The Coming Doom (Part II)

When the Levee Breaks (I’ll have no place to stay)


I guess the point of these two shabby essays, is for your humble (Ex) Cowboy to explore the thin line between realistic concern and angry fearful complaining. There is no shortage of either in America. A recent article about how people in Idaho are grabbing their guns and heading for their bunkers hit a nerve. Sure, let’s be weary - but let’s have some perspective as well.

Someone commented on Part I (The Dirty Bomb Martini) that my optimism and faith in humanity must make me a Bush supporter. That is typical behavior for a “sayer”. Sayers know what is right, or more typically, what is wrong with America. They think talking about great big things excuses them from doing good little things. It is an epidemic, and neither party has a monopoly on sayers.

As far as the Bush thing, you will have to dig around here in my blog for the truth about my leanings. Until you have done so, please don’t waste time by blathering your assumptions about the Cowboy's views.

The sayers are all about greatness. They are full of spittle about the greatness of their America, the greatness of their church, the greatness of their political leaders, the greatness of their home places. Then, of course, they are obsessed with the wrongness, the stupidity and the sinfulness of everyone who disagrees with them when it comes to any specific concern. Everything is either Greatness or Doom for the sayers.

Before you develop certainty about what I am so wrongheaded about, let’s agree that there really is frightening change in the fabric of our entire socio-economic stability now. Let’s reconsider a few well known recent circumstances:

• Malfeasance by The Corps of Engineers facilitated a flood event that displaced 700,000 - 1,000,000 people. Most of the hardest hit were impoverished African Americans who were abandoned during the flood in survival conditions by a moral and practical collapse of government response.

• Mideast conflicts and fears of wider war and terrorism centered in Iran and Iraq, along with greed-driven speculation, caused a major spike in oil and gas prices. The price of oil doubled in a few short months causing a great shock of inflation, and contributing to an ongoing real estate downturn.

• No other administration in history has faded in such paralysis and discredit. The President is without credible policy impetus at home or abroad, openly shunned by the international community, and stymied by loss of majority control of the congress. Popular support for a sitting President has never been worse. In the upcoming election the incumbent party can only appeal for votes on the implicit ground that the next administration will be totally unlike the one in office. In a year of deepening economic downturn the nation suffers a crisis of confidence unmatched in our history.

• Pushing against the barriers of prejudice, a woman and a Black Man share the liberal party’s nomination for Presidency to run against the Republican. The tensions caused by moral prejudice have never been more delicate.

Are times worse for us, or are we softer as we face them? The (Ex) Cowboy just doesn’t claim to know. The (ex) Cowboy is not certain about very much. We do know that twenty million people live in a world where a plastic sheet between their children and the sun, or rain is a luxury. So this (Ex)-cowboy is just gonna keep trying to do good things, instead of say great ones. We are not doomed, but we are going to have some long days.

The center is strong, quiet and mighty in America. The center is not great - but it is very good. America is good, churches are good, political discussion is good, our home place is good, our faith in ourselves is good. The center is doing good little things, instead of arguing about great big ones. In this (Ex) Cowboy’s humble view, America is no more, (or less) great then ever, and no more (or less) doomed. The opportunity to choose between saying great and doing good has never been larger.

While you are seething at my shortcomings you can go over to wikipedia and look up the events I listed above. By and large they are forgotten stories, but the people involved seem fascinating. They must have wondered if the country would survive. After each of these cycles a new wave of entrepreneurs, respected political leaders and self made doers raised human goodness from the dust of failed greatness. Good triumphed over great.


The Great Mississippi flood of 1927.
The second Great Oil Crisis (1978)
President Grant (1869-1877)
Victoria Woodhull and Frederick Douglass (1872)


Thanks for Playing

The (Ex) Cowboy