Well this is a dubious honor. Where to begin, where to begin…
Let’s start with a flag. There’s
an enormous American flag presiding over the main intersection of Mt. Morris,
NY, provided graciously at taxpayer expense, well lighted at night and rippling
in the breeze. Fifty stars, thirteen stripes of red and white. A field of blue.
And under the blue and the white
and the red there are people, black and white and shades between, young and old
and rich and poor, striving. Everyone strives.
The striving of this country has
become a central focus in recent years; we dicker over how people ought best to
live their lives. The central conflict between the conservative and the liberal
mindset is often credited to money. Conservatives want, broadly, to keep their
money and starve the government. Liberals want the government to give freely,
to help the less fortunate or to promote new and better lives and modes of
living.
The conflict goes deeper,
though. The true center of the thing is change. This country is in a state of
flux, as countries are wont to be. The conservative fears the change, the
liberal embraces it.
The essence of liberalism, I
think, is in guiding the mutable nature of the body politic to a better and
brighter future.
The breeze has died down. The
flag hangs limp but beautiful in color and sunlight. Change is upon us. It’s a
strange and wonderful time to be alive and striving and changing.
Come along with us, let’s talk.
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