Words mean things

To me there is a swirl of word things around me. To simplify things, in my military mind, words mean things.

And I don't think we humans have changed much in the last 2,000 years; but at age 62 I have also seen changes in my lifetime that disturb me about our political American culture. And these changes are not about the status quo, but in words meaning things.

Now I think it is time to even speak about things like morality, ethics, and even political correctness.

Now I think most are not surprised by a candidate for any office claiming and saying about anything in order to get elected. Most voters know to take it with a grain of salt. But when they continue, if elected, to rule by lies and subterfuge and too many obvious reverses, then that is different in my lifetime, I can report.

Even more so I am bothered that those elected and those appointed by them take oaths so casually, to include the inauguration of our Federal President in front of our whole Country. Even signing documents about disclosure and avoiding purchasing conflicts of interest seem above the law to so many. Even more, too many elected and even appointed people saying they will not enforce a law previously voted on and signed by an executive disturbs me. This idea smacks of royalty, which is not the USA I want and am willing to pay taxes to. After all, these people may be in the executive, but they are not the judicial, another branch of government in the USA.

Now I accept an appalling amount of ignorance in our elected politicians, whether I like it or not. In fairness some are smarter than others, and I guess and hope most are pretty hard working. But when I read reports about federal elected politicians, or their staff members, wanting to check on railroad schedules from California to Hawaii (across the Pacific Ocean), or Senator Charles Schumer saying there are three branches of government, the Senate, the House, and the President, then I am at best disappointed, and wonder what I can do, other than vote, of course.

All this ignorance has nothing to do with ethics or morality I would also say. Whether one is smart or dumb, educated or not, experienced or not, being honest (ethical and moral) is a simple way to rule in the USA.

But the alternative of things like lying, as in doing some simple kind of debate point or method in order to advance one's cause, is something I suspect most of our Moms and Dads did not teach us, or even encourage us on. After all peoples' lives are at stake as goes ruling, and helping a business succeed is crucial to keeping so many of us being gainfully employed.

I often wonder what times were like during the fall of the fall of the Roman Empire; or more "recently", the American Revolution against England. I suspect things are different now, though I will never know and will not speculate on.

So I expect some kind of uniquely American and New World way to go forward, with much pain in the process, and where words mean things. The status quo of the last 100 years is changing, right in front of us. In Apollo 13 talk, anarchy is not an option, and never has been. Citizens will step up and be guided in ways other than what is happening these days; that is they will act in their self interests for their Family and where they live. And I expect the anchor to all this will be words meaning things, at least more than seems to have been happening in the last half century.