Thoughts from Dr. Joe: On the way toward Washington
For me, it’s always been the journey and not the destination. That’s the only rationale that explains my buddy Dan Moore’s harebrained idea to drive across the country in the dead of winter to attend the 58th Presidential Inauguration. The event’s theme, “Uniquely American,” recognizes the symbolic importance of a uniquely American expression of our constitutional system, which is the peaceful transition between presidential administrations to signal that we’re united as people behind an enduring republic. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan, in his inauguration address implied that this transition of power is both commonplace and miraculous. Reagan said, “Few of us stop to think how unique we really are.”
In today’s political climate we are polarized by the plague of identity politics; subsequently, finding common ground between opposing political ideologies has become increasingly difficult. The framers of the Constitution understood the proclivities of humanity; thus the Preamble to the document that proclaims, “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union ...” The framers understood the government they created was imperfect. They were attempting to create a more perfect union and not a perfect union. Thus they crafted a series of compromises. “I never expect to see a perfect work from imperfect man,” Alexander Hamilton explained.
In light of the founders’ perspective and regardless if you are blue or red, the inauguration of the 45th president of the United States is much larger than our respective political orientations. That’s citizenship.
We left La Cañada late one afternoon and made our run eastward. Throughout the night, George Strait’s song “Amarillo by Morning,” gave us our goal. We covered 1,076 miles and pulled into Amarillo by mid-morning. On Route 66 we found the Big Texan Restaurant, which serves a 72-ounce steak, which they say is the biggest in Texas. Our server Susana Flores treated us as though we were family. Susana explained that if you can eat the 72-ounce steak in an hour or less, it’s free.
A performer named Dave Waddle picked a guitar for the delight of the restaurant’s patrons. Of course, he would sing “Amarillo by Morning.” Waddle left us with a song that he wrote about the ghost of Pancho Villa who rides the evening wind. Come to think of it; it’s possible I saw ol’ Pancho galloping through a blinding snow in western New Mexico the previous night.
Throughout our history, the presidential inaugurations paved the way of the American destiny. Washington spoke of civic virtue, Jefferson of Manifest Destiny, Monroe envisioned a country united by rails, roads and canals. Lincoln spoke of preserving the Union. Franklin D. Roosevelt asked us to have hope during depressing times. H.W. Bush asked us to remember, “We are part of a continuum inescapably connected by the ties that bind.” Today Bush’s words are poignant because if we examine our history, we have more commonalities than dissimilarities.
I’m sitting in the back of a Sienna and trying to finish this column. We’re barreling east on Highway 40. We need to make Oklahoma City by mid-afternoon, and with a little luck, we’ll outrun the predicted snow storm. From Oklahoma City, we’ll take Route 66 to Tulsa. I’m hoping that somewhere on that haunted and rusty byway, we’ll find the Internet.
I’ve driven across the country many times and the lure and adventure of such a trip always enthralls. The trip is unique. From California to D.C. and then from D.C. back to California three old codgers, Pete Joyce, Dan Moore and I refuse to accept that we’re beyond our prime. We listen to Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.” The metaphor of such a moment is poignant. We sail past the farms and towns of America and Guthrie is right — this land is made for you and me.
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JOE PUGLIA is a practicing counselor, a retired professor of education and a former officer in the Marines. Reach him at doctorjoe@ymail.com. Visit his website at doctorjoe.us.
