I postulate that the reason our country is in such dire straits is that our elected representatives, officials and leadership did not have fist fights growing up.
Not having those meet you at 3 o’clock behind the gym flare ups, the pushing, shoving, punches, the bloody noses, starched knuckles and knees have left an entire generation of leaders weak.
They are afraid to close a fist and strike an opponent. They are afraid to fight hard enough to win. They are the folks who would rather be less in the eyes of everyone than take the tough stand. They are now the guys (and girls) who ran away from fights out of fear that they might get hurt.
Give me some folks who had a tough upbringing, who found out that you wouldn’t die if you got hit. Give me the same folks who won their fights because they didn’t give any advantages to their opponents. Give me that same folks that were happy to win and gracious enough to shake hands when the fight was over.
Those people learned when they literally had skin in the game not to give an inch, to think and act simultaneously. The bob and weave, thrust and parry almost instinctively.
They found out quickly that punches, if landed with force, do hurt but they also found out the best defense is a better offense. A punch that you can land before the opponent catches you with a good one is always better.
With a team of scrappers at the helm they would understand that not everyday is a school dance and sometime behind the gym is where things get sorted out. Surely, they would not be ass kissers.
As in ever politic the pendulum has swung too far. That always seems to be the case in the county. So now we find ourselves being completely disrespected on the world stage, ineffective in setting international policy and unable to come to the defense of our national interests.
There are those who say we should not be in every fight, everywhere and I agree. However our role in history which we created I might add, is to watch out for the victims around the world. The broader issues must prevail in our collective mind set. Demagoguery, oppression and attacks on smaller, weaker and disadvantaged countries must be responded to. You wouldn’t watch an old lady have her purse snatched and do nothing would you?
I miss the legends of this land and others that had steel in their spines, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, General Mac Arthur, Eisenhower, JFK, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill. You could count on them to stand up and be counted when trouble was at hand. You could just imagine them carrying the coat of arms at the head of the column announcing that what followed them meant business. You could see them on horseback and tank and jeep, always at the front of the fight always projecting strength, fearlessness, might and most important right.
Anyone of them could be on my side behind the school gym. See you at 3 o’clock.