The Politics of Respect

Ah, the things we do for love. And money. And the love of money. It's now legal to sell fireworks in the State of Michigan. Why? So that the State can collect 8 or 10 million dollars worth of taxes which would ordinarily go to neighboring Indiana or Ohio.

We're not against the sale of fireworks, but we nonetheless don't care for the government's attitude on the issue. Lansing is all for public safety, so much so that for the longest time the explosives could not be sold here. Yet when the lawmakers realized how much cash was going out of state, well, safety didn't seem so important. Yet elected officials wonder why they don't garner much respect from the voting public, and much less from nonvoters. It's because you haven't earned it, folks. Actions like these simply fuel that attitude.

Which brings us to another issue which resonates in much the same way. There is a movement to have the bison, or American Buffalo, designated as the national mammal. Really, now. We face a tremendous budget deficit which threatens to send our country into another recession yet our national lawmakers try to find time to designate a national mammal. The National Bison Legacy Act proposes it.

We wonder exactly what type and degree of a legacy the bison have earned. Okay, they were food for Native Americans, and then shot for stupid pleasure by advancing settlers in the 1800s. To call that a legacy seems, well, laughable. Sad, no doubt, for killing anything simply for the kill is just plain dumb. But a legacy? A national mammal? It seems that Washington could and should be doing a lot more for the nation than this. It's all too easy to vote on trite issues than to really act to cut the deficit. Still, the lawmakers will lecture Americans on getting respect. They could try creating a national politician who puts the true needs of the people first. It could even be a mammal if they like.

All this disrespect for the politicians right before a day which they will surely use to orate on what it means to be an American. But that's just another way they try to earn our respect. It would appear that those for whom we are actually remembering tomorrow (Memorial Day) are the ones who really merit respect. But, of course, our politicians changed that from a fixed date (May 30th) to the last Monday in May, solely for the sake of the economics of a long weekend. We're sure that the soldiers and sailors who actually earned respect appreciate that. As to the politicians who did it, who moved the date around the calendar, well, you will have no tears shed by us for your lack of respect.