I, Ken Brown, penned the following narrative in March 2016 during the presidential primary campaign that led to the election of American's current president. Since then, I've watched American society, and perceive the following analogy still holds to this very day. Current issues such as health care, immigration, the environment, world affairs, and personal rights might seem to have undergone major change in recent years. But America's "curling stone" existence can drift only so far in one direction or another.
The following was posted to my Facebook timeline (Ken W Brown) on March 15, 2016.
The following was posted to my Facebook timeline (Ken W Brown) on March 15, 2016.
UTTER NONSENSE, OZARK UNCLE! SOME WILL SAY (584 words)
I see the world like a giant game of curling (see shared photo). Think of God putting the world in motion like the Captain of a curling team starts the “stone” down a lane of ice toward a target or “home.” Now, think of God (the creator) as putting mankind on earth as “sweepers” who can provide the stone some guidance but only a little bit. With their brooms, sweepers accompany the stone down its path and can cause the stone to go a little left or a little right and maybe speed it up or slow it down. But regardless the stone just keeps on moving toward an uncertain end.
Now think of the stone in the photo as “America” and not the world—that’s fitting since many Americans think our country is the “world”—they think the game the Captain started is all about them and for them.
Imagine all four people in the photo are America’s team trying to affect the stone. Oh, they used to be teammates—but in recent decades the team has had a falling out to where the “sweepers” on the left and right have become enemies rather than allies, and they don’t listen to the Captain at all (some would argue the Captain has gotten disgusted and abandoned the team altogether).
While the left and right sweepers can influence the stone somewhat and can tell horror stories about what the other sweeper can do, in fact the effect of the sweepers isn’t that dramatic. For example, the sweeper on the right might want there to never be another aborted fetus in America—and if certain laws change, they will dance in the streets and say “we win”, and rejoice; but almost immediately the stone will simply adjust itself toward a new alignment with alternatives that resolve the issue of unwanted pregnancies—all kinds of preventatives will surface. For example growing over-population, food shortages, Zika babies that no one wants to pay for or the like, will eventually foster in new views about reproduction; and someday people will wonder why the pro-life fight was ever fought at all.
(I can play out similar scenarios for all kinds of issues that the two sweepers are forever fighting over. If you want, choose an issue, write it to me, and I bet I can provide a scenario where the movement to the left or right is limited).
Now this evening (March 1, 2016), as Missouri finishes its political primaries, one can imagine but can’t see what is happening off to the side of the curling rink—there is a tremendous battle as to who the right-side sweeper should be—a battle of historic proportions—books will be written about this election for decades to come. A little less dramatic is the battle for who the left sweeper should be. In fact, these side battles are yet another reason why the sweepers have limited effect on the stone—America seems to have some kind of a self-balancing feature that doesn’t let one side get carried away. Right now we have would-be sweepers proclaiming they will have great power to alter the “stone.” But in my view, they carry a foolish message to the most foolish of my fellow Americans.
Does the “stone” ever get stopped or severely altered? No, not really. Barring a horrific event such as a nuclear war or a major catastrophe, the stone will go on down the ice lane toward an uncertain end and none of the would-be politicians for 2017 can do great good or harm in the long run.
