by Mary Wakefield Buxton –
URBANNA — Wouldn’t it be “lover-ly” if we could elect leaders who could defeat inflation? Imagine going to the store to buy groceries and other needed supplies without having to mortgage the house or sell the family jewels.
Wouldn’t it be beautiful if those we elect to national public office could get along? The insults in Washington, D.C., fly thicker than locusts during biblical times.
Why do people we elect have to be rude? Can’t they just enjoy the standard of living we taxpayers provide them, many for a lifetime, and paste a smile on their face and … just be pleasant?
Wouldn’t it be positively exhilarating if rabid partisanship ended in our country and politicians quit voting like their party bosses order them to vote and voted the way their constituents wanted?
Wouldn’t it be delightful if politicians quit playing the constant “blame game?” Have you noticed how for the last several decades a current president blames the previous administration for creating the problems he faces?
President Harry Truman’s Oval Office desk famously featured a sign which read, “The Buck Stops Here!” The sign was made in the federal reformatory at El Reno, Okla., according to the National Archives Museum website. Fred A. Canfil, then United States marshal for the Western District of Missouri and a friend of Truman, saw a similar sign while visiting the reformatory and asked the warden if a sign like it could be made for President Truman. The sign was made and mailed to the President on Oct. 2, 1945. I believe what the sign said is true with whoever resides in the White House.
Wouldn’t it be smashing if members of the media stopped playing party activists and delivered news according to their research without partisan bias? Who can stomach listening to TV commentators anymore or reading newspapers that slant the news to favor one party or the other? It appears to me party propaganda gushes forth at the same rate as “Old Faithful” spouts in Yellowstone Park.
Wouldn’t it be marvelous if teachers quit teaching their political biases and simply taught the lessons? I remember an earlier time when the teaching profession encouraged students to do their own research, learn both sides of issues and do their own thinking rather than simply regurgitate what they tell them to think.
Wouldn’t it be sublime if polarized people could see there is some truth on both left and right sides of issues and could start listening more to each other and possibly even (“horreurs!”) change opinions every now and then?
Wouldn’t it be knee-slapping good news if our government could get some control on our southern border and stop the daily flood of unknowns swarming into the country pushing our schools, social services and medical systems far beyond what their budgets presently allow? Let us welcome new American citizens but, please, could we have some planning for their living arrangements before they come into the country?
Wouldn’t it be dreamy if our political leaders would stop inciting racism, sexism, homophobia and other negative emotions in society in order to polarize voting blocs to their advantage and let us feel good about ourselves as we work on becoming one united family? The constant negative talk harms our society.
Wouldn’t it be heavenly if we could stop illegal drug traffic? Continuing along that line, stop all crime dead in its tracks? Or end unwanted pregnancies before pregnancy even happens? And especially put an end to the senseless killing in the streets of our big cities?
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if families could get by today without a parent having to work two jobs just to pay monthly bills?
Wouldn’t it be joyful if the price of gas and fuel oil would return to a price Americans could afford to pay? Or opening utility bills would not cause a homeowner to have a sudden attack of heartburn? Or that someone could turn back on the US pipelines so we could be independent of foreign oil and gas again?
Wouldn’t it be mind boggling if Congress would stop and think before further spending and consider our present $22 trillion debt long enough to wonder as I do how this nation will afford to pay the interest on the debt, let alone pay it back?
Lastly, wouldn’t it be really special if our society could truly appreciate our diversity and respect each other views even though we don’t always agree on the issues?
Oh well. No sense in ruminating over what I can’t change. Better to think about some good things that are happening right here in Urbanna. For example, the Urbanna Boat Yard and Marina, newly nicknamed “Urbby,” has brought dockside concerts and barbecue along the waterfront under the inspiration and hard work of Amy and Andy Anderson, who have added much to summer fun.
And the Town of Urbanna has really wowed us with their tribute to our veterans from past wars by displaying colored photographs of servicemen and servicewomen on our lampposts. What a great way to honor those who serve our nation.
Pizza is back in town with Urbanna’s Colonial Pizza reopening and we are delirious over that. So, what more could we want?
And I love the bluegrass music concerts offered at the Urbanna firehouse at 7 p.m. on the second Saturday of every month through September.
So, yes, let’s concentrate on the positive things that are happening in our neck of the woods and try not to worry about the other.
©2022
(Editor’s note: Mary Wakefield Buxton’s weekly One Woman’s Opinion guest column is currently on its usual summertime hiatus. It will return to its regular weekly schedule after Labor Day. However, Buxton may turn in a column from time to time during the summer months.)
