Front Porch Politics

I pick my way through the children's toys strewn across the drive way as I approach the front porch. Roger waves at me as I get closer. He recognizes me. He generally spends the last hour of daylight perched on his front porch chatting with friends and visitors who drop by. Everyone knows that he serves as the region's front porch political pundit. He doesn't write a blog. No one sponsors his evening presentations. I believe, however, that his take on politics deserves just as much attention as those who host those talk shows on Sunday mornings.I take a seat on a bench next to Floyd. The audience numbering six now listens intently as Roger pauses to let his newest participant settle in. Floyd dutifully hands me a paper cup filled with lemonade. I sip the watery refreshment and engage with attention.

"So these politicians in Washington say 'This is what our founders intended. They didn't hand us a perfect process.' I say, 'Hogwash!'" Everyone laughs. Roger's revving up the engines for a powerful take off. "Our founding fathers never figured on career politicians. We're supposed to pick out the best and the brightest and send them to Washington to represent our concerns. They come home and then we send up a new batch. That feeds the system with new personalities, new ideas and dreams. They never figured on personalities living inside the Beltway in order to gain political clout, financial empires or immoral lifestyles. The very people we send to Washington have corrupted the system. They know and we know it. This latest argument stands as more evidence of the fact that Washington has ruined the American Way."

We all sit quietly nodding in consent. Floyd moves nervously on his portion of the bench. Scoot, the old Blue Tick coon dog moves to the ground off of the porch, probably seeking a cooler spot. Wade looks out across the evening shadows that grace the hay field. We know Roger is collecting strength and thoughts for the next installment. We don't have long to wait.

"This fight about the debt ceiling is another illustration of government gone wrong. I don't have a credit card any more. One year Mommy talked me into getting one for Christmas. She said we could buy the gifts for Christmas and then pay'em off with the tobacco money in February. Lord that was a mistake! My personal money suffered just like the government's suffers now. I didn't have enough tobacco money 'cause I had to get a new transmission for the truck. You can't spend what you don't have. Seems to me that we ought to cut back, tighten the belt and stop hand'in out money to everyone for everything. The simple truth is that you gotta have some pain before you gain. Saving is never easy but always the best way to go. They have to stop spending money we don't have!"

Wade speaks up, "Yeah, but, what can we do out here in Southern Ohio? No one listens to us. We don't even get a say in our own State politics, let alone in the big game." Everyone laughs again. We agree with Wade. Listening to all of the wrangling over debt, political parties and such; all seems a bit futile.

"Exactly my point," responds Roger. "You see...we gotta have revolution." You can hear sucking breath and low tone whistles. "Now don't get itchy," Roger continues, "I mean a political revolution. We can't keep this up. Vote'em out. I mean it. Just clean the slate and send a new batch up there. Eventually they'll get the idea that they can't mess with little girls or little boys (someone howls in the back of the porch and I know it's not Scoot!) They shouldn't get dependent on that job as a career. They need to understand that they got up there to represent us!" Low murmurs roll through the front porch and Scoot raises his head to identify the commotion. A slight breeze moves across the porch from the west. We find great wisdom in our local political prophet.

"There's a new wind blowing in our country," announces Roger. "It's not the same wind that Ted Kennedy smelled before he died. The folk are raising up. The elite don't like it. The big shots hate it. But we out number'em you see. All you have to do is go down there in November and bust'em down. Turn'em out. We need change but the kind of change we need involves turning out these people who think they can run our entire country into the ground through uncontrolled debt. We have to stop spending money we don't have!"

I walk off into the darkness. Roger usually ends his political pontifications with the phrase, "Liz, we'd better go to bed so these folks can go home." His wife makes the lemonade so he feels like he must include her in the final announcements. We comply and say goodbyes. I wonder to myself, "How did we get in such a state? What can we do to change our situation?" Maybe Roger is right. We should vote'em all out and start again. One thing for sure: Washington could learn a lot from the front porch political pundit named Roger. Maybe we could start a television show called Roger's Wisdom. I'm not holding my breath.