responsible, just as accountable, just as guilty for our Country’s failures? I submit that our government’s failures are our failures. We must hold ourselves to accounts.

And so, what are we to do? We can continue to write our blogs; work for our favorite candidate; go into our communities as volunteers; send our letters to the editor, to our representatives; do our jobs; care for our families; etc.

And, of course, we can continue to bellyache, bitch, piss and moan. Apparently, it is the American way.