Tag: Opinion

A lot of our citizens take America for granted. They never learn to appreciate the true value of this great nation of ours or what it truly stands for. Yes, we have the MAGA crowd, and they somehow feel superior to the rest of us in being American, but they don’t know what really makes America great.

“Democracy’s a very fragile thing. You have to take care of democracy. As soon as you stop being responsible to it and allow it to turn into scare tactics, it’s no longer democracy, is it? It’s something else. It may be an inch away from totalitarianism.” This is a quote of Pulitzer Prize winning Sam Shepard.

I am a big fan of fads. For me, fads provide a good study into a culture's whims and impulses, and highlight where we are psychologically as a nation. Some fads are short-lived even though they spread fast, but some do endure the test of time, if only to lose public enthusiasm slowly. Remember fidget spinners.

To get to Pachea Trail, I cheat: I toss my bike into the back of the Tundra and drive to the end of San Jacinto Ave. From there it is a short ride to Pachea Trail, where San Jacinto dead-ends. First is to cross Stetson Ave., then follow the street DOWN! It’s all fun and games at first, as I zoom by (by the by: this is much more fun than the other kind of ‘zooming’ going on nowadays). However, soon I reach and turn right on Legend Lane and the ‘fun’ begins.

There is an old political quip attributed to former California U.S. Senator Hayakawa. To paraphrase, if a man were drowning 50 feet offshore, a Democrat would throw him 100 feet of rope. A Republican would throw him 25 feet of rope and yell, “I’ll meet you half way.” In both cases, the man drowns.