"Please, Thank You, Pardon Me"

I'm so sick of our ill-mannered White House. Here's the latest headline:

"Rove ignores committee's subpoena, refuses to testify"

Karl Rove has decided to "IGNORE" a subpoena from Congress? Would that work if you or I tried it? Can you say "JAIL TIME"? That's what would be waiting for us if we were to pull a stunt like this. Karl is caught, Scott McClellan spilled the beans and someone is responsible for what happened to Valerie Plame, that someone is Karl Rove, but instead of being responsible for his actions, he just ignores our Congress (and anything else he doesn't like).

I love politics and rarely do I speak so publicly about this administration and all of its faux pas, until now that is. I've had it up to here (and since you can't see where here is, it's a heck of a long way up) with Bush, Cheney, Rove, Libby the whole lot of them. I will be so glad to have ANYBODY else be president that I can hardly wait for November to arrive.

Since Bush took office in 2001, we've been subjected to one scandal after another, leaks, shootings, firings of Generals that don't agree with him etc, you name it. If that wasn't enough, lets add the numerous "tell-all" books written, interviews done with former White House loyalists and various resignations ("to be with their families" of course), but Mr. Bush and clan have carried on as if nothing is happening all the while our country falls apart.

There is a blatant lack of personal responsibility in our White House, an arrogance the likes of which we have never seen before, and in my very humble opinion, this **"I don't give a damn" attitude has become pervasive in our country.

Ok, so I'm out on the limb already, let me take it a step further.

I feel our excessive media coverage of certain celebrities and their bad choices and actions, our government riding roughshod over the Constitution, and our lack of regard for any other country other then our own has produced an attitude that is sure to doom us in the end if we don't change. Forget helping little old ladies across the street anymore, our new Bush approved motto is **"she better get her old ass outta the way before I run over her with my Hemi". Lets all congratulate ourselves on the new bumper-sticker for America. We should be very proud, HA!

We're less tolerate of anyone who is not "one of us", refuse to be responsible for our actions, (instead we sue whoever doesn't like what we do), we waste more then we produce, and we don't care about our neighbors anymore. The "me" generation has now turned into the "me" American society and **"we ain't taking shit from NOBODY"!

A great example of our lack of consideration was the elderly Connecticut man who was struck down by a car driving on the wrong side of the street. Just take a guess on who came to his aid, NO ONE. That's right, he laid there for more then a minute as cars and people passed by him, none offering to help. If the police hadn't finally stopped, he would have most likely died in the middle of the street.

The Cheney "SO" is still ringing in my ears,

You might ask, "what's the Cheney SO"? That was his reply to a reporter that asked him how he felt about the citizens of the United States opposing the war. A very flip "SO". How can we ask our teen-agers to be responsible citizens when our own vice-president responds with "so"? Although I'm writing this with some sarcasm, I'm pained that we are no longer an America that cares about anyone but our individual selves, and since **shit rolls down hill, maybe this attitude started at the top of the heap with the president and his accessories to the crime.

(**BLANKET APOLOGY: Please excuse my cursing and improper English, I'm trying to talk to the masses in the all too familiar language we've become accustomed to, but at least I said excuse me")

"SO". Is that a response that a leader should give? When I tell my soon-to-be teen-aged daughter to do her homework or she'll fail, or that "Super Sweet Sixteen" is an awful TV show for her to watch, should I just sit back and smile when she says "so".
If "so" is good enough for the VP of our great nation, then surely it's good enough for our kids; right?

Manners or the lack thereof seem to be all but lost. How many times have you had someone barreling down the highway, riding your bumper all the while chatting on the cell phone? When was the last time a run-away grocery cart bumped into your car because someone didn't have time to secure it back in the bin or at least position it so it wouldn't hit your car? Has someone jumped in front of you in line lately and ignored you afterwards as if to say "my time is more precious then yours"? Girls burping on TV, more bleeps during a show then I can count, where does this madness end?

The madness will stop when our leaders become leaders again. Personal responsibility, civility towards others, common every day courtesy, not just a punchline, but a practice.

While it might sound as if I'm predicting Armageddon, nothing could be further from the truth, if we start to pay attention and call people on their actions and also correct our own actions when need be. Lets all go back to the days when our grandmothers told us to act like ladies and gentlemen. How about we practice saying "please" and "thank you", ask "were you in line", hang up your cell phone when you're in public spaces so I don't have to overhear the details of your "hemorrhoid surgery" and last but not least, speak when spoken too, or even before, a "hello" never killed anyone. Don't tailgate; just pass by the slower drivers.

It's the littlest efforts that will mean the most and maybe if we all do our share, then we can correct this downward spiral.

Here's a great website to check out, it talks about personal responsibility, let's just hope that Cheney and Rove check it out.

http://www.responsibilityproject.com/