Just Let Me -- G -- Indoctrinate You!

Monday, February 6, 2012

It's Half-Time in America Thing

Dear America,

"If the day should ever arrive (which God forbid!) when the people of the different parts of the country shall allow their local affairs to be administered by prefects sent from Washington, and when the self-government of the states shall have been so far lost as that of the departments of France, or even so closely limited as that of the counties of England -- on that day the political career of the American people will have been robbed of its most interesting and valuable features,  and the usefulness of this nation will be lamentably impaired." 
John Fiske, 'expert witness' of American History

so the president says he deserves re-election cuz the 'job's not done'.

please.  run with that.  with scissors if at all possible.

because that's exactly what we're afraid of -- more -- of your policy. your play calls. your winning the future kind of strategies.  as if you haven't done enough already.

-- cue commercial for jcp --



but now back to the regularly scheduled program,
the way I see it, Obama is asking for four more years and a do-over.

so given the close proximity of the greatest sports day of the year, Obama asking to play it again Sam is virtually the same thing as Bill Belichick calling for four more quarters.  he didn't get it done the first go round and all he wants is another chance...

the president should probably run it by Michelle first, for I think she would take issue with the really bad Vegas odds, landing somewhere between slim-to-none and fat-chance (especially the latter, as it runs counter-productive to her healthy eating campaign).  but we digress.  quickly.  almost as fast as the final two minutes of the game last night.

what a finish it was. a nail-biter (really not a good situation for us girls).

On a more personal note, I was quite pleased with my play calls from the couch.

Kidd you not -- 3rd quarter was on its last tick-tock  and I was screaming at the T.V. for a defensive turnover [wanting Giants to get the ball back in a very big way]. Within seconds -- and now furiously morphing into the first tick-tocks of the fourth quarter -- I got my wish. It was beautiful.  [thank you.  thank you very much.]

and my magic didn't stop there. oh no.

so skipping a whole lot in-between (which I'm sure you will all thank me for later) there is now about 48 seconds left to the game, and I'm now screaming,   'S A   A    A   A  C  K     H    I   M !'

and what up.

they did.

Fast forward:  man down with only a hail Mary left to save himself.  [but she didn't...you know, save him]

Giants win.  Hip Hip Hooray.

Now football must have been on everybody's brain all weekend.

Saturday's lineup included an episode of Harry's Law addressing the liabilities of the sport.  [the story wrapped itself around two parents who lost their son -- a High School quarterback -- suing the school for everything they got for putting their son, who died from multiple head injuries, in harm's way in the first place]

as if they didn't think football might be a wee bit dangerous all on their own. can we get a round of "duh" ...altogether now.  now in a wave...here we go...d  h   d  u  h   d  u h

Anyway, Harry is making her final arguments to the court [standing on the side of the mourning parents] and doing so with her usual finesse and deliberate remarks... so well in fact that she almost convinces me of the school's wrongdoing.  And I'm thinking, go Harry; I'm thinking, gosh she's good.

but then all of a sudden it hits me.  harry isn't even real.  harry is only as smart as the writer back behind the actor.  hello.

The true brilliance is in David E. Kelley, the writer and creator of the show.


[alright, alright.  Kathy Bates is pretty good being Harry, too]

but this got me thinking deeper.

Presidents are made.  And America happens to create new ones all the time.

But much of what we see -- much of the day to day we watch once that president gets there --  much of it has to do with a score of writers and choreographers, coaches and trainers, and all of the president's men behind the scenes.

Our success comes when we make the connection that who we pick to be made relies unequivocally upon the character of the man we choose. it is all up to us. we make the call.

The thing is, Americans get a do-over this year; we are getting a chance to re-evaluate everything -- from forming new strategies, creating new play calls, to even giving somebody totally brand new the ball.

and speaking of Harry.  the best ad of the night came at half time.

and I know you know which one I'm thinking of.

Clint.
as in, Eastwood.
narrating a story of US -- using Motor City as the quintessential backdrop.

I'm not sure if they cared more about selling cars (happy nod to Chrysler) or just giving us the proverbial pep-talk for what's ahead for the country.  either way, it had me at 'it's half-time in America...how do we come from behind'...hypnotically reminding us, we have done it before, we can do it again...

oh talk to me.

I could listen to that 30 second spot all day.  I can't believe it has sparked  such controversy already -- I realize we, the little people, paid for the ad in a round-about way; but honestly, don't you think America needed somebody to shake us up a bit, smack a little sense into us?

Good, strong, unrelenting -- tireless, faithful, endearing -- timeless, ageless, virtuous character does not grow on trees; it needs to be taught, perhaps told to us through story time, movies, speeches, classroom lectures, even commercials.

However, it is best, and usually most effective, growing this kind of character from the ground up, beginning with the family(tree). While it is also true, we grow presidents and countrymen in the very same way.  Whether it's half-time during the greatest game on earth, or half-time in the greatest country on the planet, the pep talk we got via Chrysler, through Clint, speaks to the character inside each and every one of us.

for the equation is simple: we cease making good people of character, and we quickly cease making good actors... good car makers... good lawyers... good students... and even a few good presidents... And we gotta get a hold of ourselves.  This is no time to breakdown.

but the kicker:   if WE, ourselves, have already lost our way, what are the chances we could continue to recognize, and ultimately reward, good character when we see it?

enough. is. enough. indeed.

Forget about it being half-time in America.   "We" got four seconds left on the clock and the team is down to you; you are the kicker;  you have the ball; all you have to do is kick the ball through the goal post and we win.
....did somebody call for a little pressure?
....who called for that last minute time-out just to ice us just a wee bit more?

this is the kind of pressure that is on each one of us, to equally to do our part. It has nothing to do with the money we make, or the distribution of wealth on the team; it has everything to do with the distribution of good character and our individual ability to dig deep down inside ourselves to make it, no matter what the conditions.

If we simply allow our individual good character shine through, the rest is golden... worthy of perhaps a Lombardi trophy or maybe the America's Cup  [I know.  I know.  wrong sport but it fits well, doncha think?]

Make it a Good Day, G

of course, another good commercial was from Hyundai - featuring the Rocky Balboa theme...being hummed and be-bopped out of the mouths of co-workers -- after the words "it's never gonna work" were uttered out loud and in the company of basically the entire company.  bada baa bada baa bada baa bada baa  Within thirty seconds, he arrives at a brand new mindset, and totally willing to keep on trying... cuz "that's just our wa  y ---  Hyundai"

last thought, Madonna rocked. enough said.

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