Pappa Hardy's Musings on Life.

It has been an interesting election season in Payson. We started with a field of six candidates that has been winnowed down to a field of four candidates due to the withdrawal of two candidates from the contest. You would think nothing is happening here. I am hoping that the electorate will demand that the candidates state what they believe and ask them to outline what they plan to do for Payson.

The citizens don’t realize just how much these candidates will impact what happens in Payson, at least you wouldn’t think that they care given no demands that we meet the candidates. Well, we shall just have to see what happens.

Well, serving in Public Office is an interesting experience. It takes a mind shift away from what you personally want to see done, to making sure that you are working for the public good of everyone that you represent. This makes the choices difficult because sometimes there are lots of gray areas and no clear cut directions that should be taken. For instance, if you approve a certain type of development for an area, how is that going to impact the city and it’s citizens in 10-15 years, not just tomorrow.

Everyone of course has ideas about the right way to do things as well, and you quickly learn that you can’t always vote the way someone else suggests that you vote. It takes separating your desire to be liked from the public good. Everyone at some time or the other should have this opportunity.

I hadn’t really posted about what has been happening in Payson, but back in July I filed to run for the Payson City Council. A lot happened along the way, but on November 3 I was elected to the council, finishing second out of four that ran. Now, I am in the process of transitioning onto the council. There, is so much to learn and so much to do. There is just a lot of work. What have I got myself into. We shall find out.

Earlier this week I filed as a candidate for the Payson City Council. I must be crazy. That is in direct contradiction of my desires to grow old and retire to a nice quiet place in the suburbs. However, I feel passionately about some things, and my desire for public service seems to have been awaken later in my life rather than when I was more vibrant and younger. Despite my geriatric leanings, I do have a desire to make a difference and to serve my community. We will see how this campaign goes.

Last night I sat next to Congressman Jason Chaffetz of the Third Congressional District of the State of Utah. In college, I roomed with Robert Bishop, Congressman of the First Congressional District of Utah. The experiences have taught me a few things.

When I was much younger, I thought of these people as heroes of the largest order, larger than life, and as people I would never be equal too. Now having had the opportunity to know people who have influence in our country, I have come to know that they are human, just like me.

They are human, but they are good people because they care for and love this land the same way that I do. They are human because they are subject to the same foibles that we all are, but they doing their best to do what is best for this country. I think it is great that we can have the opportunity to know these people and share with them our love for our country. It was a wonderful opportunity for me. It was our annual Chamber Installation Banquet, and I enjoyed hearing about how they make a difference. I can make a difference too.

Like other things in life, the recent summer trip for me to Las Vegas brought varied reactions on some old things that I was seeing from a new perspective. What is it that hit my button you might ask? Well, while driving around trying in vain to find a Wal-Mart to buy some water for the heat, I saw political campaign signs of the various people running for various offices in the city of Las Vegas or Cooke County.

I look at signs, and instead of seeing the ad for who is running, I see how big it is, how it is constructed, how much it likely costs, and what colors are they using. I look and see if I think it will withstand a windstorm, a tornado, and how will it weather the elements of rain and wind. I determine is it well designed, effectively getting across the message the candidate wants to give to his target voters. Sometimes these life experiences that we all have forever change the way we look at things. Campaign signs were a simple and obnoxious experience for me before I ran for political office, and now they are an experience that will be forever changed for me.

Today marks the end of the line. The Traveling Wilburys wrote a song called “End of the Line”.

(Chorus 1)
Well it’s all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it’s all right, if you live the life you please
Well it’s all right, doing the best you can
Well it’s all right, as long as you lend a hand

You can sit around and wait for the phone to ring
Waiting for someone to tell you everything
Sit around and wonder what tomorrow will bring
Maybe a diamond ring

(Chorus 2)
Well it’s all right, even if they say you’re wrong
Well it’s all right, sometimes you gotta be strong
Well it’s all right, As long as you got somewhere to lay
Well it’s all right, everyday is Judgement Day

Maybe somewhere down the road aways
You’ll think of me, and wonder where I am these days
Maybe somewhere down the road when somebody plays
Purple haze

(Chorus 3)
Well it’s all right, even when push comes to shove
Well it’s all right, if you got someone to love
Well it’s all right, everything’ll work out fine
Well it’s all right, we’re going to the end of the line

Don’t have to be ashamed of the car I drive
I’m just glad to be here, happy to be alive
It don’t matter if you’re by my side
I’m satisfied

(Chorus 4)
Well it’s all right, even if you’re old and grey
Well it’s all right, you still got something to say
Well it’s all right, remember to live and let live
Well it’s all right, the best you can do is forgive

(Chorus 5)
Well it’s all right, riding around in the breeze
Well it’s all right, if you live the life you please
Well it’s all right, even if the sun don’t shine
Well it’s all right, we’re going to the end of the line

I wish that I were that positive about what I see at the end of the line. Today marks the end of the Presidential Campaign process, which in this country started well over two years ago. I am sick of the process, of the incessant finger pointing that goes on in this country between the Republicans and the Democrats. If I had my way, we would through all of the office holders out and elect new ones. Unfortunately, that won’t happen.

