Is the Circus Really Over?
From the Pigpen
Greetings to all of my good friends scattered across Wayne County. As I write this month’s column for The Buzz, Labor Day is lurking on the horizon, but, you would never know it with the heat and humidity we presently find ourselves mired in. In reality, it’s just a routine part of summer in eastern North Carolina and is something we have been forced to learn how to deal with. I suspect, if my memory serves me correctly, by the time next February rolls around, many among us will be lamenting the bitterness of winter and eagerly awaiting the onset of warmer weather. But, isn’t that about par for the course for we humans? Is it unusual at all, that by the time we are granted what it is that we think we really want and need, our hopes and aspirations have already turned one hundred and eighty degrees toward a completely different set of expectations? After all, this animal referred to as man, is pretty predictable. If you do not believe this, just study your history books and see how things have a tendency to repeat themselves.
According to all the hoopla and media attention, I was led to believe that Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus had their final performance on May 21, 2017. Yet, as I follow the escapades of both those making and those assigned to reporting the news, I have come to the conclusion that the circus is alive and well. In fact, I might go as far as to say that it is flourishing. Were not our elected officials and the news media, at least in days gone by, held to a basic level of civility, accountability, respectability, and honesty? Are there no longer any basic standards of conduct and decency that we must all adhere to for the betterment of our nation?
I do not have to agree with you, to recognize that your opinions and your ideas are equally as important as are mine. When we fail to respect one another, we all pay a terrible price and I question if anyone winds up a winner. There will always be differences in the way both individuals and groups of people think, in their basic tenets, and the directions which steer them through life. Personally, I believe that to be a very good thing. Wouldn’t it be a very boring world if everyone dressed the same way, conjured up the same thoughts, and uttered the exact same words and phrases?
It is not the differences that bother me so much as it is the enjoyment that so many seem to draw from being at odds with one another. Is there not a point, a place in time, a line in the sand that represents the common good, and proves beneficial to the majority of Americans? Perhaps we would do well to pray toward that end. As always, until we next meet, be of good cheer.
