by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
Jason Smith of Missouri's 8th, a rural, conservative, and basically white quarter of the state, is my congressman, though, as far as I can tell he seldom represents my views on anything. Smith, a loud Trumpeteer, has really only made national news once in the several years he has been serving in his safe seat in Congress, and that was when he yelled at Democratic Representative Tony Cardenas on the House Floor that he should "go back to Puerto Rico," and then scuttled into a group of his fellow Republicans and hid. He later apologized to Cardenas for his adolescent behavior - and the Democrat, who was by far the better man, accepted the apology.
Jason Smith, who would like to be a person of consequence in Congress rather than just a noisy embarrassment to his party, recently managed to get himself elected into his party's leadership as the Secretary of the House Republican Conference.
Nancy Pelosi, a Democratic descendant of a powerful political family out of Baltimore, lives in the San Francisco area of California from which she also has a safe seat in Congress. Pelosi has managed to parlay her political expertise into becoming the first female Speaker of the House, a position that she has now held twice in her long congressional career.
At first glance both Smith and Pelosi would not seem to have much in common. Jason Smith is a thirty-nine-year-old bachelor - and Nancy Pelosi is a seventy-nine-year-old grandmother. But, age and political differences aside, Smith and Pelosi seem to be in agreement on their abject fear of youthful exuberance and social change that appears poised to sweep across America.
Yesterday in his weekly email newsletter, Jason Smith went on a patriotic tirade against Nike over the company's decision to drop the controversial "Betsy Ross" flag emblem from some new shoes. Smith was quick to blame the affront (to him, at least) on black athlete and Nike spokesman, Colin Kaepernick, a favorite bogeyman of less-educated white conservatives. And while Jason Smith himself never served in our nation's military, he was most insistent on placing himself as close to America's veterans as possible in his Independence Day-themed newsletter. Jason and America's vets are patriots, while Nike, and Kaepernick, and assorted Democrats still need to prove themselves.
(Did you hear the one about the famous Vietnam-era draft-dodger who held his own military parade this Fourth of July - on the public dime?)
But Jason Smith is not the only one in Congress who is concerned about rapid social changes in America. Smith's fellow member, Nancy Pelosi, is discovering that swinging the Speaker's gavel is not as easy this time as it was the last time she ran the House. Pelosi is finding herself constantly being dogged by young House members who are not nearly as reticent in giving their opinions as some of the senior members think they should be.
Yesterday in an interview with the New York Times Pelosi minimized the influence of four young female House members saying the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and three of her activist friends represent little more than a "squad" in the House. She said they have their public "whatever" and Twitter accounts, but that their influence is limited to just four votes. Ocasio-Cortez shot back that public "whatever" is actually public "sentiment," and she belittled the Speaker for trying to campaign and run the House like it was still 2008.
(Even Donald Trump understands the power of social media - but, of course, he is several years younger than Nancy - and far more urbane than Jason.)
We are on the cusp of a new world. Some people can see that, while others would be more comfortable living in the older (and more predictable) world forever. Change happens and those who can't roll with the changes are destined to be pushed aside as the ground shifts.
Buckle up, Buttercups. Change is coming, and for some it's going to be a brutal ride!
Citizen Journalist
Jason Smith of Missouri's 8th, a rural, conservative, and basically white quarter of the state, is my congressman, though, as far as I can tell he seldom represents my views on anything. Smith, a loud Trumpeteer, has really only made national news once in the several years he has been serving in his safe seat in Congress, and that was when he yelled at Democratic Representative Tony Cardenas on the House Floor that he should "go back to Puerto Rico," and then scuttled into a group of his fellow Republicans and hid. He later apologized to Cardenas for his adolescent behavior - and the Democrat, who was by far the better man, accepted the apology.
Jason Smith, who would like to be a person of consequence in Congress rather than just a noisy embarrassment to his party, recently managed to get himself elected into his party's leadership as the Secretary of the House Republican Conference.
Nancy Pelosi, a Democratic descendant of a powerful political family out of Baltimore, lives in the San Francisco area of California from which she also has a safe seat in Congress. Pelosi has managed to parlay her political expertise into becoming the first female Speaker of the House, a position that she has now held twice in her long congressional career.
At first glance both Smith and Pelosi would not seem to have much in common. Jason Smith is a thirty-nine-year-old bachelor - and Nancy Pelosi is a seventy-nine-year-old grandmother. But, age and political differences aside, Smith and Pelosi seem to be in agreement on their abject fear of youthful exuberance and social change that appears poised to sweep across America.
Yesterday in his weekly email newsletter, Jason Smith went on a patriotic tirade against Nike over the company's decision to drop the controversial "Betsy Ross" flag emblem from some new shoes. Smith was quick to blame the affront (to him, at least) on black athlete and Nike spokesman, Colin Kaepernick, a favorite bogeyman of less-educated white conservatives. And while Jason Smith himself never served in our nation's military, he was most insistent on placing himself as close to America's veterans as possible in his Independence Day-themed newsletter. Jason and America's vets are patriots, while Nike, and Kaepernick, and assorted Democrats still need to prove themselves.
(Did you hear the one about the famous Vietnam-era draft-dodger who held his own military parade this Fourth of July - on the public dime?)
But Jason Smith is not the only one in Congress who is concerned about rapid social changes in America. Smith's fellow member, Nancy Pelosi, is discovering that swinging the Speaker's gavel is not as easy this time as it was the last time she ran the House. Pelosi is finding herself constantly being dogged by young House members who are not nearly as reticent in giving their opinions as some of the senior members think they should be.
Yesterday in an interview with the New York Times Pelosi minimized the influence of four young female House members saying the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and three of her activist friends represent little more than a "squad" in the House. She said they have their public "whatever" and Twitter accounts, but that their influence is limited to just four votes. Ocasio-Cortez shot back that public "whatever" is actually public "sentiment," and she belittled the Speaker for trying to campaign and run the House like it was still 2008.
(Even Donald Trump understands the power of social media - but, of course, he is several years younger than Nancy - and far more urbane than Jason.)
We are on the cusp of a new world. Some people can see that, while others would be more comfortable living in the older (and more predictable) world forever. Change happens and those who can't roll with the changes are destined to be pushed aside as the ground shifts.
Buckle up, Buttercups. Change is coming, and for some it's going to be a brutal ride!
1 comment:
What a realistic thoughts, Pa Rock. You are right, everything is changing. Change is taking place everywhere and everything. Those who are mutable will be easily adaptable to the changes will move with flow and will grow with time. But the people who find it hard to accept things that change with time, it will be difficult for them to survive. Don't stress over things, that will only increase your mental health problems, Etizolam RX Online to manage your stress.
I know, change is coming and I am ready for it.
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