The BCS football game between Auburn and Oregon was marred by frequent losses of traction, players often slipped on the turf. This happened in a covered stadium in near perfect weather and on a new field; seemingly perfect conditions for an important title game.
Lack of traction is also hindering the progressive "left-wing-nuts" from gaining momentum in their attempts to blame conservatives for the recent violence in Tucson.
They have Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and others in the "cross-hairs" of their vitriolic rhetoric and have targeted new legislation that would ban the use of certain words but have exonerated liberals of any harm their usage of the same and similar expressions has caused.
Progressives see conditions as being perfect to impose restrictions on free speech and move ahead with the "Fairness Doctrine" that would damage free speech and is intended to harm conservative talk shows. It seems that having most of the "lame-stream" media spewing the progressive line just isn't enough.
The kink in this "knee-jerk" reaction is that most of us see through their little scheme and aren't buying. To his credit, President Obama mildly scolded those in the media who reacted inappropriately. For the first time in memory he gave a speech from somewhere near the heart, was not his usual arrogant self and actually scored some points on the "human scale."
He may have gained a little traction by urging civility and cooperation in Washington. And that is where traction is critically important if we are going to rise to the challenges of the 21st century.
It seems that the divisions in this country run deep and that many of us don't want to let go of our biases and heal old wounds. Examples of this mindset are:
1) Are we a republic or a democracy? We should know that we are a republic with democratic processes but some people want to debate this.
2) It's claimed that the Republicans are the rich man's party yet Democrats are among the county's wealthiest people.
3) When we look at our current financial crisis, it should be apparent that both Democrats and Republicans are to blame, and let's not forget ourselves, the ones who voted them in.
There definitely are areas in which we can act more adult and responsibe. Too many feel that it's "my-way-or-the-highway" when it comes to solving the nation's problems. No better example exists of this than the passage of the 2010 health care law.
Cooperation in Washington will require more than just "feel-good "speeches and platitudes. It's going to take real work that requires us to abandon the use of stereotypes of political opponents. It will require literally everyone to think and do what's best for our country not our state, our political party, our community or ourselves.
There aren't easy answers. There will be plenty of pain to go around, but there is one consoling thought that should give us strength. We, the freedom-loving citizens of the United States of America, are best equipped to lead our country and the free world out of the current mess. Our chief asset is the Constitution and how it establishes rules for governing, the flexibility it contains and the principles outlined within.
Factions in the world are attempting to pull asunder the cohesiveness that holds together the multiracial, multicultural, multifaceted nation that we are. These forces are motivated by jealousy, envy and fear.
Those that fear us the most are those who are the least like us. Nations that allow its people little or no freedom, that impose severe penalties for even minor infractions and allow very limited interaction with the world outside its borders are afraid of their own countrymen. And as was the case in the former USSR, freedom eventually won, and freedom will win again.
In this current challenge we either gain traction by working together for a common cause or we forfeit the game and lose our children's future.
The University of Auburn team that was victorious in the BCS game has a rallying cry which dates back to the late 1800s. It motivates students and alumni to try harder.
The cry "War Eagle" implies that winning in life is a battle and that we should be prepared to preserve.
Reynolds lives in Pleasant View.
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