I AM BACK

I apologize for my extended absence. It started with a family funeral followed by a family wedding and other life events, but I soon realized I was happier not watching the news early in the morning and checking news websites throughout the day. I increased my volunteering time at the local food pantry to replace the time I normally spent blogging, and my stress levels dropped. Significantly!

But here I am, back at the keyboard.

So here is my story (or at least a snippet):

When I was a kid my dad, the greatest man who ever lived, was the chief election officer in my hometown of Verona, Mississippi (a “suburb” of Tupelo). I had a bedtime of 8:30 with one exception: election night. On election night my dad allowed me to stay up late while he and the other election officials in my town counted the ballots in our city hall, an old building heated with gas heaters smelling of burnt propane, with rickety wood floors, and with paint peeling off the walls. I can remember my dad calling out every ballot while three other people, usually women of the community, all replied “check, check, check, check, tally” every time a candidate received a vote (the “tally” was the response for every fifth vote to ensure all the folks counting were still together). I loved it and found it fascinating.

In later years, after watching all the news regarding Vietnam, integration, Watergate, race riots, and other events of the day, I became even more fascinated by politics. Finally, a wonderful professor named Thomas Handy made me realize I would enjoy studying political phenomena as a college major, and my future was set. In the end I earned three degrees in Political Science and loved every single one.

Consequently, I’ve been following/studying American politics since I was about eight years old, and I taught college courses on all aspects of American government for 45 years. Other than my family and friends, American politics has literally been my life.

But a couple of months ago I realized I was just sick of it all. I could list all the reasons for my anger and frustration, but if you have followed this blog you probably know. Briefly, I’m concerned about the national debt, about politicians who care only about being reelected rather than serving the public, about media that do anything necessary to make a profit (the truth be damned!), about what Ryan Holliday calls “outrage porn” or manufactured controversy (media and politicians feigning anger about non-issues), about an easily manipulated public (somewhat understandable when 54% of the public reads at or below the 6th grade level and Americans rank 125th in world in literacy), about a Democratic Party that wants government to solve all problems and a Republican Party that is just a joke in its current form, with a society more focused on accumulating wealth than taking care of people, that CEO salaries increased 1,322% from 1978-2021 while workers’ real salaries only increased 28%, and I’m tired of the politics of anger that is literally tearing our nation apart. And, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while you know that I’m mystified and horrified by the fact that 35-40% of the American public actually support former President Donald Trump (just ask and I’ll provide an overview of my reasons).

These are just the highlights and if you want more you may peruse the Fiercely Independent archives. There are so many things about which I’m terribly frustrated these days, and a couple of months ago that frustration level led me to begin tuning it all out for the first time in my life.

But again, if you have read my previous posts over the years you know that I still love The United States and that I believe there is a great deal of good to celebrate. I also believe that being well informed is a civic duty, so I’ve recently caught myself watching morning news, reading newspapers and websites, and following political commentary in its various forms.

Hi…I’m David, and I have a problem letting go of politics.

All that to say that I will be back after the first of the year. Several hundred of you have subscribed to my Fiercely Independent blog (THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!), and I just wanted you to know that I took a break for my own personal well-being. I look forward to getting back on that proverbial horse and I only ask that if you like what I write, please share it with others (I’d like to attract more readers). If you don’t like what I write then keep it to yourself :-) !

I hope you all are having a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Bodhi Day, festive Yule time, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year, a reflective Zarathosht Diso (not Disco), Pastafarian Garlic Bread Day, or other winter celebration according to your personal traditions.

Thank you for following along.

David