By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
A new speaker of the House who doesn’t believe Joe Biden won in 2020…thousands of auto workers and three major auto manufacturers losing hundreds of millions of dollars during strikes…American military aid to two friendly nations jeopardized by gridlock in Congress…A federal budget crisis looming less than two weeks away…another community wracked by gun violence with 18 dead and 13 wounded…And the list goes on and on…
But what worries me the most is that more and more Americans are telling reputable pollsters that they are also losing faith in other bedrock institutions such as organized religion, law enforcement, the Supreme Court, public schools, the national news media, and the banking system.
First, let’s examine the meaning of that opening phrase – going to hell in a handbasket. The most accepted definition is that it means that a situation is deteriorating rapidly and is headed for disaster.
Historically, the phrase has been traced to using handbaskets to catch the heads of those who were guillotined in European countries for various offenses against society.
Politicians like the 535 in Congress heavily utilize public opinion polling. Hence, they indeed are anxious about the early October national survey that claimed 53 percent of Americans have little, if any, confidence in congressional leaders. If you think that’s unimportant, please remember that the Speaker of the House is second in line to succeed the President.
Elsewhere, public confidence in the executive branch of the federal government, especially the IRS, is dropping like a rock. And only a third of adults say they have confidence in the Supreme Court. That figure likely will go lower when we get the details on who bought Justice Thomas his fancy RV.
So, you ask, what can we do to change the trajectory of our nation and avoid landing in that awful handbasket? We can start by going to the polls next week and in every future election on the national, state, and local levels to vote for candidates of vision, not division. Hate is not part of the American dream.
Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com.
