Dakota Beacon

Consolation most folks seek in the face of tumult and uncertainty. Government-created debt of trillions of dollars. Forced reduction in carbon fuels in the midst of plenty. Federal fibbing on jobless projections while the real data shows numbers approaching double digits. I’m whistling the old English ballad “The World Turned Upside Down.”

Change comes in inconvenient ways. Forced compliance or behavior modification, call it what you will, is in store for those reluctant to change. It will be leveraged by means of pressure through taxation and implemented through federal bureaucracies. The epitome of coercion will determine what we eat, what we drive and what forms of energy we use, what medical treatment we receive, how our kids will be raised and educated. Lifestyles we would never choose voluntarily we will be required to accept. All this is conjured through the false premise that government bureaucracy knows best.

It’s highly improbable anyone can do anything about the impending economic demise or expanding restriction on freedom at this time. Those who object to the current malaise have little choice but to wait to “make a difference.” Besides, Obama has repeatedly promised that the situation will get worse before it gets better.

Those who object may not see positive change until 2010 at the earliest. That’s when the entire House of Representatives is up for re-election. Writing your congressman and senators may help vent frustration, but that’s about it. We’re experiencing a one party system in control of the government and in charge of policy and budget. Elected officials will do as they please, then posture and dupe to their own advantage come election time.

Meanwhile, as we hope for meaningful change, we play the waiting game. As Frank Sinatra sang in September Song. “Oh, it’s a long, long while from May to December. But, the days grow short when you reach September….Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few—September, November….”

What now? Actually, there are things to be about none of which involve direct action. One can waste time watching TV. There are sports, soap operas, “B” movies and other forms of escape. More profitable endeavors fortify the spirit and might include hobbies or working in a “Liberty Garden” reminiscent of the old Victory Gardens of World War II. Even listening to favorite music helps pass the time and soothe the sentiments.

My favorite pastime is catching up on reading—or re-reading—good and worthy books. We are, after all, not the first discontents to buttress ourselves through troubled times.

In “Gulliver’s Travels” (1726) Jonathan Swift satirizes man’s abuse of human reason as reflected in political, social and academic institutions. He regards humans, at best, as fools; at worst, apes. It is Swift’s musings on man’s corruption of his highest gift, his ability to reason, whereby he excoriates most “civilized” institutions.

Satire and parody run through Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” (1865) and the sequel “Through the Looking-Glass“ (1871). Both tales embrace masterfully inverted logic. In the former, Alice encounters illogical and strange creatures. In the latter, Alice moves through a mirror and into an unreal world also dominated by illogical behavior. Children love it and adults see the parody of those in high places who make believe they practice clear thinking.

“Animal Farm” is George Orwell’s 1945 parody and anti-utopian satire. A group of barnyard animals run off their human masters and set up their own egalitarian society. Eventually, the power-loving pigs form a dictatorship even more repressive than that of their former human masters. “Repressive” is the operative term.

“Atlas Shrugged” (1957) is a profound novel by Ayn Rand whose female protagonist, Dagny Taggart, struggles to manage a railroad within the pressures of onerous government restrictions and overwhelming bureaucracy. This novel is Rand’s most compelling presentation of her philosophy of objectivism.

Find these books in a library, if you can.

Regardless of the level of frustration, it is healthy to use one’s time wisely while playing the waiting game.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at P. O. Box 337, Stanley, ND 58784 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).