Let’s Fall in Love Again

Age of Parasynonyms

Let’s Fall in Love Again

By Stephen L. Wilmeth

            Our District 2 representative sent an email out Friday asking for input on priorities on which Congress should be working. The choices were a bit perplexing. They included border security, education, energy, health care, immigration, jobs, trade and vets. The interesting part was why such characterization represented as words with actual definitions was used. From the standpoint of old-fashioned phonics and basic enunciation, they appeared to be reasonable facsimiles of issues of our time.

            The confusion comes when the politics of Washington and the news of the week are endlessly looped across every aspect of media. There must be a huge misunderstanding. The representative suggested eight priorities and the vote apparently is intended to establish which should receive most attention. That makes sense, but the realization is this cannot be a truthful request.

Why … because the real issues of her caucus since the day she stood and mouthed the oath of office have been Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, and, of course, Trump.

Age of Parasynonyms

Perhaps we are witnessing nothing more than the Age of Parasynomyms, you know, the period of time in history when the general uses of words have close similarities, but not exactly matching definitions.

What else could it be? You hear people talking and you just think you understand the context, but, the next thing you know, the initial take is meaningless. It is tangential to the context of your initial interpretation. It is Greek when you thought it was English. The case in point is the ongoing business of the people in the halls of congress.

Those officers of shattered oaths are sailing along spending a $$trillion a year more than they are collecting each of whom is telling the folks back home how good they are doing representing their interests. Just keep sending that little stipend of money so I can do the good job for each of you they say with a straight face.

And, they all become wealthy.

And, they pass laws that eventually seek to harm and disarm us rather than enhance or protect our lives, our businesses, and our heritage. Of course, we are expected to pay freight for it all either in direct deposit or long-term mortgages. We aren’t smart enough to really understand the real implications. We have heard that for the last three months as the newest rendition of the Three Stooges preside over the business of the peoples’ chamber reading their staff creation of looping script.

They don’t even honor our vote and they certainly don’t understand who we actually defending against in our stance on the Second Amendment. Hey, we pick our own trash up and scrub our own toilets!

Above all … we don’t kill our babies.

Let’s Fall in Love Again

There exists out there in the realm of the most common a stance of decency and goodwill. Maybe it’s not a natural tendency as much as it is a learned concept. Good mentorship is vital, if indeed, not the most important aspect in this journey we find ourselves.

So are influences.

All those things that collectively make us unique fit together in balanced form, but the balance is precarious. Work, song, laughter, latitudes of patience, and devotion, both spiritual and shared, all play a part.

What fits me may not fit you. For example, I tend to kick the horse shit out of the trailer when I unload whereas you may choose to leave it in order not to stain your boots, but that’s your call and I’ll try not to criticize it. Most of your decisions the rest of us just don’t need to be a part of and you don’t need to be part of mine.

We need to talk, whisper, about the things that are important but may be hard to say. Maybe we don’t even know what they are until we try to say them. With or without twin fiddles, we need to dance, too. Maybe that is an attempt to reset to go back and time and again rebalance and remember.

From time to time, though, a long walk in the sand barefooted somewhere would do us all a lot of good. It’d even be better if that sand wound up in an unmade bed.

Maybe it’s just a dang good time to fall in love again.

Stephen L. Wilmeth is a rancher from southern New Mexico. “Daylight’s coming … Vamonos!”