Now and then

Happy Thursday, friends, if there is such a thing….hope you’ve had a good week!

I borrowed today’s title from the “last” Beatles song that was completed and released almost two years ago, but I think it’s fitting with what I want to get into today.

I don’t know about you, but I am old enough to remember the past, in which elected officials largely operated in the background and didn’t run to a microphone or camera when anything happens.  Social media didn’t exist and neither did the toxicity that accompanies it.

These elected officials would routinely face their constituents who elected them, tout or at least explain their achievements and what else they tried to accomplish.  In turn, the voters who attended these “town halls” would ask polite questions about issues old and new and there was healthy dialogue and politicians would sometimes come away with new ideas, or at the least some new understanding of what’s important to work on for his home state or legislative district.

Full disclosure—I don’t watch Fox News, but it’s my understanding that most of the persons that Donald Trump appointed to head agencies in the government spend a lot of time appearing on Fox News, making sure that “audience of one” hears him or her spouting the proper positions on certain issues.

Honestly, where’s the fun in that?  I remember the occasional misstatement by a department secretary or diplomat and there would be a kerfuffle for a couple of days and then it would all go away.

Now we have secret chats among high-ranking defense and national security leaders about military tactics and commentaries on Europe and the like.  Many of those are probably security breaches, but nothing happened to any of the involved individuals, including one who apparently invited a journalist to the chat.

Let’s be fair—I work in healthcare sales, and pretty much have to be trusted to work successfully and autonomously.  These people are judged every day in the court of public opinion and if they’re properly conveying the company line, they avoid the kind of consequences that regular people like you and me would face.

I was taken back a few years when I went to a restaurant last night for dinner while on the road.  The place has a large variety menu and televisions all over the place.  Music playing over the PA system was also shown on certain television sets and I heard a song begin and perked up when I recognized it to be “California Gurls” by Katy Perry.  I don’t like dance music as a rule but that one was quite an earworm back when it was popular.  Still like that song and the way that Perry comes across in her many costumes with a megawatt smile throughout.

One more…as I grew up, John Wayne was pretty much the all-American hero in films and elsewhere.  Sadly, he is mostly forgotten in modern culture, but I still think about the Duke and his contributions to our film history.  I still put quite a few of his movies in my top 20.  But recently I greeted a friend in a text conversation by saying “Howdy,” she returned the greeting and without any hesitation I then addressed her as “little lady,” much as John Wayne might have done.  So funny to me, and my conversation partner played right along!

In summary, listening to the Beatles in 2025 is something of an anachronism, and I love that Elton John is back in the pop music limelight thanks to his collaboration with the immensely talented Brandi Carlile.  And I still wish that people would be more appropriate and accountable for their actions.

And I don’t see that changing anytime soon, now OR then!