Politics

My wife and I have been talking about politics lately. This may sound like a simplistic statement, but if you knew my wife and I, you would know that we are not interested in politics, and that should you ever catch us broaching the subject, then the world’s affairs must be in a very dire state indeed. It’s not that we’re apathetic; far from it, I consider myself a passionate patriot. I think we’re both just daunted when faced with the constant barrage of information sometimes riddled with propaganda and more often than not, drenched in it. I am sure that I have yet to understand, or even discover, for that matter, the truth in anything and can, therefore, have nothing to offer on the subject in conversations. I have often sat in the middle of debates fearful that at any moment someone might turn to me and ask my opinion. And, the truth is I have an opinion, it’s just that I feel as though it is the opinion of a child, who no more comprehends the workings of politics than he does the workings of the human brain, and would be instantly found out to be the boob that I know myself to be. Yes, best to keep your mouth shut until you have something to offer on the subject. That’s something one of my college professors taught me, and ironically, it has kept me from revealing the fact that I actually gleaned little else from my many years at university than that one life saving tidbit.
The flags that line my office building on the seven identical gleaming flagpoles remind me of the few things I know for sure. This country was created on the back of worthy ideals. And, with power in the hands of its citizens, has the capability of offering sanctuary and opportunity to all who would defend those same ideals.
When I pledge allegiance to the flag or fly it from a flagpole I’ll remember that I’m not pledging allegiance to a piece of colored fabric, but to the vision and promise of a society so great, that people continue to flow into it still.