Monday, August 3, 2015

Meet John Doe

I have a collection of old movies that I taped decades ago. I seldom watch as Roxanna is more interested in new films in color. She is in Indiana enjoying her 50th reunion with class mates and family. I am a sucker for any movie with Gary Cooper. Last night I watched Pride of the Yankees. It is about the life of Lou Gehrig, the iron man of baseball. He played in 2130 games consecutively, even when sick or with broken bones. The Lou Gehrig disease finally forced him to quit. He died a young man. Tonight I watched Meet John Doe it is a tearjerker about a drifter who was talked into playing the role of a man who was going to take his own life out of disillusionment with the world. Pretty corny, but I can never watch to the end without bawling. Funny isn’t it. The idea of the movement was to bring people together in a common cause. It was financed by a rich man, D.B. Norton, who then attempted to use the club to endorse him as the President of the United States. You should know by now of my feeling about the Supreme Court which on a 5 to 4 decision has turned loose the big money machine with billions already committed to support candidates for President. The reason a man like Trump can garner support is because he is spending his own money. He will be beholden to no rich man. I am not saying I support him but he is creating havoc with the normal process where countless dollars are spent to convince the electorate to vote for or against some person. It matters not whether Democrat or Republican, the process is the same each time and regardless of who wins the fat cats come out on top and the average John Doe is clobbered once again. The formula is almost perfect. I still have a Ben Carson bumper sticker on my car. It has been there for six months now and will remain until he drops out or another person of his caliber rises to the top. I have read that 67% of contributions to him are from John Doe types. Check out the others to see the million dollar and higher contributions from those who have and are determined to keep it and add further regardless of the turmoil endured by the average citizen. What an ongoing tragedy the election process is. We keep looking for a savior and it never happens, or I should say hardly ever. The Congress was gone over July Fourth and now is on a month leave to be followed by Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Never enough time to solve problems. Wait until after the next election and then the following. In the meantime we are entertained by frivolous stories that fill the airways distracting from the real issues that need to be addressed. I think the reason I cried is the hopelessness of it all. Jack B. Walters August 3, 2015

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