Heartbeats and Hoofbeats

Some events are pleasant for us, and others fill us with apprehension. The only people whose lives are a straight line with no ups or downs are those in a coma. When we are excited, our hearts beat faster and our adrenaline kicks into “turbo mode.” When the anticipated event is a happy one, our senses are heightened so that we may enjoy the moment to the fullest. Pending peril, too, generates a similar response. Our sensory tools are sharpened as we wait for the danger to reveal itself to us. After identifying the threat, we determine our response…usually fight or flight.

Most of us who love our nation experience the swelling pride and joy whenever we hear a patriotic song, view a film clip of homecoming soldiers or witness a community pulling together following a natural disaster.  Our sense of connection is more than patriotism. It is a sense of common place…shared experiences and views. Happy heartbeats germinate in a similar environment. When we encounter something that springs from the familiar but contains a positive joy-inducing stimulus, we respond with happiness…unrestrained and glowing. Heart beats induced by happiness may be fast and furious, but they do not consist of the heavy pounding intensity that fear-based ones do.

The thundering hoof beats of Paul Revere’s galloping steed echoed through the night as many in Massachusetts slept. Those who were awake, however probably felt apprehensive heart beats in their chests as Revere spoke the alarm. For them it marked the beginning of new and unknown chapter in their lives. Their zeal for liberty must have been tempered to some degree by the knowledge that they were about to challenge the greatest military power on earth. Second thoughts must have entered their minds as Revere’s hoof beats faded into the dark, and the pounding staccato of their beating hearts may have caused them to fear that the noise might stir their neighbors. The rhythmic sounds of hoof beats and heart beats blended to form a melody of freedom with minor chords of fear.    

The thrill and challenge of facing overwhelming odds when you know that your cause is just can be an exhilaratingly fearful time. The body springs into alert mode and all of the senses are on “super-sensitive.” Muscles twitch with anticipation, and a surge of energy flows through the body. Do you feel that way now? Are your body, your mind and all your senses on “high-alert?” They should be. The hoof beats of alarm have left the area and are moving to call out the next alarm. Your liberty is threatened. Your life, as you know it,…is in danger. Your nation faces its most grave crisis since 1861. You as a champion of liberty and as a defender of the country are being called to action.

This danger is not new to you. I am aware of that, and I know that you have been battling for months or years to stem the flow of a big government run amok. This column is nothing more than an attempt to reinvigorate you because I sense that many of you may be getting weary. Each effort begins with so much hope and anticipation, but the turnout for the meeting is too small, the volunteers at the event are too few, or the hardheads in another group are too obstinate to cooperate. The obstacles sometimes seem too great to overcome. After watching Congress or the President, the legislature or the Governor, the Commissioners or the mayor all do something grievously unconstitutional or monumentally stupid, the task seems too difficult. The sound of the hoof beats reminds you that the alarm is real, and you are needed once again for this just and worthy cause.

Harness your fear for the future, and corral your anger about the audacity of those who foul the Constitution and the rights of our citizens. Bind them, merge them into a burning white-hot heat that will not be denied until your country has been restored…recaptured…returned. Remind yourself again and again that your fight is not for you but for those who follow. Your fervor and energy must not waver. You must persist and persevere because failure is unacceptable and leads to despotism and tyranny. You cannot stop. You must not stop. Your emotion-filled heart reminds you with every forceful beat why you must fight on……………………….and you will.

Comment:  cearlwriting@hotmail.com     or   www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

The Ohio Plan-the seed

This entry will be rather short for two reasons. The first is that this plan requires further development before it can be successfully implemented, and I wanted some feedback from you about its potential efficacy. The second impetus for this abbreviated column is that we are developing a new format for “Littlestuff-minoosha” that will feature an executive summary at the beginning that will be followed by the “fleshed out” portion. Symbols and words have meaning. In our efforts to communicate concepts and ideas, we often rely on symbols to capture the essence of our thought processes. Symbolic action serves a similar purpose. When undertaken free of cynicism or hypocrisy, a symbolic gesture can create a tone or provide a worthy example for those who observe it.

One of our more recent examples of symbolic action would be when the President of the United States jets overnight to serve a holiday meal to our troops in harm’s way. The action itself has no intrinsic value because there are military professionals who can do a much better job of carving turkey or ladling gravy. The value lies in the symbolic nature of the President’s empathy for the troops in the field. We know it’s stupid. We know that it is unnecessarily costly. We know that at its base, it is a meaningless endeavor, but, nevertheless, we experience an element of “feel good” that the leader of our nation engaged in the symbolic action.

This lengthy preamble is the “set up” for my germinating idea that members of the Ohio General Assembly must take the lead for restoring liberty and fiscal sanity to our state. My nearly two-year old grandson has provided me with some valuable insights about human nature. When there is limited structure, his curious mind and busy hands will seek something to explore. Legislators are similar. They will continually search for little problems-real or imaginary- to be solved. “Idle hands are the Devil’s tools.’ Personally, I believe that the expansion of the Buckeye version of Big Brother coincided with the “need” for a “full-time” General Assembly. If we are ever to put the bloated monster back into its rightful place, then let’s begin by placing the Legislature back on a “part-time” basis.

Modern technology has provided the means for State House members and State Senators to “stay home” while fulfilling their legislative duties. They can be gainfully employed in the private sector while using the technology to complete their legislative tasks. In my view they should be limited to one week per month, and nine months per year of assembly in Columbus. The remainder of the time could be spent in their districts with the electronic umbilical cords uniting them in common purpose (geesh!). Clearly, some constitutional and legal hurdles must be overcome, but the welfare of our state is at stake.

In addition to encouraging them to communicate electronically, I would reduce their pay from the current $60,584 per year to $24,000 annually. As each member is elected and assumes office, the taxpayers would provide her or him with the $5000 package of technology and software to allow them to function. Just on the salaries alone minus the start-up costs, the savings would approach $9million every two years. This is without adjusting the benefit packages and the mileage reimbursements. Admittedly, $9 million is peanuts, but the symbol would be priceless. The greatest advantage, though, is the dispersal of the legislative body from the central location where they are accessible to lobbyists and other entities who survive on the government teat. This is merely a seed of thought and requires more development, but check the link for the current pay scale and mileage reimbursement.

An Ohio Plan.docx

Comments: earl4sos@gmail.com or cearlwriting@hotmail.com

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