Back before humor was delivered with a switchblade, humor could entertain and educate concurrently with wisdom and a deep human compassion.  After regaining some control of my emotions when I saw our current president set up a slush fund in the Department of Justice for him and his cronies I thought of Everett Dirksen’s satirical quote about billions of dollars.  Then, for a human perspective I divided what a middle middle class American might pay to the federal government in taxes into the 1.8 billion destined for that payoff scheme and discovered it will entirely  consume the contributed taxes of  approximately 72,000 middle income American taxpayers. I used to console myself by thinking  some minute portion of my taxes went to protect America, support the vulnerable and poor, save lives and invest in world peace for our children.  Dirksen was a conservative US Senator with a heart and intelligence serving in the 20th century.  His message suggests that 1.8 billion dollars is just too much to steal from the American dream. I cannot believe we, as a majority nation, are so cynical or passive that such a sting can go unremarked or punished.  Dirksen’s second quote sets the stage for the inevitable Modest Proposal for Good.

A Modest Proposal for Good

‘Fixed and unbending principles‘ can be used as a murderous hatchet or a firm guide in governance.  ‘Flexibility’ can be a formless morass of competing considerations, or a difficult but viable tool that humanizes the practice of the firm and public principles at the core of democracy. The stone cold theft for the Anti-weaponization fund would not be allowed to occur under the fixed and unbending principle  portion of Dirksen’s quote.  There should be no way any law abiding American can look the other way on this. The good in this message is in the concept of wise humor that nudges back the frustration of life creating room to breathe in the hard passages of resistance and enforcement.  A wicked humor and a focused passion of resistance to the cloddish abuses of our gullible nation could unite and help save this country.  That would be good.