Shaking The Foundations

The Year of Living Seriously (Shaking the Foundations) --- Part Three of a Series


There was a wonderful scene in the film National Treasure, a goofy but fun movie, in which Nicholas Cage is clarifying a beautiful passage from the Declaration of Independence. The passage reads:

“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object
evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty,
to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.”

He follows reading this section by observing that people don’t speak like that anymore and then clarifying its meaning by saying “If there’s something wrong, those who have the ability to take action have the responsibility to take action”. Not only do people not speak that way anymore, they don’t think that way either. There is a fear of offending others that denies any notion an individual may have of exploring an original or subversive thought these days. Subversion and divisiveness are the very basis upon which this country was founded and when we abandon these we are not only turning our backs on our past, we are also denying any semblance of a future we could have. Our foundations need a little shaking sometimes, it keeps our leaders honest.

When a disc jockey or a pundit or a sarcastic blogger are chastised for displaying his or her own interpretation of a particular event, we should be outraged. As a community, the United States have become so ultrasensitive that it would not surprise me that an insult levied against your next-door neighbor would be felt by their grandchildren’s grandchildren, and that they would take the same offense to it as on the day it was hurled. Individual interpretations should be fine; they should be commended as a matter of fact but they should never be construed as a personal affront.

If something is wrong, then by all means attack that wrong with the very fabric of your being, but for god’s sake let’s stop with attacking every possible thing that can be interpreted as a wrong because in perspective, anything can be interpreted to suit an individual’s taste. Shock jocks are supposed to shock us, especially by their words, but sometimes even with their actions. Laugh it off kids. Life is too freakin’ short to spend it seeking retribution for something that was intended as a joke. And hey, by the very act of attacking a wrong publicly, you not only give the transgression more publicity, you give it more credibility.

Save your energy for the greater wrongs being levied against humanity; the war in Iraq, the gasoline crisis, and those wacky outfits that models wear in fashion shows. We need a return to those days when complacency meant that you didn’t care and before it meant that you were an acceptable and productive member of society; then and only then can we get back to more important matters than offensive or suggestive language on our airwaves. Because although we are all entitled to our opinion; we have a greater responsibility to accept the opinions of others.





Pizza Recipe:
http://www.dailysouthtown.com/lifestyles/382124,141LIF4.article