Maybe the points of wisdom so often quoted by my elders never sunk in to the appropriate level of consciousness.

Perhaps all of those little nuggets of wisdom and the pearls of experienced have been stored away in some dusty box in the attic of my mind, pushed aside to be opened at some ‘more opportune' time.

However, I just don't think I know how to be like some of the people with whom I come in contact.

I have asked opinions of some and drawn only blank looks or subject changes. In many cases, these folks appear very uncomfortable, almost edgy.

I personally believe that a lively exchange of ideas is one of the highest forms of communication, one of the best ways to get to know people and what they stand for.

But most people don't appreciate open talk these days, in fact, a lot of people don't even talk at all.

Another person's opinion would just as well not be voiced, some will tell you. That doesn't do anything but cause problems and problems we don't need.

To me, that is the manifesto of the communist regimes that this nation has fought so many years to repress. Instead of appreciating the thinking of another, I instead usually find others taking any information contrary to their own opinion and attempting to quell it as soon as possible.

So what to do if you don't like what someone has to say or appreciate their right to have differing beliefs? Just send in the tanks and burn them out.

As Americans, I feel that we have the privilege and the duty to discuss things with one another and to express our opinions on subjects. I have had countless numbers of phone calls since I arrived here in this editor's chair, many of whom are complaining about one thing or the other.

Some are not even brave enough to tell you their name.

Others will tell you their name, but say they don't want to speak out publicly, or ask you not to tell anyone, or just don't want to get involved.

Only a small percentage are ever brave enough to sign their name on a letter and put it in the mailbox, let alone take a direct action of consequence.

When people start taking notice of what happens in their government and community, changes start taking place rapidly.

Do you ever wonder why the politicians of this country typically take whatever they want out of our paychecks and give so little of merit back to the working people of this country?

Mostly because the citizens of this nation just don't really care enough to even find out what a candidates voting record is, what they stand for or where they come from because they are "too busy to get involved."

When it comes to another man or woman spending the money drafted out of my paycheck — better than 30 percent of it in this state by the time you count the entire government chain from the feds down to the county and town — I am very interested.

It is high time that the people of this nation woke up out of the capitalist daze so many are living in and started taking an active role in their government and their community.

So long as the economy is good and bodies aren't piling up like cord wood, nothing else matters. The president wants to have an extra-marital affair, lie about it and encourage others to lie? Who cares, the economy is good.

Another president of another party wants to by-pass congress and sell weapons to rebels in central America in order to send cash to terrorists to free hostages while all the while talking tough? No problem, just so long as I can afford to buy a nice car and and a good-sized television set.

Who really cares, anyway?

Instead of being held accountable for untold millions, Congressmen and Senators are like rock stars, with their own little security force and even groupies to follow them around.

Politicians in general, on every level of government, feel they are in charge of the people, rather than being in the people's charge.

I wish I had the answer to all these different problems we are facing, but it all really just comes down to this: As long as the American public remains ignorant and apathetic, the government will remain loyal only to those who speak with check books or dollar bills in hand.

Are all politicians bad? Not by any means. However, there is no doubt that we need to shake up many levels of government and remove many of these silver-haired and deep-pocketed individuals and replace them with members of society who might actually be able to relate to us as peers.

Another problem? There are more lawyers in government than anything else. The typical high-profile lawyer doesn't know any more about normal human beings than how to get their hands on 10 to 25 percent of their money. That's not a skill I want my representative to be trained in, or even worse, proud of.

The only difficulty in repairing these problems is that most working people don't have the time or the funding to run for public office, let alone a congressional seat.

In thinking of these problems and the general uncaring in our society, I always recall a quote, one was from a basketball coach who angrily asked his player if his inability to follow plays was due to ignorance or apathy. The youth responded, "I don't know and I don't care."

Get more tongue in cheek commentary this week's issue of the Alleghany News!

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