Dan O’Connor: It’s time to ring the bell

Hey, hello there. Thanks for dropping by. How are things? I hope you’re well and happy. I look forward to these little weekly chats of ours. It’s always nice to have a pleasant, friendly discussion with a friend.

I know this is supposed to be an opinion column. But so many view this platform as a base from which to rant and rave about problems, difficulties, disputes and conflicts. God knows we don’t have to look far to find these items. They seem to be backed up for miles, if you pay attention to the media that is.

We could, I suppose, look at it as the “glass half-full” theory. If we were to see the world around us as 50 percent positive and the other 50 percent negative, then we could say it’s good or it’s bad. It would depend, of course on our individual perspectives and our personal opinions.

In reality (mine that is), there seem to be far more plus factors than negative in our environment and throughout our beautiful blue green planet.

The seasons are in balance. The sun shines in most places each day. Mankind has persevered, survived and flourished for many thousands of years. Our technology is rapidly advancing and there has been tremendous improvement in the quality and comfort of our human lifestyles in the past 100 years and more.

When did you last have to hunt game for your supper? Have you recently had to search and scrounge for firewood to stay warm? Have you had to walk for many miles to reach the nearest town? Did you have to fight off hungry wolves?

All this may seem far-fetched now, but it wasn’t the case in our not too distant past. Just as an example, in my own lifetime I’ve seen the world change from horse and carts and bicycles used as transport up to the beginning of space travel in the here and now.

But sometimes the thought occurs to me our lives might be too soft, comfortable and uneventful in this advanced civilization of ours. All the mountains have been climbed, the seas crossed and the jungles explored. Why, we even have them mapped on Google Earth!

Sad to say, all our dragons already have been slain. If we fight dragons these days, then we do so electronically in the cyber world.

So we have sunken into squabbling among ourselves. Red states oppose blue. Donkeys battle elephants. This is whipped and fired up by the media, especially so, as is occurring now, during election time.

So many take this show ever so seriously, almost to the point of civil war!

But does all this division do any good? Does it improve our lives and wellbeing? I would say far from it. It lowers us into the mud that we sling at each other.

Well, I tried to start this issue out on a positive note, but here I’m sinking into the slippery swamp that is so prevalent.

I think we as a supposedly enlightened, affluent, democratic society are much better than this. Maybe, at the start, we looked at all this nonsense as entertainment. But somehow it took on a life of its own and we got pulled into its vicious opposing opinions. We got caught up in the drama and forgot it’s all just a show!

As in a professional wrestling tournament, I would say it’s time to ring the bell.

Ring, ring, ring... The large announcer in his black suit enters the ring. The microphone drops and he addresses the crowd...

“Well, that’s our show folks. Thank you all for coming and supporting your favorite contenders. But the show’s now over. Hope you enjoyed our production. Have a safe journey home. See you all again next time. Again, thank you and good night.”

Dan O’Connor can be reached at danhughoconnor@gmail.com.