The morning after

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God bless America. God bless pundits. Here we are, the morning after, and it appears the takeaway from last night is that there were awkward responses from congress because they threw out the seating chart. Imagine that. A call to become a teacher, improve healthcare, and create clean energy jobs and all we want to talk about is the lack of rowdy applause.

Now, call me silly, but I listen - with interest and without judgment - when someone speaks with conviction and sincerity. But I don't boo or cheer a lot while he is talking. That may be tradition in congress but is it what we want? Really?

If so, we should take lessons from parliament in Great Britain. They yell. They pound. They even boo with thumbs down. It's a great show but I don't want a show. I want courtesy.

I can make up my own mind and have my own opinion without having someone screaming at me. I don't want to have to yell or throw punches to be heard either. If I did, then I probably wouldn't say anything at all. Would you?

The Inbox

Image by Trinity via Flickr

Warning. The beginning of this blog entry is the reason that people hate blogs, facebook, and twitter, but, here goes: I cleaned out my inbox yesterday and I want to tell you what I found.

I found a myriad of "things to file", photos, and receipts. There were paperclips and important things, too - like my expired rv registration waiting for a visit to the DMV and our last will and testament waiting to be notarized. Ho-hum. Just more things on the to-do list.

There was something important, however, and I am proud of myself for saving it. It is an article from January 17, 2010 written by Steven Covey titled "Seven Ways to Come Together." I quote from the introduction:

"A year ago this week, the nation watched, spellbound, as about a million revelers carpeted the Washington Mall to celebrate the inauguration of a new president.

What a difference a year makes - or not. The euphoria has worn off. In its place? Well, you know: anger, division , frustration, polarization. "

That was written last year. Sadly, it could have been written this year opening with "Two years ago..."

Please, Mr. President, inspire us tomorrow night so that we can move on. I am tired of hearing about the vitriol of government; tired of hearing phrases like "across the aisle", "partisan rhetoric", and "repeal the legislation."

Come on: Yes, we can (do better than this...)