More Ripped from the Headlines
Some of you may recall my Ripped from the Headlines…But When post back in October 2010. I have another installment. This time from a 4×7 card hubby found when he was sorting previous owner papers in the shop. Much of what we find is throw away or shred, but now and then we find a gem — either for us or for some other people in the community. Sometimes we find things to offer the county museum.
You can click on the image for a full size view, but if you’re having your computer read to you, here’s the full text:
NEW DEAL FAIR DEAL NEW FRONTIER PSALM
The Government is my Shepherd, I need not work.
It allows me to lie down on good jobs;
It leadeth me beside still factories;
It destroyeth my initiative;
It leadeth me in the paths of the parasite for politic’s sake.
Yes, though I walk through the Valley of Laziness and deficit spending,
I will fear no evil for the Government is with me.
Its doles and its vote getting, they comfort me.
It prepareth the economic Utopia for me by appropriating the earnings of my grandchildren.
It filleth my head with baloney, my inefficiency runneth over,
Surely the Government will care for me all the days of my life,
And I shall live in a fool’s Paradise forever.
Like the U.S News and World Report headlines from 1967 that read eerily like they were written today, except for the New Deal reference in the title, this parody on Psalm 23 could have been penned by someone today. In fact, if we hadn’t found it in papers from the late 40s, it would have been easy to believe it was written for today’s climate.
I’m still not sure whether watching history repeat itself is comforting or not. I think it’s an interesting reminder that we’re closer to the “Good Old Days” than we care to think.
if you pardon my phrasing, it’s just more of the ‘same shit, different day’. We had it in the 30’s, 40’s 60’s, the late 70’s-early 80’s, about 10 years ago, and again now. Over and over the same stuff, just different people spouting nonsense about it, trowing money at it or beating it with a stick, all for little to no effect until the winds shift and things change on their own.
It’s just cycles. Cycles of politics, of ebb and growth, of the economy and life.
I really, truly believe that we shall all keep on keeping on, regardless of what dumb thing the government is up to this batch of fools and bobbleheads. Some people will want to be taken care of, some people will be utterly independent and resistant, but most will want some protection and oversight without being strangled by useless rules and regulations.
Heck, even the climate is a cycle. Yeah, the things we do may impact it, a little, but it – like the economy – will do whatever it damn well pleases. We’re all just stuck along for the ride.
The cyclical thing is what keeps me from utter despair.
Awesome find. I just found your blog through the A-to-Z April Challenge directory, and I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ll be posting about this month! Very fascinating array of topics you’ve amassed over the years… You’re quite the interesting person!
-Brandon Desiderio,
Keep Your Head, a blog about socially- and globally-oriented things (themes of social justice, social responsibility, social awareness, social media… global/international news, international relations and policy, etc. – as well as some variegated opinions and words of choice.
Thanks, Brandon!