You Can Act Like a MAN!

(slap) Wazza matter wit chu?!?!?!

My favorite Brando line from The Godfather, and now it seems an anthem for America these daze. Ralph, the LA refugee (as the Hoguester has been kind enough to provide the English lesson on), has a most excellent post on what's wrong with America nowadays. I swear to God I was at the Bradshaw & Old Placerville Starbucks with his co-worker on Thursday. Unbelievable attitudes in this country right now. But Ralph and Bill Whittle have deftly explained much of it. I'm proud to count myself as a member of the Greys, but knowledge that the Pinks seem to have us outnumbered is troubling to say the least.

America has transformed from a nation of men (The Founders, Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Unconditional Surrender Grant, Roosevelt [both of them], Kennedy [the sober if not monogamous one], Reagan, Bush [both of them]) to a nation of sheep. Feel free to fill in the names to the sheep. Sheep that expect the shepherd (guv-mint) to tilt nipple to every whim and need. I remember my dad talking about "picking oneself up by one's bootstraps." Most people don't have a clue about what that means anymore, so ingrained has the guv-mint nipple become in our society. Watching the national reaction to the most brutal natural disaster to strike these shores in nearly a century is enough to make me want to move to Anartica. Well, Alaska anyway since I'd rather be in the Home of the Free while it's still free. What we've been seeing in recent days seems to be a desire for the Federal guv-mint to be all knowing and all powerful and absolute frothing, seething, hatred overflowing anger upon realization that it ain't. Do I seek to pin the Narlens debacle on the Honorable Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana? Or Ray Nagin? Or Michael Brown? Putting myself in their shoes, would I have reacted better to the shocking cruelty of Katrina? Probably not. This country is in shock and we see the symptoms of that shock in the lip-spittle soaked rage of our national leaders of all people. Incredibly stupid statements being made in the wake of this national calamity. One of its most charming (if corrupt) cities was utterly destroyed. Katrina's don't happen here. This is America dammit! But do I whine that the Feds should have done more?

No.

I'm not there, and neither are you. We can sit in our armchairs and cluck away at the scenes we see on CNN, PMSNBC, etc, and comfort ourselves that we would know and do better by doing nothing. But never have I feared for this country's future as much as I do now. Men who act like men are a rare commodity anymore. This nation formerly of men and now populated by sheep appears to seek a nipple to suckle rather than scythe to swing. I can't stand it anymore. Stand up straight! Chin up! Chest Out! Swear allegiance to the Lord and "Act Like a Man!" before someone slaps you.