We have got way too partisan. I fear that Barack Obama is going to be the next President of the United States. In my mind, he is way too liberal. However, we have got to make sure that our elected representatives get the work of the people done, and that hasn’t been happening for at least the last 30 years, if not longer. Whomever is elected, must get the work of the people done, doing it in the best interests of all the people, or we need to through them out and find someone who will do the work of the people. We can’t bicker any more.

I fear what is going to happen in a socialist America, because that is where I believe we are heading. However, if the voice of the people is to make this a socialist paradise, then let’s do what is reasonable and get the work done. No more pointing fingers. No more disenfranchising or favoring whole sections of the population. Lets do the work of the people, or this great nation will truly be at “The End of the Line”.

One of the talks given at the recent Semi-Annual General Conference of my church discussed the idea that “We Don’t Know Everything But We Know Enough”. The idea is, we can push forward even if we don’t have all of the answers. I find that idea mildly comforting when considering our current economic situation. We need to move forward and solve problems, rather than quivering in a mode of indecision because we don’t have all of the answers. Our current problems demand action, some kind of action in order for us to at least start to move forward in solving our problems. Not only can we move forward with regard to our faith in the Lord and his plan, but we also can move forward in solving the problems of our country.

From the evening news tonight you would have thought that the entire financial structure of the United States had just quit functioning. I have to admit, it was an interesting and also stressful day at the bank. It is not every day that the DJI loses 500 points. The DJI Average lost that much in October of 1987 when the market was a lot smaller. We recovered.

Things are changing fast, that is for sure. Lehman Brothers disappears over a weekend, with Merrill Lynch being purchased by Bank of America. What some people, the ignorant, and most of the populace of this country don’t understand is that the investment banks are not the same as the commercial banks that they equate banking with. The commercial banks and the majority of the banks in this country are much safer than the country realizes. It is going to be a wild ride for the next little while as the markets sort out all of the problems that have come because of the greed of a few who put together mortgages that were not good, and then the populace of this country who wanted a home without paying the dues required and who wanted to profit by using constantly rising home prices as a way to build their equity.

Yes, it will take a while. Those of us who have 401k’s and the such will need to hold out for a while, but I believe that this country will recover. In the meantime, we have a Presidential Election in process and the candidates will beat this to death. We also have basic problems that need to be resolved, the IRAQ war, Social Security, Medicare, and budget deficits. Whoever is elected President has a real challenge on their hands. We will recover from this supposed financial meltdown.

I have been noticing something that really is bothering me right now. This specifically I notice in family, but society has the same general problem. We just aren’t being tolerant of each other. We are too worried about whether we are right, rather than having compassion to each other. My recent foray into politics lead me into the same trap. I sometimes worry that I am getting to settled into one position or another and then believing that I am right and the other wrong, and never shall I compromise.

You see it in Washington. Our national government has come to a gridlock, with each side posturing and trying to convince the public they are right, all for the purpose of political expediency and not in behalf of the people. Both the President and Congress most recently have received all times lows in their approval ratings by the populace. The national media doesn’t help the matter either and we all take sides, shouting at each other, sure that we aren’t right, but not willing to compromise and get the people’s business done. This year, it will be probably the 5th or 6th year in a row that most of the national government funding will continue to be run on a continuing resolution rather than through the appropriate appropriation process. This has got to change.

Whether it is in a family where we might be intolerant of or make fun of another’s views, in a city where we stake out positions for ourselves and don’t back off, or whether we don’t get the people’s business done because we are ideologues more determined to be right and yell and scream, rather than work in behalf of the people we elect. I am just getting sick of this, and we are setting ourselves up as a family to fracture, or as a nation to elect someone (a devious man or a man like the German’s elected in the 1930’s to solve their problems, and see where that lead them) who will promise to solve our frustrations, just if we give him the power. Things have got to change, and we the people have got to demand the change, or as the Book of Mormon says, if the greater number of the people shall not choose the good, we will ripe for the fall of the government that we have cherished for all of these 230 years.