Opus 2020-313: On the Street: Contrasts

We are on the road again.  We traveled from Texas, through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina to Virginia.  Later we will spend time in Maryland.  It was like a trip from Frontier Land to Tomorrow Land to Fantasy Land.  I have not been to Disneyland or bought a Disney product for at least 20 years so I am going on old memories.  In any case there are tremendous differences.  On arriving in Virginia it feels like we are back in California.  After sensing the freedom in the deep South this is a land of oppression, but I have written on that before.

One of the things that struck us was a side trip we took looking to feed my wife’s Sonic dependancy.  There is something about Sonic iced tea that makes the sun shine brighter and puts more hope in the future.  The detour covered about 15 miles through residential Anderson, South Carolina.  What we noticed was that businesses were open and very busy.  We did not see evidence of the lives of common people being destroyed by lockdown.  I am sure there were some having a hard time but there was no shortage of places to dine in or limits on places to shop.  

Why did this stand out?  We keep hearing about the tragedy that is going on in places like New York City.  The mayor, Bill De Blasio, has again shut down all the restaurants in the city.  Establishments that have been around for 50 or more years are closing up for good.  I have friends in California who could give similar testimony to this phenomenon.  It is real.  It is destructive.  It is also Democrat.  

Just like the violence that is turning cities into bombed out war zones, the boarding up of once prosperous businesses is more frequent in cities that continue to elect Democrat mayors and city councils.  I would say all but I don’t know it is true.  With state mandates in Texas I am sure that some have gone under but not on the scale of NYC.  

While I feel sorry for these people, I can’t label them as total victims.  To know that I would need to know how their political activity.  Did they vote for Biden?  Did they vote for the current city leaders?  Did they make any contributions to their campaigns?  If the answer to any of these questions is, “Yes,” then I am afraid my sympathy is a bit shallow.

As I believe Barak Obama said, “Elections matter.”  Something to remember in a time of economic problems.  Try to help those in need but make sure they didn’t dig their own hole.

homo unius libri