Tilting

  Those on the left have been hollering about transparency for years now. But, it would seem, as with many other things, once they got it, they didn't like like it. Consider DOGE as one example. It isn't a new thing, created by Trump, it existed since Obama created it, just called it by a different name. The objective was a bit different however, it was supposed to hide and confuse anyone seeking transparency on government spending. It was working too, until Elon Musk came along, the richest man in the world, started to look at that without any agenda. He wasn't there to protect anyone's "interests" just provide an accounting. You can see how upset those folks demanding transparency are. You see, that's the problem with transparency, you can see right through it.

 Yesterday there was a televised news conference between Trump, JD Vance and Zelensky. Turned into a bit of a shouting match. Well that is just a reflection of the way things are done these days. It isn't anything new, it just used to happen behind closed doors, but you wanted transparency. In this digital age of streaming everything that takes place there are very few private meetings. The last big tirade I remember is when Khrushchev was banging his shoe. Today there is debate about whether that actually happened. Some eye witnesses claim he brandished his shoe but never struck the table with it. There is no "video" to substantiate either case, perhaps we were fed "misinformation" even back then. As I said, nothing new about any of that. 

 That's a bit of an issue when everything is being tried in the court of public opinion. We are all being urged to "choose" a side. You either give full support one way or the other, or get called names. You are leftists, radicals, Nazi's, fascists, commies or any number of other derisive names. Society in general has assumed a far greater degree of aggression over the last few decades. You can see that at the grocery store, while driving your car, eating at a restaurant or just walking down the street. You seldom see a man tipping their hat to a lady, holding a door open or just exchanging a friendly greeting with a stranger. They are far more likely to just rush past you, ignore your presence altogether and continue on their way. It's no wonder you see our politicians, from both sides of the aisle, acting in a similar fashion. Verbal aggression has taken the place of actual physical aggression. That's sounds great on the surface of things, but removes one important aspect, accountability. 

  This is something I have written about several times. No surprise there as I have been writing literally for over thirteen years now on everything you can think of. This area I call "polite company" that situation where you temper your thoughts and words so as not to create friction unnecessarily. In polite company you are not close friends with the people you are interacting with, hence the company part. Company is different from friends and relatives, outsiders to a degree. It's my feeling that polite company is a thing of the past, relegated to a textbook as history. It's akin to Chivalry, the quaint outdated code of conduct eulogized in Don Quixote. Many are still "tilting at windmills" that hasn't changed but unaware of it in the same way old Don was. The reason for changing so many names by the way. 

  We are all being pushed to join a side, a team in this war. Are you team Quixote or are you Braveheart? That appears to be the choices we are given today. There is no middle ground, no compromise, no concession and no turning back. You have to back your "man" to the death! It is a contentious time in American history following the global rise to prominence we enjoyed after WW2. The wheels began to loosen in the late sixties and have continued to wobble ever since. It's time to "tighten up" people, get back to the realities of life. The party is over.