Life on the Road – Trucking News Blog

“America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, ’cause it’s gonna put up a fight. It’s gonna say “You want free speech? Let’s see you acknowledge folks whose words make your blood boil, who stand center stage advocating at the top of their lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours.

We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. There are some that are interested in two things and two things only: making average people afraid of it and telling them who’s to blame for it. That is how you win elections. You gather a group of middle-aged, middle-class, middle-income voters who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family and American values and character. You throw out words like socialism, terrorism and the “homeland” while referring to the President as “Hussein” because talk is cheap and you know people are scared and don’t understand what is happening right now.

Then, you can stand up and sing about the “land of the free.” Americans want leadership. They’re so thirsty for it they’ll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there’s no water, they’ll drink the sand.” And in absence of genuine leadership by their elected representatives, Americans will listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone.” That was an edited quote from a movie called “The American President.” The movie was written by the brilliant Aaron Sorkin back in 1994 and starred Michael Douglas and Annette Bening.

America is stuck. Americans are afraid of change. It citizens have been VERY slow to act whether the issue at hand involved civil rights, national health care, infrastructure development or energy policy. It is time to let go of the reins a bit – maybe even a lot, In a smaller arena, I know I could reform the entire trucking and distribution industry. All would benefit – shippers, carriers and the drivers. Technology would play a large role.  But, there are many that would put up a serious fight to stop “change”  because it involves doing something – anything – different, no matter how good it is.

You know folks would fight just the thought of any change because it is just easier than agreeing to it, implementing it and waking up to do something different – and – better. That’s just too scary for many. It’s a kind of a mass “cops” mentality that has prevailed in this country for many years. It bureaucratic to the core. The knee jerk response is always: ” Well, we’ve always done it that way – why change it – it’s too much trouble and this and that might happen. It’s socialism! OMG! We’re all going to go broke and die! Gimme a break!

Change. Would you feel better if Ronald Reagan was advocating it rather than Barack Obama? Former President Reagan said: “Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” It doesn’t matter to me who says it. There are still more walls to tear down – more gates to open. In health care, banking, credit & mortgages, trucking and foreign relations. Embrace it – don’t be afraid of it. Bertram Russell said “To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.”

Photo credit: http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w110/monika7777/Peace/change-1.jpg,, http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/photographs/large/c41247-10.jpg and http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112346/