Riding in Handbaskets

My wife and I have a favorite T-shirt saying: "Where are we going? And what are we doing in this handbasket?"

It's one of those things that's funny because of the kernel of truth behind it, and we often find ourselves repeating this punchline when faced with the "news of the day" which can be warped and mind-boggling and frightening.

For too long now, I've pessimistically estimated that our good country wouldn't survive more than another 50 years -- tops. And in recent years, I've trimmed that timeline down to as low as 20 years -- depending on the latest, aforementioned "news of the day".

But really: Can the U.S. survive at our present rate? Does a democracy function when the good of society, the majority rule, is sacrificed for the "rights of the individual". And what if that majority is devoid of morality, decency or whatever you want to call it when people are guided by something beyond themselves, something greater than themselves, something other than themselves?

Okay, enough of that. I don't want to think about it, much less rant about it. I want to go back to my complacency, my blissful ignorance. Now, where is that handbasket? Oh, here it is. Weeeeh!