The Physical Cliff
Lunch is usually a sandwich standing at the kitchen sink, or a coffee and Payday bar behind the steering wheel. Today, I decided stop for lunch at the counter in a local Denny's.
CNN was on the set next to the register, and the gal at the anchor desk was smirking over something Speaker Boehner had just said in his two-second remarks before the press.
A waitress to my right asked, "What's a physical cliff?"
My personality type lets me talk to anyone about anything. What a great opportunity to spread some conservative fact to a stranger. Today, though, I held my tongue and stuffed my mouth with seasoned fries. I immediately realized that if this woman, citizen, tax payer, and constituent didn't already know and understand the significance of the fiscal disaster facing the nation, it didn't matter.
Any suggestion I could make about the waitress's news consumption habits would be a crude and ridiculous assumption. She could watch the major news broadcasters regularly for all I know. Maybe that's my point.
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Jul '11
Re: The Physical Cliff
Hilarious and sad.
Aug '11
Re: The Physical Cliff
And this my fine friends is what we are up against.
Apr '11
Re: The Physical Cliff
We need to reform the Electrical College.
May '11
Re: The Physical Cliff
America gets the presidents it deserves.
I have seen the enemy and he is us.
Apr '11
Re: The Physical Cliff
I can hear the waitress asking more questions in response to this:
"How will that help the ones who already graduated? Will it bring the price down?"
Face it. We need less James Madison and more Madison Avenue.
Nov '11
Re: The Physical Cliff
Congratulations on your self-possession, Cal...I probably would've caressed her toes with my front wheels as I rolled out - and had her apologizing to *me* for getting in *my* way. Gotta love 'em.
Sep '10
Re: The Physical Cliff
You should have asked her if she was for or against women's suffrage.
Nov '11
Re: The Physical Cliff
This reminds me of an experience trying to help a foreign student in an American government class.
"Wait, you were British?"
She thought the Electoral College was where people learned how to vote.
Dec '12
Re: The Physical Cliff
I bet the waitress's name was Julia... She's in between obtaining her financial aid and small business loan, maybe?
Mar '11
Re: The Physical Cliff
Yes, this is so so important for our side to understand.
We're never gonna win by selling our steak.
Jul '11
Re: The Physical Cliff
Physical cliff
May '10
Re: The Physical Cliff
I would have attempted to simply explain as neutrally as possible what the "fiscal cliff" was and then start in with questions beginning to "so what do you think about that?"
Explaining the Electrical College might be a little more difficult.
Jun '10
Re: The Physical Cliff
The proper maintenance of a republic requires an informed and engaged electorate. When citizens degenerate to this level of ignorance and apathy, the end is truly nigh.
Jul '11
Re: The Physical Cliff
To be fair, the reality is that there was never and will never be a an informed and engaged electorate. You may tell me that every one in early United States knew all about the issues of the time but I will find it hard to believe.
Jun '11
Re: The Physical Cliff
I like Nick's approach... at least she's working.
I'll save my scorn for more deserving targets like disability layabouts and the docs and lawyers who get fat on their bogus claims.
Apr '11
Re: The Physical Cliff
People are busy. Especially waitresses. I see that you cut her some slack, and that was gracious. The news can be boring, especially political and financial news. You have to apply yourself to get past the headlines and, sadly, many people never learned to love reading. The challenge is to reach these people, not scorn them. Breitbart was good at it.
The first time I heard "fiscal cliff" was back in May, on Larry Kudlow's Saturday radio show. I thought he was saying "fiscal clip."
Sep '12
Re: The Physical Cliff
I bet she owns a credit card. Might have started some neurons firing if you explained "It's the place you're standing when you get word that your credit card is maxed out."
Mar '11
Re: The Physical Cliff
She'd have probably answered that after a day on her feet, she was truly suffering.
Dec '12
Re: The Physical Cliff
Makes me think of a "man in the street" (but it was a woman) questioned on some t.v. talk show some time ago. She was asked about the dire straits of the economy and, wasn't she concerned about the national debt??? "Nah," she said, "they can just print more money." Of course, that's already being done.
Jun '10
Re: The Physical Cliff
If you review the proceedings of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, you will see exactly how engaged the citizenry used to be. Despite the lack of information technology people understood in the main what they were voting for. Everyone understood the issues at stake in the election of 1860. Every single person. And again in 1864. Nobody was voting for bromides like "hope and change."