I find myself increasingly thankful for DVR. I hate watching live television. When I watch live television I’m bombarded with incredibly dumb commercials selling medications I really want because they will make me feel sooooo good. Other than the side effects of partial paralysis, death, and/or projectile vomiting, these all sound very hopeful.
There are ED commercials that end up with a couple with his and her bathtubs that have no plumbing attached in their backyards. There are commercials for really bad pizza. You know the ones, “Better ingredients, better pizza, Papa”……hey, have you ever tasted that stuff?
It’s disgusting.
In the Louisville Metro Area we are bombarded with 1001 commercials from a young woman named Lindsay Schultz who has become a local celebrity. Don’t know who I’m talking about? She’s famous for the words, “The Kia Store. The best value in the new economy.” Yes, that’s her, the Kia woman.
Far, far worse, however, are the political ads. Over and over and over and over. Cliché after cliché after cliché.
I am against (insert what I am against here.) and I will oppose any effort that (insert effort of opponent) brings to you.
Ever notice that most of the politicians now are against things? They are pro-growth, pro-America, pro-God, country, American flag, and apple pie, but pretty much nothing of note. They will reduce spending----which they never do. They may or may not cut taxes whether this needs to happen or not. We will benefit by paying their salaries. That pretty much covers the benefit we are going to receive.
They profess faith in Christianity, but their reflection of Christianity sounds more like a party platform than it does a reflection of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s as if their faith in Christ is subjected to the political whims of the time.
Not to distract anyone from a really big news story like Tom Brady and deflated footballs, but has anyone realized how huge the derailment in Philadelphia is? It reflects a massive underlying issue our nation has right now and one that no one who is running for President, thinking of running for President, or is even pondering a run, is talking about. It’s the least sexy topic on the table and it’s infrastructure.
The United States’ infrastructure is rotting away. Bridges are rotting. Roads are rotting. Old trains are running over old tracks over old beds. People are driving over old highways. Water is coming to us through old pipes. Natural gas, oil, etc, are being pumped through old, and obsolete piping systems. We want to build a new pipeline but we are not even remotely interested in maintaining what we already have. What we already have is rotting away.
A train derailed in Philadelphia. It was going over 100 mph and it was supposed to be going half that speed. The train, the tracks, the undergirding of all of this, and an automated system designed to stop or slow down the train was never installed. The rest, however, is rotting away. Additionally, the discussion will be distracted into something else.
All the Presidential candidates will line up and guess what topic none of them will address? Infrastructure. It’s not sexy.
I’ve read a lot of books about World War II and I read a couple of books by Omar Bradley and he wrote about one of the most critical elements of winning the war in Europe.
It was not that. No that either. Nope, you missed it.
It was transporting stuff from the United States, to England, to mainland Europe, and to the front line. No matter how great the Army was (and they were pretty great), the Army could do nothing without ammunition, fuel, and food. There are all sorts of exciting movies made on World War II that show all sorts of heroism and greatness----lots of history books as well. None of it would have happened without the ability to schlep stuff.
What I worry about the United States is that we have a lot of wealth and a lot of foolishness at the same time. We worry about a lot of amazingly grand things and overlook something important and unsexy.
A train derailed in Philadelphia. The American infrastructure is rotting away. And no one is talking about it.
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