On Churchill, The Past Year, The New Year and Some Mosey Reflections

I'd intended to start with a clean slate in this New Year, archive a traumatic 2016 election, and move positively ahead with fresh commentaries. But watching the struggles of transitional government, and watching "The Crown" TV series (with lots of Winston Churchill) remind me that these transitions are always difficult. Three steps forward, one step back. Let me back up here and offer a civic engagement resolve. I've used this photo image before, but it seems perfect at this time.

A famous quote attributed to the Prime Minister (I'll paraphrase) is, "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all others."  As we anticipate some fairly dramatic changes, or attempted changes in government, the current circumstances beg reflection. The Mosey Principles include "Slow Down, Pay Attention and Be Informed." As I watch debates over implementation of campaign promises, I want to offer some perspective. 

Reining in The Blame Game. Let's All Take Responsibility.

The campaigns brought out the worst in all of us, by commission or omission. There were lies, innuendos and fake news plants from all sides. But the media and we observers didn't do a good job of calling them out. We just held our noses and hoped our side would prevail. 

I'm an Independent, and you know that I've felt that our main political culprit/villain has been our bipartisan Congress, over several administrations. It's easy to  blame "W" or Obama, but the bucks only stopped with them after their Congressional colleagues let them down. Some strong personalities exerted too much unchecked influence in the Bush administration, and conversely, Obama didn't have enough strong, effective personalities to help him out. Congress ducked many opportunities to rise to the occasion. Over several administrations.

So, when you hear the current extended campaign rhetoric blaming Obama for flaws in the Affordable Care Act, immigration policy, tax laws, regulatory concerns, foreign policy, national debt and climate change influences, consider this--our bipartisan Congress failed to honor their oaths of office to serve. And in an unforgivable breach of responsibility, the recent Republican "leadership" openly pledged to be uncooperative with President Obama. And they succeeded to the detriment of all of us. But, as the song says, "...that was yesterday, and yesterday's gone." 

Campaigning's Easier. Governing's Hard.

Anything and everything was said during the campaigns. That's not unusual, but the extremes were magnified by social media and the Twitterverse, and civility, truth and honest debate were thrown out with the bilge water. And we were all the losers.

We allowed our Congressional reps to give up in recent years. And now we and they are waking to the reality that we face some major challenges in this Country. And that takes governance. And we're the government. And they're the government. So, we'd better step up and govern. Wow! We've caught ourselves! Now, what do we do?

My Civic Resolve

OK, I'll Man Up. Or Citizen Up. You've heard me say that we're all complicit by fault or default in this mess/opportunity in which we find ourselves. And, it's easy for those of us of a certain age to want to turn this over to more youthful, energetic, resilient community stewards. But then I think about our children and grandchildren (such as my grandson below), my life and community experience and realize I've still got some energy left and many opportunities to collaborate with others in constructive community building. 

My Civic Resolve includes:

...I'll always consider the importance of my community efforts to the future of this young man and many who are less fortunate.

...I'll often ask my friend in the mirror,"Are you EFFECTIVE, or just busy?"

...I'll communicate more often with my elected reps.

...I'll make more of an effort to call out uninformed family/friends who are echoing misinformation and sharing fake news stories.

...I'll make more of an effort to know my neighbors and neighborhood first responders.

...I'll be more proactive to minister to those who are hurting.

...I'll act on good intentions to expand the diversity of my circle of friends.

Etc., Etc., Etc. You get my drift. My personal and civic roles are works in progress. 

Let's Get Real and Make a Difference Locally

I'm not naive and idealistic. The folks in Washington can hurt us, but we need to focus our energies where we can make a difference. We should urge our elected officials to work better with their Federal counterparts. We should strengthen the associations and non-profits that represent issues of importance to us so that they can be more effective  advocates at every level.

Our efforts will include opening our hearts, minds, wallets and calendars to step up our levels of civic engagement. Many of you are my civic heroes. I learn from all of you. I'm excited about our potential to have significant positive impact on our communities. I'll use future commentaries to discuss some specifics. I look forward to working with you in this regard.   LET'S MOSEY!