Don't yield to the naysayers

One of the protest songs from 1965 would have one believe the world is going to end.

"Yeah, my blood’s so mad feels like coagulatin’
I’m sitting here just contemplatin’
I can’t twist the truth, it knows no regulation.
Handful of senators don’t pass legislation
And marches alone can’t bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin’
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin’

And you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve
Of destruction.

Think of all the hate there is in Red China
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama
You may leave here for 4 days in space
But when you return, it’s the same old place
The poundin’ of the drums, the pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead, but don’t leave a trace
Hate your next-door neighbor, but don’t forget to say grace
And… tell me over and over and over and over again, my friend
You don’t believe
We’re on the eve
Of destruction"

Some of the lyrics ring eerily similar to today:

• Handful of senators don’t pass legislation
• When human respect is disintegratin’
• Hate your next-door neighbor, but don’t forget to say grace

But the world didn't end in 1965 and it won't end in 2013.

We shouldn't, we mustn't allow the extremists at both end of the spectrum scream so loud as to drown out that people can find the right way forward.  500 plus nationally elected office holders are NOT the definers of the American way of life.  They are not the ones who define our happiness.  

Surely, they can impact our lives, in good and bad ways.  But don't listen to their siren songs telling you the world will end if you support their political opponents.  Frankly, they aren't much more than pimples on the butt of progress.  

We will persevere in spite of them, not because of them.  Common sense will prevail, if allowed to.

No matter what they say, we are not on the eve of destruction.