We’re Not in Lake Wobegon Anymore

I remember with great fondness listening to Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion with my dad as we’d run some weekend errand. We’d sit in the parking lot, or in our driveway, reluctant to get out, enjoying the variety acts, and completely enthralled with the News From Lake Wobegone, Keillor’s signature piece. I’ve always enjoyed his slow, rambling style.

Today, my mom forwarded to me a link to an editorial by Keillor, “We’re Not in Lake Wobegon Anymore”:

How did the Party of Lincoln and Liberty transmogrify into the party of Newt Gingrich’s evil spawn and their Etch-A-Sketch president, a dull and rigid man, whose philosophy is a jumble of badly sutured body parts trying to walk?

A scathing historical examination of the decline of the Republican Party. The user-contributed comments are, as to be expected, an interesting mix of support and opposition.

I realized the other day what really depresses me about all of the fervor surrounding homeland security, the war on terror, the whole thing. I was ruminating at the time on the “Under God” phrase of the Pledge of Allegience, and rather than stop there like I usually do, I kept going… “Indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all.”

It’s a damn shame that both dominant political parties are dividing the population. Both parties are filled with smart people, who have important contributions to make to the success of our country. Pity that so many people are convinced that someone else needs to lose in order for them to win.

… Liberty, and Justice For All …