The Sate of the Onion
Several years ago in New Orleans I had my first (and last) encounter with an hors d'oeuvre copyrighted with the name "Bloomin' Onion." I was in N'awlins for a continuing education event and my dinner partner was a parishioner who was studying at Tulane. She suggested the restaurant and the appetizer. As someone always up for a new experience I welcomed the culinary excursion and minutes later feasted on a cardiac nightmare which also haunted my taste buds for about 72 hours. I was guilty of the sate of a good thing. I learned my lesson with the sate of the onion -- what is cleverly marketed and placed into the willing community of participants gathered for a common cause can easily erode into something regretable if such community is vulnerable to the moment.
This evening we, the 'Mercan people, will have the opportunity to assemble around various forms of technology to dine on a State of the Union address. The menu will describe the address as unitive, but diners who have frequented this place before fear the menu may be misleading. Rather than addressing the Union and offering a presentation on what state the union is in, concern fllourishes that the dish served will create a heartburn that will be felt much longer than 72 hours. Rather than rallying the country around a leadership that is concerned about unifying the obvious, complex diversity of United States, speculation is that there will be significant lip service given to such unitive efforts, when in reality there will be a plea for support for what has already been decided.
A State of the Union address should include respect for varying points of view and a strategy for keeping the country unified. Of course, such a course seems romanticized and requires the wisdom of Solomon. Nevertheless, it is a more constructive approach than issuing a defense rationalizing a direction which, unfortunately, has become the unpleasant mantra of an administration which lays claim to holding the "right" way. The cracks in the foundation are showing glaringly when address after address the audience is patronized. When asked about the opinions recently polled pointing to a significant disagreement with the direction our country is heading, Bill Frist dismissed such an observation with comments assuring the audience the country's leaders will not see value in the results of polls at this time of the year. Hmmm....
The sate of the onion is back like a bad case of acid reflux when the State of the Union creates the same distaste. It is the state of an onion to behave in such a way. Otherwise, it wouldn't be an onion. It is not, however, the sate of a union address we need right now. What is needed is an honest assessment of how new information in the world continues to create new opportunities for a bold new direction. I'd take seconds on that address. If we only knew that new, new, new is substantive for better avenues of success. The old, old, old was better for then, but now is now. Stay tuned. On the safe side, it might be a good time to check your antacid supply.
This evening we, the 'Mercan people, will have the opportunity to assemble around various forms of technology to dine on a State of the Union address. The menu will describe the address as unitive, but diners who have frequented this place before fear the menu may be misleading. Rather than addressing the Union and offering a presentation on what state the union is in, concern fllourishes that the dish served will create a heartburn that will be felt much longer than 72 hours. Rather than rallying the country around a leadership that is concerned about unifying the obvious, complex diversity of United States, speculation is that there will be significant lip service given to such unitive efforts, when in reality there will be a plea for support for what has already been decided.
A State of the Union address should include respect for varying points of view and a strategy for keeping the country unified. Of course, such a course seems romanticized and requires the wisdom of Solomon. Nevertheless, it is a more constructive approach than issuing a defense rationalizing a direction which, unfortunately, has become the unpleasant mantra of an administration which lays claim to holding the "right" way. The cracks in the foundation are showing glaringly when address after address the audience is patronized. When asked about the opinions recently polled pointing to a significant disagreement with the direction our country is heading, Bill Frist dismissed such an observation with comments assuring the audience the country's leaders will not see value in the results of polls at this time of the year. Hmmm....
The sate of the onion is back like a bad case of acid reflux when the State of the Union creates the same distaste. It is the state of an onion to behave in such a way. Otherwise, it wouldn't be an onion. It is not, however, the sate of a union address we need right now. What is needed is an honest assessment of how new information in the world continues to create new opportunities for a bold new direction. I'd take seconds on that address. If we only knew that new, new, new is substantive for better avenues of success. The old, old, old was better for then, but now is now. Stay tuned. On the safe side, it might be a good time to check your antacid supply.
posted by Joe Marek | 5:56 AM
1 Comments:
That blog is an awesome read!
You go friend!!
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