Commentary: The Highway 58 Herald wishes everyone a safe and happy Independence Day!

By GEORGE CUSTER/Editor/The Herald  —  It’s uncertain times such as these that will test the solidity of our constitution and of those who believe in it. I’ve only been on this earth for around 70+ years. Most of that time I spent oblivious to the daily churning of the governmental machine that pulls the levers and shovels the stuff that we know to be the end results of so much shouting, back-room decisions and debate. This is the stuff that we, as the average Joe, don’t want to do – don’t have the time nor the inclination to do. All we can hope is that the machine is working toward moving our country and its people forward using, as its guide, that instruction book we call the Constitution of the United States.

I was pretty happy when all I had to do was worry about putting food on my plate and a roof over my head. Along comes the internet and 200 channels of television, and now I’m bombarded with all this stuff that I didn’t know I needed to be worrying about. I’m flummoxed over my need to stress out about events that are happening around the state, nation, and the world that I have no control of. It’s constantly in my face, and I’m supposed to be either mad, concerned, shocked, relieved, happy or sad depending on the bent of the presenter. Not fair.

If you’ve ever tried to assemble something with a lot of parts with instructions that were written in a country that might not totally understand how we speak, you know that frustration. However, the instructions were written with the best of intent, though we may not believe that when faced with numerous parts and pieces that never found their way into the assembled item.

Guys are notoriously bad at following instructions. “We don’t need no stinkin’ instructions!” Well, no less than a few of us have been halfway through an assembly when that roadblock smacks us square in the face. “Maybe I should have read the instructions” we mumble under our breath, hoping our wives are not close by to give us “that look”.

To read the Constitution and its amendments (the fine print) in their entirety is a little more daunting than blurting out a five-or six-word excerpt or putting it on a placard and marching around. There’s a lot to it. THEN, once read, like those directions written in a foreign country, you have to actually decipher what those documents are trying to convey. Not that easy. Afterall, it was written around 237 years ago.

I trust that things will always work out. If any of you know me at all, though, you know what an eternal optimist I am.  Still, I love this country as much as the next guy. We’ll work things out; we always have.

There’s a lot going on. A lot to have to digest. Today, though, keep it simple and relax. Fire up the BBQ, keep the potato salad cold, have an iced tea or a beer. Love your brothers and sisters. Remember those who have passed through your life. Maybe even go so far as to bury a hatchet that needs burying.

I do wish you all a happy Independence Day.