State of the Union – 2014
Polity: A particular form of political system or government
Well, it’s that time of year again when the President of the United States presents his state of the Union speech to the citizens of this great nation. While contemplating what President Obama might tell us Tuesday night, I reflected on the many events we have experienced over the past few years and what we might reasonably expect to see in the future. What first came to mind, of course, is the extended period of economic freefall that began with the bursting of the housing bubble that began in 2005 followed by the financial crisis in October 2008, from all of which we are only now, eight years later, beginning to slowly recover. These events, alone, could be subject to a flag for “piling on” if life were a football game. And then there is the continuing vapor lock among our duly elected representatives in Washington. But, as wrenching as these events were and continue to be, in my view, they are merely the canaries in the coal mine: symptoms of changes to the very core of American society that are truly unsettling to many of us who are paying attention. And a recent article by Matt Towery, a nationally syndicated columnist is on point.
I was raised by depression-era parents. Granted, they were only little kids during that time. However, their parents instilled in them, as they, in turn, instilled in me, the understanding that you must take care of your things because there may be no replacing them.