“If I’m not driving, I’m not riding.” – Old Buz (Pompous Ass)
The above quote is a fair description of
this blog and its author. I clearly
discovered this about myself during a high school field trip to snowy Lake
Arrowhead, from the valley of west Los Angeles.
Upon arrival I was offered a seat on a toboggan for a ride down a ski
slope. I was not going to be the driver,
but a passenger. My answer was “Thanks,
but no thanks.” The snow covered run was
straight down the mountain, with a fir tree right in the middle, about 150
yards down the slope. Down went my
friends, without varying one inch and slamming into that tree. Our head cheerleader, a sled passenger, was
given an ambulance ride back down to the valley to have her broken leg set and
put into a cast. Luckily, no one was
killed. I was in student government at
the time and learned the term, “simple majority.” I love those words because they represent a
good portion of my world view.
Believing in a proposition because most
folks do, has no appeal to me. So, I don’t
join a religion, don’t join a fraternity, am a patriot of the planet (not the
nation), don’t join a political party, don’t see family or friends as always
right. This world view makes me (a “pompous
ass) not always politically correct. I
flinch when I see the words, “United We Stand.”
These words are the foundation of willful blindness. Willful blindness is not a description of the
other’s point of view, but a trait we humans share. It is rooting for the home team. When hunting mastodons, this team effort was
a requirement. When fighting a war in
Vietnam or Iraq, perhaps logic and morality of the individual needs to be
applied. When watching buildings fall on
9/11, can you see the signature of demolition?
When our children are being shot to death in school and the majority
would like to see more effective gun regulation, while their representatives in
D.C. turn a blind eye, perhaps the simple majority should be heard. When representatives do not represent their
voters, representing 1% of their voters (the money source) instead, we have no
democracy. But, don’t follow the herd. Let reason, logic, history and morality be
your individual guide.
Cheers, Old
Buz, a pompous ass 2/28/2023
Iambloggerbuz.blogspot.com
“There is a willful blindness that marches alongside
loyalty.” – Old Buz
