April 2021 – Rural Tompkins County

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “There’s no Anybody anymore” Bumper Sticker

“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change.” – Mahatma Gandhi

The concepts of being “owed” something and “those people” is foreign to the beliefs of every respected figure of human worth and equality — so when they all point to the same path; why are you walking in the opposite direction?

Without “anybody”: there can be no “everyone.”

Our government; like all confidence tricksters; plays on fear and greed to convince you that by giving up some; you will receive more.

But when you’re doing something that you’ve been told is “good”; and everybody we consider good denounces it: what are the odds?

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Life is like riding a bicycle” Bumper Sticker

Unfortunately; this statement is both true and untrue: we can learn from accident and adversity; but the type of learning may not be good for ourselves or others — and sometimes we seem to learn nothing; which presents its own set of problems.

Luckily, life is a continuous and continuously adjusting process — otherwise the bruises would never go away.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Destroy the past if you would define the future” Bumper Sticker

It’s the sort of future that needs the past destroyed: the records of repeated failure for the same policies, the echoes of history in their acts of discrimination and suppression, the accusing voices of those who fought for human worth and equality.

They not only try to destroy the past by suppressing it, but also by overwriting it. What children are taught in schools is not an accurate representation of the past; it’s a version created to deny the legitimacy of anything that does not conform [or cannot be presented as conforming] to their Doctrine.

Abraham Lincoln said, “How many legs does a dog have if you call his tail a leg? Four. Saying that a tail is a leg doesn’t make it a leg.” Calling their acts of hate and discrimination “justice” does not make them just. And destroying a thing; does not destroy the memory of it.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Better safe than story” Bumper Sticker

Sometimes it seems that there are no more cautionary tales because our decisions are no longer important.

A reimagined Government has allowed authorities to distance themselves from accountability and expectation by adopting fatalistic precepts like: “the wrong place at the wrong time.”

When a recent car chase/gun fight upset local residents; the Sheriff’s Department answered with: the number of officers [we’re too small], their non-local presence [it’s too expensive], the level of criminality [there are just a few bad characters].

They’re too busy protecting the assets of those with money to protect the asses of those without.

If we want to be safe, and not a story, it’s up to us.

“Right and wrong are awful narrow – Ain’t we got guns? – Took a wrong turn, where’s the arrow – We ain’t got none – They’ve cut patrols back – But the income tax won’t be any smaller – When I’m played out, I’ll be laid out – Ain’t we got guns?” — from Bigotry: The Musical, “Cornithaca County”

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Assistance beats resistance” Bumper Sticker

I have a cousin who would always say “don’t force it; get a bigger hammer” — if there was a big rusted bolt on the silo unloader; and all you had was a quarter-inch socket wrench — just put a three-foot pipe over the wrench handle.

Today’s super-powerful government is the “bigger hammer.” It’s the assistance that overcomes any resistance.

Don’t waste time with discussion or with debating your intentions. Things move much quicker if you don’t have to convince the public, or your neighbors.

Just grab a mandate, an entitlement, or an equitability; and smash them into submission. You don’t need a good reason to play a “greater good” card; just a good friend on the committee who will deal you the right hand.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Hope for the best, repair what is worst” Bumper Sticker

I have always thought that “preparing for the worst” was a very passive approach — why tarp the furniture if you can repair the roof?

Abraham Lincoln said: “Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?” How’s that for a repair job.

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Necessity is the mother of convention” Bumper Sticker

Conventions are there for a reason — survival. And while it may seem counterintuitive to some; they promote the survival of the individual. Conventions serve one of our most important needs: they let us know what we can each expect.

“Climate is what we expect. Weather is what we get.”

Conventions help us achieve a stable “climate” of individual human interaction. Is there anything beyond conventions? Yes, maturity. And beyond that is wisdom.

Is there anything beyond wisdom? Give me a break — I’m still working on conventions.

Another remixed proverb from “Cornithaca County.”

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “Absence makes the heart go wander” Bumper Sticker

There’s more than longing; there’s belonging — and needing to be with someone can turn into being with someone else.

It’s perfectly sensible human behavior: but since when has that mattered?

This is another remixed proverb from “Cornithaca County.”

“All Roads Lead to Cornithaca” – “The early bird catches the germ” Bumper Sticker

There’s something to be said for not being the first: you can pick your space at the party, you know that the ice will hold your weight, and you aren’t the one they name a virus after – you can always learn from experience; especially if it’s someone else’s.

This remixed proverb is from “Cornithaca County.”