Listen to the Mocking Birds

05/20/2008

Paul Munnis


After a shrill political season the volume is about to get turned down – way down. Soon we will be able to hear the birds singing instead of FOX_TV screaming expletives at Democrats or Wolf Blitzer barking at us. Employees will figure out that business needs them as much as they need business and jobs. For every business that closes two new ones open. So much for intimidation. Pages torn from "The World Is Flat," will be used to light the charcoal for the BBQ.

The Minnesota legislative session is over and all that is left is for both sides is to claim victory and then publish competing editorials saying that the other side is making false claims. They will say that the other Party’s facts are all lies and they have the facts to prove it. Uh huh… right.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness are safe for a few more weeks.

Yup, the MN Legislative session is history. It’s all over with for this year. Thank God.

Congress is getting their grain shovels out and shoveling everything they want into an omnibus military spending bill which Bush wants. Without passage of that Bill there is no funding to continue the war in Iraq. A final shoot-out at the OK Corral is in the cards in Washington and then Congress goes home to kiss babies, shake hands with constituents, and seek votes and contributions for November.

In just a few days the Democratic Candidate race for delegates will be a numerical fact of life as this phase of election year politics called “Caucuses and Primaries” comes to an end. Hurray!

In just a few weeks the DFL will have the State Convention in Rochester, MN, and the final slate will be endorsed for the November ballot. Hurray!

There may be fireworks and entertainment value ahead but less and less of us will be listening. The American ear is being tuned to the sound of birds chirping away. Lawn care trumps political action now.

America is shifting gears to a summer agenda even though we in the mid-west are still shivering under night-time blankets. A look at weather forecasts show that the weather is about to change too. I’m putting away my winter clothing now and getting out my short-sleeved shirts and lighter trousers.

Graduations, proms, summer vacations, home and yard projects, and longer daylight hours mean more time spent away from the media. Stress reduction is in full sight. A summer schedule for the kids is the big family concern now. The kids get out of school in just a few weeks. They are all looking forward to a grade promotion notice. The kids are nervous and so are the parents -- but for different reasons.

Churches are getting ready for a family picnic and they will then shift to the summer schedule for worship services.

Summer camps and programs will be starting up and new counselors will take over some of the child care.

Musical instruments will be stored away in the hall closet as kids figure out how to tell the parents that they want to change musical instruments or shift from band to choir next year. These are the negotiations of real importance now. They are delicate ones too.

Businessmen are not contributing anything to anyone for the next few months. They are looking at the books and trying to figure out how to manage cash-flow. They are in survival mode right now. That means employees are nervous. “Pass another cold Bud… do you know McCains old lady is getting rich off of us from drinking this stuff? We should switch to Schells… (burp).”

Bush is packing his bags, cleaning out any remains of damaging evidence, clearing out his desk and files in order to have material to stuff a future presidential library with. Even Air Force One will be virtually grounded because Bush has few places to go where he is welcome. He is planning June trip to Europe and then it should go quiet. A lot of his Administration is concentrating on finding jobs for the fall and then election is just around the corner. College students are home and looking for summer jobs to pay the higher cost of higher education. Parents are wondering if the U of M has priced itself out of the market. Parents are vowing that the Spring Break money must stop – just look at the bills for that! Kids are saying: “We’ll see about that.”

Yes, the volume will drop, there is only Obama and McCain and perhaps Hillary left to provide grist for the media mill. Fewer people will be listening or care for the next few weeks.

Politics now shift to who is going to provide the beer and who will bring the brats, and what salads are going on the summer table? People will be trying on new bathing suits and vowing to go on a diet. Mothers will be yelling at fathers not to put vodka into the watermelon -- the kids have to eat some of it too. Kids will be splashing in any water they can gain access to. Good books are stacked for summer reading if the weather turns hot. We are shifting modes in America. Gas prices have everyone in a state of shock but we are adapting even as we shift priorities.

When Labor Day rolls around the campaigning for the presidency will take off in earnest. A lot will have been discussed over beer and brats and people will be ready to vote come November.

Once this presidential election ends the silence will seem deafening as media groups figure out who is going to go bankrupt. Believe it or not there is a newspaper bubble about to burst. A TV bubble is right behind it as we shift over to Internet TV. HD-TV may turn out to have a rocky future for cable and through the air signal broadcasting but a good future is arriving for the Internet broadcast of TV content. But for now who cares – it’s all re-runs or pilots anyhow.