A Deep Breath

So I calmed down some from last week. I'm hoping other people have done the same.

Maybe some of what happened had to do with tax day. That can make anyone a little crazy.

And a little perspective always helps. Even though we might disagree on the particular points, I think most reasonable people would agree that the previous administration, like all administrations before it, made a number of grave mistakes and exceedingly poor decisions. No doubt the Obama administration will also make its share of mistakes and bad decisions. But have any of the president's actions, not even 100 days into his presidency, warranted the hysteria generated from some particular sources? Have any of his actions warranted talk of secession--veiled or otherwise?

I think not.

A few months back, some Russian guy predicted the splintering of the U.S. Why would we even contemplate rhetoric that might contribute to proving that guy right?

When the likes of Charles Johnson and David Horowitz are telling you to calm down, then maybe you're a little overexcited. That's a little like Terrell Owens suggesting you whine too much.

So a Democrat got elected. It happens. I think you can learn to live with it. A lot of people didn't like it when George W. Bush became president, but they learned to live with it. For eight years. Eight very long years.

I like protest. Protest is good. And arguing is fine. But let's keep it in-house. In the family. I have to think that, whatever our problems, in the end we're better off together than apart, however much we may dislike each other some of the time.

I share many of the frustrations of at least some of the tea party protesters. I just don't think that a "movement" hyped like Live 8 by Fox News really ought be considered organic and grass-roots, any more than say, well, Live 8. (Plus, Live 8 had Pink Floyd, so the hype was at least somewhat warranted. But I digress.) To call Barack Obama a product of the media, and then to ignore similar tactics in the promotion of Tea Bag Day or whatever it was called, is just naive.

But whatever. Get out and protest. Demand accountability and responsible behavior. I'm for all that. While I'm much happier to see one party in power than the other, I've lived long enough to know that power corrupts, and often times the only thing standing in the way of corrupt power is a fierce but loyal opposition.