I’m an American Anacronysm, I’m an Artist, Poet, Musician, etc., and yet still politically Conservative. ( as apposed to the supposed Conservatism of those who use the word as a way to legislate thei particular moral “ism”...if it costs money, expands Government, and needs regular “feeding”, HOW do you call it CONSERVATIVE?!...)Here’s a Poem that holds some of my viewpoints:
TWO-LANE AMERICA
WHEN WE SPEAK OF “HOW FAR WE’VE COME”,
WE TEND TO HIGHLIGHT THINGS YOU CAN ONLY REACH
WITH PASSENGER JETS AND INTERSTATES.
IN DOING SO, WE ARE MISSING THE VERY BEST
OF WHO AND WHAT WE ARE AS AMERICANS.
DOWN THE OLDER, LESS GLAMOROUS
TWO-LANE BLACKTOPS ARE THE ROOTS OF OUR
CHARACTER...THE STUFF OF WHAT MAKES US GREAT.
OH, THE BIGGEST NOISE MAY COME FROM
THE BIG CITIES, WITH CROWDS AND BRIGHT LIGHTS
TO ILLUMINATE BIG TIME CELEBRITIES, BUT YOU’LL
FIND, THAT MOST THE TIME, EVEN OUR BIGGEST STARS
HAD THEIR BEGINNINGS ON A SMALLER STAGE.
HERE ,ARE QUIET CONFIDENT MEN AND WOMEN,
WHO SERVE THEIR GOD, THEIR COUNTRY,
AND THEIR COMMUNITIES, PASSING THEIR LEGACIES WITH
DILIGENT, COURAGEOUS CARE FROM
EVERY GENERATION.
HERE IS WHERE GREAT GENERALS, HEROES, PRESIDENTS,
POETS, PROPHETS, INVENTORS, DANCERS,
PLAYERS, AND ALL THE DREAMERS HAVE THEIR BEGINNING.
THE TOWNS ARE SMALL, BUT FULL OF LARGE LIVES.
BIG CITIES MAY BE AMERICA’S MONUMENTS, BUT HERE’S
WHERE IT’S REBORN EVERY MORNING, WHERE THE AIR,
THE FREEDOM, AND THE FAITH IS ALWAYS FRESH.
SO, AS LONG AS THE TREES STILL BLOOM ON THE COURTHOUSE SQUARE,
AND THE TWO LANE BLACKTOPS ARE IN GOOD REPAIR,
THE HEART OF THE REAL AMERICA WILL BE ALIVE AND WELL.

RIC A OHGE 2003