We the People seem to have forgotten who we are and what we stand for.

As this election year progresses, there are going to be a lot of folks who might forget this, who would prefer to believe that it just isn't true, who want to think that Eagle can fly perfectly well with only one wing.

Animosity seems to be flaring up every which way from Tuesday, which is perhaps to be expected - all things considered.

We can point fingers 'til we're blue in the face but the bottom line is that We the People seem to have forgotten who we are and what we stand for.

We've been told this, that, and the other thing about ourselves so frequently and for so long that we look in the mirror and barely recognize ourselves any more.

If we look in that mirror and see pride, and thoughtfulness, and caring about others, and intelligence, and determination, and ambition, and *gasp!* patriotism looking back out at us, we might be forgiven for wondering if there's something wrong with our mirror.

Because none of those things are supposed to be there, y'know.

PRIDE has become a dirty word, unacceptable these days. I'm not talking about hubris here, but simple Pride. We're all apparently supposed to walk around with our heads hanging down and our tails dragging, lest we offend anybody by standing tall and walking proud. 

What the heck is up with that?

Who has been telling us all this crap about ourselves?

More to the point, how in the name of all that's holy did we actually get to the point of tolerating any such thing, let alone apparently falling for it hook, line, and sinker?

We seem to have become a nation divided along so many lines that the tangles have tangles. 

Feathers are getting ruffled on both of those wings, and the wings themselves are so busy beating at one another that they cannot possibly beat in tandem to get that Eagle off the ground. 

Good grief.

We're expected to 'pick a wing' ... where's the option for choosing the whole damn bird?

Where's the notion that those two wings BELONG TO THE SAME BIRD?

Whatever happened to the ability to agree to disagree without fighting about it?

Right now I have the feeling that both wings of our bird are wounded; in the process of exacerbating those wounds by beating at each other, the rest of the bird is taking a beating from both sides.

Because, you know, a bird doesn't consist of just a pair of wings. It's got a body with a beating heart in it and a circulatory system and all of the other systems that make it live, including a brain and instincts.

Now, said bird could well survive without one (or both) wings. It wouldn't be able to fly, but it would survive.

Providing that those wings don't beat the bird to death, of course, in the process of trying to beat one another to death.

Those wings are designed to spread out on either side of the body of the bird, beat in sync, and together make that Eagle soar. They complement one another, provide balance and strength.

Like it or not, people, both of those wings - Left and Right - are pretty much needed. The sooner we get that through our heads, the better off we'll all be. 

Conflict between the two is pretty much not gonna work. Has it done any good yet? No. It has not. So really, cut it out already.

Look at that Eagle up there. 

Yeah, it's got two wings and both of those wings are attached to the body of the Eagle. But think about this : those wings are designed to balance each other. They're attached on opposite sides of that body for a reason, folks. Not only do they provide balance for the whole, they're situated to provide support and strength for each other. They can't actually cause harm to one another; they can barely reach each other although both get their 'orders' from within the body of the bird. So We the People ought not to gripe overmuch if our 'wings' seem at odds. Maybe we've been sending them mixed signals.

Be that as it may be, the point here is that, politically speaking, both sides of the aisle have to be strong, they have to be in opposition, and they have to provide that balance.

So where is the candidate who can and will say to the other wing: 'Hey, I appreciate and respect your contribution to the flight of this bird but, y'know, you're kinda taking us in circles here and this bird's getting a mite dizzy. So it's time to balance things out some.' And have the muscle to make that balance happen without being hateful about it and recognizing that the other wing is just as important. Irritating half of the neurons in the body of the bird is not conducive to a smooth flight.

Right.

Well.

When it comes to birds, those wings really do work in tandem; they take their orders from the bird and are not themselves calling any shots. They do what they're supposed to do exactly as they're designed to. 

Come to think of it, that's how it's supposed to work for us as a nation.

Except that somewhere along the line the wings seem to have gone a little haywire or some kind of neurological defect has developed. Something has gone awry. The body of the bird isn't sending clear signals to the wings; so the wings are going all over the place instead of beating the way they're supposed to.

Remember what I said up there?

We the People seem to have forgotten who we are and what we stand for.

Until we remember, or learn anew, that We the People are the body of that bird, that we are the heart, the instinct, the organs, the blood, the bone, the muscle, the sinew, the brain, and the nervous system, we cannot expect our wings to do what they're supposed to do. 

It is up to US, We the People, to provide what is necessary to make this Eagle soar.

Until we're sending clear signals, we're going to be flapping around on the ground not getting anywhere. Our wings are plenty strong, both of them. We don't have to worry about them being able to carry our weight. But they have to be told what we want and expect from them. 

Yep.

That sounds a little bass-ackward, doesn't it?

That's because ... ahem ... here we go again ... 

We the People seem to have forgotten who we are and what we stand for.

What it will take to remind us, or teach us, I have no idea.

Maybe a huge publicity blitz, which I would certainly do if I had the resources.

Banners for every town and every community, posters for every mailbox, buttons/pins for every schoolchild, signs in every store, notices on every billboard, advertisements in every media outlet in the nation, flags for every parade, notices on every piece of merchandise marketed in the nation ... everywhere a person might look or listen, every day for eternity ... plaster that flying Eagle in every public place, in every nook and cranny in this nation.

When someone asks you what's up with all the Eagles, you say to them, 'Well, that's me. That Eagle right there is me. And that one is Tom, and that one is Dick, and that one is Harry, and that one is Jane, and that one is Martha, and that one is Laura. They are all of us. It's an American thing, you know. Those Eagles are We the People.'

It's already a national symbol.

Use it.

Yeah the wings are important.

But they don't control the bird.

The bird controls the wings.

That is what the United States of America is all about.

That is who We the People are and what we stand for.

Period end of discussion.