“YOUR OWN WORST ENEMY”
by OPOVV, ©2017
(Jun. 26, 2017) — “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to another special edition of ‘Pulse of the Nation.’ Hello, I’m Roving Reporter and will be your host for tonight’s show. As you can see, we’re back in the university’s auditorium about to learn what Chief New Leaf* has to say about some American Indian Pow-Wow or something, whatever they call those meetings that they have in undisclosed locations where only the big-wigs of our nation’s tribes are allowed. And there’s the Chief himslf, walking on to the stage: let’s listen in.”
“Good evening, Chancellor and fellow attendees. I see that our invitation has been honored by the ever-popular television show, ‘Pulse of the Nation,’ which is fitting since I’m here to give you, the American people, the synopsis of the last council of the Nations of the American Indian.
“Not all tribes were in attendance, I’m sorry to say, due to the promptness of the meeting, its location, and the restrictions that were placed upon the requirements of those who were allowed to attend and, therefore, to take part in the proceedings by speaking their minds and to cast a ballot at the — as Roving said – Pow-Wow.
“The restrictions placed upon the attendees were, in keeping with Bruce Lee‘s philosophy of life, as he would say, ‘to be honest with yourself’: in other words, no restrictions other than being an American Indian. At this point in my speech I will inject some humor and say that Elizabeth Warren did not receive an invitation. And here in my notes I see, in parentheses, ‘pause for laughter,’ which in itself is funny.
“Now that we’ve had our laugh and are relaxed and, therefore, receptive to my speech, I shall get right down to the nitty-gritty and say that the America that the American Indian Nations have Treaties which are disappearing as fast as the buffalo herds did. No more do we hear the thunderous roar of thousands of buffalo migrate from New York to Georgia that we remember as the Great Eastern Herd; or from the Great Midwest Herd that moved from Wisconsin to Mississippi; or from the Dakotas down to the Southwest that our songs remember as the Great Western Herd where the passing would take days and raise a dust cloud so stupendous that it could be seen from Missouri.
“The America of just a few generations ago is indeed gone, for you no longer honor your treaties, as if you ever did in the first place. Where once you told us that our land was ours forever, it lasted only until yellow dust was found on it, or black gold under it.
“That you have lied to us is a given; that you are lying to yourselves is a fact. You blame others for your failings, never realizing that it is you who have failed your children. And what of your children? You hold them in contempt as nothing more than some sort of deduction or an increase in a payment from the government.
“You have a person by the name of Bernie Sanders who is selling a dream based on nothing but thin air. Bernie’s Socialism does not accept your Christ, does not accept the Golden Rule,; and does not protest over women being treated as nothing but slaves that have no value. One of Bernie’s houses is prime lakefront property so we, therefore, conclude that Bernie is a hypocrite in the same league as Ted Kennedy.
“The plain fact is that Socialism has never worked; will never work; and I’d be doubly wary of anyone pushing it, as the Democratic National Committee is so bent on doing; as Hillary wanted and as Obama started. Obamacare was about government control: nothing more. The medical aspect of Obamacare was nothing more than a red herring. But we know all of that so let me get to why we’re here.
“I’m here to report the Council’s finding. Every tribe lives within a county and in every county there is at least one road that lies in the path of migrating insects, amphibians, reptiles and/or mammals. It wouldn’t take much of an effort to close these roads for a time to allow for caterpillars, frogs and turtles and roadrunners and armadillos to accomplish what they’ve been doing for tens of thousands of years: migrate.
“But you won’t close any roads or lower the speed limit, even for a day, because you don’t care, and the end result of your not paying attention is what you have reaped. Look around you; look at the world. You don’t punish the evildoers and now you’re paying the price, but that’s not the sad part. The sad part is that, somehow, the Pattons are weeded out from your military schools on purpose. You’re afraid to “offend” as long it’s not your wife or daughter getting tortured, maybe even not then.
“You allow liars and cheats to represent you in Congress; why, even Obama was a cheat and a liar and you let him act as your president leading you down the road of destruction. Look at the mess the world is in today: North Korea and the Middle East, not to mention that the whole continent of Africa is about to blow up in everyone’s faces.
“And still you clear-cut and lay down roads because of ‘congestion’ with nary a thought of urban planning while ignoring the railroads and hiding the old folks’ home far away from the grade schools. You have no respect for old age and it shows: America is the land of discards: build it today and tear it down tomorrow.
“This is what we ask you: you didn’t care for ‘collateral damage’ at Wounded Knee when you massacred defenseless women and children, so why are you so concerned about collateral damage now? Have you gone so far over the edge that you’ve left your country ripe for the picking?
“Listen: you have working in your government people who supported Hillary and the others and who are steadfastly working against Trump. Why don’t you fire them? You have people who were hired when Obama was in office: why don’t you fire them? You wouldn’t even fire yourself even if you knew that it was you who was the weakest link in the chain of what is right.
“The Treaties that we signed with you peoples are only as good as long as you kept good faith. We are not the enemy, but it seems as if you’re your own worst enemy, believe it or not. Believe it. Start to actually deal with the problems rather than try talking them to death. I’ve heard the line, ‘First we’ll try diplomacy.’ Wrong approach: don’t you understand that’s it’s too late for chatter?
“There was a rose bush that became a tree. Indian squaws deemed it the Mother of Fertility, for it was many years old. When I first saw it as a little boy it was 30 feet tall and then, when they cut it down — because they didn’t want the road to have a kink — 60 years later, it was just a few inches taller. Some say it took the rose tree 500 years to grow a foot, but who am I to know, for it was cut down and burned.
“There was a park in Lantana, Florida that had old oak trees, and when they cut and burned them they were approaching 100 years old. Those old oak trees were replaced by palm trees because that’s what the tourists expected to see, was the sorry excuse.
“In Boca Raton there was a Banyan tree that was over a 100 years old, but it, too, was cut and burned so the road could be made straight.
“These things we Indians notice but you don’t: you neither notice nor care, and that’s the reason for your self-inflicted wounds: you don’t even care enough to notice. You’re bleeding and apply dressings yet you’re continuing to suffer knife wounds: try stopping the knife wounds, okay? Terrorist runs into a mosque? Bunker-bust it. Get the job done. Make it like World War II again because we’re right smack-dab in the middle of World War III.
“You’ve been a very good audience and I thank you. And now if I may? Burgers for all: Roving’s treat.”
[*Chief New Leaf is part Cherokee Indian, for real.]