By Michael J. Whelan
As the central character in the old comic strip Pogo once said, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”
He was referring to the fact that we all want what we want, and we all want it now, and furthermore, we don’t want to have to make any sacrifices to get it. Period. End of discussion. And once we have it, we don’t want to have any part of it taken away from us, not now, not never.
We see this mindset in action at all levels of government, from Federal to State to local bodies. We have spent ourselves onto the brink of moral, and probably financial, bankruptcy, but by God don’t you even think about takin’ our toys away from us, or there’s goin’ to be hell to pay. (Like the way I’m channelin’ our new Governor by droppin’ the “g’s”?)
On a related matter, do you ever wonder why someone would spend millions of dollars and run all over the countryside for up to two years, just to get elected to an office that doesn’t pay a tenth of what was spent in winnin’ the office? For the answer to that question, look no further than our little millennial Congressman from Peoria, who it appears may be tryin’ to break former Congressman Jesse Jr.’s spending spree on all the toys our taxpayer money can buy. One can only hope that this one meets the same fate as Jr.
That’s enough ranting for one day. Remember to look in the mirror, especially at election time, if you wonder how we all got to this point.
Michael J. Whelan has been a licensed practicing attorney for over 33 years. He also serves as an arbitrator in the 11th Judicial Circuit Mandatory Arbitration program. In addition, he is presently the president of the board of directors of his homeowners association, and is also a member of the board of directors of The Old House Society. He and his wife of thirty-one plus years, Cheryl Whelan, live in Bloomington. He and Cheryl enjoy exercising, reading, and being close to family and friends.
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