If I Were to Run for Office, This Would Be My Agenda

I'm not likely to run for office, but if I did this would be my agenda. I wanted to go ahead and get the list out there now. This is a work in progress. I'll flesh it out little by little later. I'm not sure I would find a constituency, but I wouldn't really care. I would just run on this agenda and let the cards fall where they may.

1. Overturn Roe v. Wade

The abortion issue is what's called a wedge issue--the ultimate wedge issue, it seems--that inures to the benefit of the Republican party and ultimately rich people of both parties. Abortion splits the middle class right down the middle. Half of those middle-class people vote Democrat, the other half Republican. This allows rich people and evangelicals to control the Republican party and rich people, poor people and kooks (mostly kooks) to control the Democratic party. The result of this division has been the resolute decimation of the middle class over the last 5 decades since Roe v. Wade was decided.

Without Roe v. Wade, both parties would have to tailor their respective platforms and policies in favor of the middle class, rather than the rich and the poor. Franklin Roosevelt was the first politician to harness the power of the middle class, and he won four terms in office, followed by a fifth for his Vice-president, Harry Truman. The run was only ended by General Eisenhower, a war hero, who was a Republican, but whose policies were in no way different from those of Roosevelt/Truman, and who was anchored by a Democratic Congress throughout his eight years in office. He was followed by eight more years of Democratic hegemony. This was an era of unparalleled prosperity. A return to a pre-Roe national political landscape would invite back those years of growth and  stability. It would make both parties much more sensible.

Middle-class people tend to be rather no-nonsense in their approach to life. The extremes of the social liberals that have a stranglehold on Washington, DC today would take a back seat to normal, middle-of-the-road middle-class values. This would be the best thing for the poor, as well. A thriving and attainable middle-class to which they can aspire and thrive is far more effective at raising them out of their poverty than any government giveaway program could ever be.

2. Expand the Definition of Religion

Realizing and legally recognizing through court precedent that certain worldviews hold no distinction from historical religions would go a long way toward leveling the playing field of politics and education. Religions like LQBTQ+, Climate Change and even Science in general currently are allowed to indoctrinate throughout society with impunity, particularly in schools. "Outing" them as religions would mean they could no long fly beneath the radar. People would still be able to practice these nihilistic and atheistic religions but they would no longer be allowed to use the airwaves to proselytize and preach that their way is the truth and all other religions are false.

The "Ahhhh" Moment

People talk about the "Ah-ha!" moment, but you hear less often about the "Ahhhh" moment. It's something that you might want to try to work into your schedule at least once a day. Maybe even more often if you can.

I have an Ahhhh moment every morning I go to the beach. It usually happens as pre-dawn I hit the apex of the A. Max Brewer Memorial Bridge. I don't know who A. Max Brewer is/was, but I sure like his bridge. Here is a picture of my morning commute. You can just make out the edge of the Indian River (which is actually a lagoon). Majestic. Ahhhh.

Take Yourself By the Shoulders

The other day, I saw a woman outside a Publix grocery store. She was sitting in the shade smoking a cigarette. She might have been waiting for the bus, which was fully open and unattended a few feet away, to return to service.

The expression on the woman's face made me want to take her by the shoulders and shake her and say, "Ask for more from life! Just ask!"

A little while later, I wanted to take myself by the shoulders and say, "Ask for more from life! Just ask!"

Image by Dean Moriarty from Pixabay

You Can Do What You Want

I grew up going to church, where I learned a lot about the Bible. One of the lines from the Bible that has stayed with me is Psalms 37:4:  

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

I'm quoting it here not as authority, but because it came to mind as I thought about what it means to live a successful life. It's pretty much a tiny little success formula, isn't it? One that might make a lot of sense once we break it down. 

But what does it actually mean? And how does Sammy Hagar, the Red Rocker (pictured left, courtesy of Cigar Aficionado), figure into the equation? Let's take a look.

Take a Breath

 1. Press the play button.

2. Take a breath.

3. Repeat steps 1 & 2 as needed.

Brace for Impact

A couple of the phrases I remember from my Navy days were, "Standby for heavy rolls," and "Brace for impact." 

The first would be announced when the ship was in the trough of a wave. When the waves rolled through, so would the ship from side to side, sometimes violently if the waves were big enough. We always tried to keep the ship's bow (nose) pointed toward the waves, or away from them, but we couldn't always do that for a variety of reasons. And when we couldn't, it could be a real problem.

They would announce: "Brace for impact," when we were about to hit something, like land or an iceberg or another ship. This never actually happened on any ship I was on but we ran drills for everything and that phrase came up in some of those drills. In which case you would have to grab something and hold on tight.

It's one thing to standby for heavy rolls and brace for impact externally, but it's quite another to do so internally. Another word for this phenomenon is "worry." Or "anxiety." And it can cause real health problems. What does such internal bracing accomplish? Does it help the situation in any way? Or does it merely cause physical discomfort?

What to Eat

How do we answer this question, "What to eat?"

Do we look around for the latest diet fad and read the book? Do we sign up for one of the weight loss programs and let someone tell us what we should eat?

Here's an idea: listen to your body. Maybe it knows exactly what to eat.

How would you go about listening to you body? What would that look like? It might look something like this: