What is it with red ties?

I never used to notice what color tie the people who were speaking to me wore. One thing I do remember is that public speakers never wore red ties. I grew up in a generation when subdued was the order of the day and was synonymous with moderation and sanity. Anything wide or bold was way too radical for upright members of the establishment to consider wearing.
Red was never to be used in the fraternity I joined. It was related to the red capes used to taunt bulls during the ritual slaughter of the bulls in Mexico. Waving a red color was used to incite the rage of the bull and to raise the temperature of the audience to a feverish degree.


Red was especially taboo for politicians, whose last ambition was to raise the temperature of the voting public. But then one day King George decided to wear a red tie. All of a sudden, everyone began wearing red ties. It doesn’t seem to matter what side of the fence they are on. Republicans, Democrats, senators, and congressmen, men and women all added red to their wardrobes. Red is now even popular with members of the press. I guess the only difference between politicians is what breed of sheep they are to decide what side of the fence they belong on.

More and more people are expressing their distaste for the direction our country has gone in. Most know we have been led into a war, albeit after numerous lies and misdirections, to the disgrace of our once distinguished heritage. We are, nevertheless, following our leader, so shame on us. We got into the war without much forethought. A little pressure from Cheney and the CIA didn't even bother to verify sources of information upon which the entire congress depended to decide whether to finance Cheney's war. Now it seems years are required to vacate the same country it took, literally, a couple of months to decide to invade.

When confronted with the recent poll about the success/failure of the last five years of war, which over 2/3 of the nation is now opposed to, Cheney had the attitude "so what". His complete indifference to the peoples' opinion seems to mirror that of both houses of congress. How this situation, where elected officials can completely disregard the wishes of those who elect them, came to pass should be the focus of the comming election. However, people seem to be easily distracted by minor skermishes over issues having little or nothing to do with the larger problems facing the nation. The war seems to have fallen off the radar for most people who seemingly could care less how many lives and how much money it is costing. The nation's college age citizens, during the Vietnam debacle, were blowing up buildings and staging marches and riots in an effort to be heard and felt. Today's kids can barely stiffle a yawn.

About the Author

Bob Parmelee, a veteran of several generations of foreign wars where this country's role is the aggressor, continues to hope for a resurgence of sanity in our nation.