sfnowak

I have not meant to be MOB (Missing On the Blog), but I’ve had a little computer problem (or maybe it was somebody else??? Hmmm????)

Being a Baby Boomer, I’ve seen almost every type of self expression possible. People “singing songs and carrying signs,”* draft card burning, bra burning, Burning Man, “Don’t burn coal,” stop heartburn, etc.

Today, it seems like the purpose of self expression is to actually avoid communicating–and we’re doing a fine job. I discount much of the Internet; why would I want to read a rant from “Pigelbows965?” For that matter, why would I want to read anything he/she/it (Hey, it could be a bot.) has to say on any topic?

There are some legitimate discussions that are better if they’re conducted anonymously, but spewing hatred does not qualify. Everyone–or at least everyone with a brain–is learning to filter, refilter, and then HEPA filter anything they read on the Internet. Too many people, nation-states, terrorist groups, and Artificial Intelligence programs are using the Internet to further their own agendas at our expense.

However, the communications media that puzzles me most today are the decals on people’s cars. The witty? insulting? provocative? or even altruistic text on windows are so small, or so stylistic that it is impossible, unless you drive your car onto their trunk, to read. “In Loving Memory of—” whom? Some are trying to advertise a product, but it’s usually impossible to read the product name, much less the website or phone number. Then they wonder why their fail-safe franchise went bottom up.

Many in the bumper sticker crowd must compete to see who can fit the most stickers across the back of the car.

The windshield decals and the bumper stickers are a far worse distraction than any cell phone. States might work at declaring them “distracted driving” and make them illegal, unless it’s actually a marketing campaign by the personal injury lawyers and the auto body repair shops. (They have a lot of well-paid lobbyists)

*Buffalo Springfield, For What It’s Worth

I am going to share various articles or posts if they meet my strict criteria–laughing out loud and sharing with my wife. Here’s today’s–click to connect.

Anti-Vaxx Mom Asks How To Protect Her Unvaccinated 3-Year-Old From The Measles Outbreak, Internet Delivers

When I was in grade school (that’s 1st – 8th grade for those born after 1970) we celebrated Lincoln’s Birthday on February 12th, which oddly enough was the day Lincoln was born. We also celebrated Washington’s Birthday on February 22nd. As I recall, we were off school both days because of the significance of these two men to our nation.

George Washington fought as a Colonial British Subject in the French and Indian War, which trained him to lead the Continental Army in America’s Revolution. After the war, he appeared before the Continental Congress and returned his commissioning papers, publicly relinquishing his powers after he believed his work was done. King George III at first did not believe that anyone would willing give up such power; when convinced of it King George remarked something akin to “If he did that, he is the greatest man in the world.”

Washington was the only president elected unanimously by the Electoral College, served two terms and declined a third as well as the suggestion that he be elected for life.

Lincoln did not have Washington’s military genius; he served in the Illinois militia during the Black Hawk War. Legend has it that he mustered into the militia as a captain and out as a private. Nevertheless, he ably served as Commander-in-Chief during the Civil War, ultimately resulting in the abolition of slavery throughout the United States. His son, Robert Todd Lincoln convinced his father’s two clerks, who were privy to all his communications, to write the history to ensure that it be clear that the war was about slavery. He believed that an emerging alternative narrative–that the conflict was about state’s rights–be debunked.

Washington’s Birthday was a federal holiday; Lincoln’s Birthday was not, but some states (Kentucky. Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, and New York) celebrated it. In the 1980s–when it became the trend for everybody on the team to get a trophy–we began to hear the holiday referred to as “Presidents’ Day.”

According to the United States Office of Personnel Management, the third Monday in February is celebrated as Washington’s Birthday and is a federal holiday. There is no “Presidents’ Day.”

History is fascinating, if you’re willing to take time to learn it.