Turtle Summit II

The scene of TS II
They met for breakfast
So they ate the flower
(click on photo to enlarge)

They met again, innocently enough
Near the pool
'Neath the shadows of the fruitless mulberry

And the palms of Molly's grotto

"Why the centerpiece?" the littlest turtle asked
"We can't see each other
Around that flower pot."

The elder turtle replied; "That pot is in the middle.
A place we are all looking for
It is right in front of us... 

Yet some of us can't see it

Some of us want less corporate influence over government
Some of us went less government influence over corporations

We adopt these positions as avowed members of the left, and right respectively
We refuse to see that there is balance in the middle

That corporations must have a voice in politics
Otherwise government will regulate them to extinction

That government must have a voice in business
Otherwise corporations will drive the middle class to extinction

In history little turtle, we have seen that corporations left unchecked
Will ultimately ignore their social contract and drain the resources that feed them...
People, air, water, highways, railroads... all the things they need for long term prosperity
It is almost like they are trying to see which will be the last company that remains...
When the last breath of air, the last drop of water, the last road and finally
The last person... is gone."

"We have also seen that governments can deteriorate into ineffective bodies
Governments that focus on winning far beyond the point where they remember what it was they were fighting for
Governments that knee-jerk to wars, that bankrupt their children, that are willing puppets of special interests

It is like they are saying "Tomorrow is not my responsibility, I must not give an inch today.
When faced with reason, I must equivocate.
When faced with truth, I must deny."

The little turtle said; "But elder... is there a way to change our government and corporations
So that they see what must be done
So that they act to give us young ones the same opportunities they had?"

"There is," said the elder turtle.

"But the way is difficult
All of us turtles must become active
We must give voice to these causes... both left and right
We must insist on balancing the social contract

If you think about it little turtle,
You can see the turtles on your left, and your right
Around the flower pot

They are good turtles, just like you
They will listen, you just need to speak

You need to remind them of historical precedent
You need to remind them of the moral compass
That made them, their corporations and their politicians great

This reminder, coming from little turtles and common turtles,
To all big turtles with shells tough as nails
Has happened before
Its time for it to happen again"

Turtle Summit III

They gathered again at Molly's grotto...

"Fellow Turtles", the elder said
"Lately I have been thinking about
Some tenets of democracy, that is,
Checks and balances versus the slippery slope of greed
I believe freedom must have bounds or a society cannot peacefully exist, or prosper
For us, the tricky part is where to draw the boundaries..."

He went on to say; "What does it mean when the common turtle is subjected to mandatory drug testing in order to draw welfare, as it is in Florida... especially when the incidence is so low while the program costs for taxpayers is so high?

If this is justified, and the incidence of crime is higher than the incidence of drug abuse, why would we not next subject the poor (or all of us?) to wearing electronic monitoring devices so we can prevent crime?

Yes, it is a slippery slope my brothers of the shell
It is lined with threats to the dignity of the common turtle
And a curious disregard for simple economics
Letting passion come before reason."

The elder turtle held forth;  "I am by nature an optimist
Many would contend that I am to a fault
So lately I have been feeling the acutely rough edges of societal upheaval
And I can only conclude that the majority of turtles may be feeling worse

What does it mean when I see Goodwill collection outlets everywhere... four within two miles of our home?
What does it mean when I see Congress ignore our elected President?

This man named Barack Hussein Obama
Refer to him as "traitor"
Swiftly react with "no" to his every overture, no matter the merit

What does it mean when the birth rate declines to its lowest since 1935?
When the middle class begins to disappear?
When a college degree often signifies an opportunity to join welfare rolls?
When college loans hit the trillion dollar mark and burden our children for a lifetime
When global warming is confirmed by scientists but denied by politicians?

This seems to be a time when contentious atmosphere is the fare of the day
When emails full of unsubstantiated accusations abound with petitions to "send this to 20 more"
When recipients believe what they want to believe instead of questioning... even when accusations are so extreme they beg for proof.

When the common man ignores Reagan's plea to "trust but verify."

When we spend over $3 trillion to fund futile wars in countries that have waged religious and tribal wars for over seven centuries... and we hand the bill over to our baby turtles
(those who survive the war we send them to that is...)

Where is the sense of responsibility for the future of little turtles... for the future of America?"

The little turtle said; "I do not understand why the elder turtles I look up to cannot fix things.
Why have they done this?  Why aren't they trying to take care of our future?
They are our parents, our aunts, uncles, cousins, relatives, friends and colleagues
They are Americans just like us
Yet they are plundering our economy, our air, our water, our educational system
Leaving us with dark days ahead
How will we survive?  How will America survive like this?"

"Ok, get a grip..." - elder Turtle says to self privately...
Must. Think. Of. Way to end this on positive note...
So that young turtles 
(us elder snappers like to call them "whippersnappers")
Are left with a sense of hope.
Ok, here goes...

"Fret not whippersnappers!
We have faced similar challenges in our history
And prevailed each time
First and foremost
You must fix our political system

We elder snappers are too embedded in habit
To do it our selves
The only thing we elders can give you is our advice
And our advice is,
Do it quickly."

Burma Shave! (Google it... you will get my drift...)

Signed,

Curious to discover the punch line.