Through the Smoke Rings of My Mind

Yeah, I suppose tobacco really isn't that bad for you if you don't inhale. Sure, not inhaling might increase your risk of mouth cancer, but why do you think the good Lord gave so many of us such big mouths? Some of us could stand a little reduction in the size of our mouths. Especially those members of that dreadful liberal press who need to spend more of their time doing their jobs rather than promoting all that hogwash propaganda and brainwashing us.

We've come a long way baby. Where we used to argue about issues like independence, slavery and civil rights, we now are back to arguing about whether or not cigarettes are harmful to our health. There are those of us brainwashed types who thought this debate was decided a long time ago. It has been my impression that most Americans know smoking is bad for them yet are willing to accept the consequences to their own health for another cigarette. My friend likes to come over to visit and during our conversations she'll often pull out a cigarette and blow smoke rings. It is terribly entertaining watching her smoke rings float around the room. She has often tried to teach me how to blow smoke rings. Make no mistake however, she knows she shouldn't smoke, I know she shouldn't smoke but with both of us being believers in an eternal life, it isn't like we are under the impression we are going to be here forever.

To recap one of the events from this past week: Presidential candidate Bob Dole was interviewed by NBC's perky Katie Couric. She pressed him on his statements that tobacco isn't any worse than most things for people's health. Driving, drinking milk, everyday events can be equally as harmful, Dole was quoted as saying. Instead of coming clean and admitting his statement was absurd, Dole went on the offensive and attacked Couric and the liberal press for never giving him a fair shake. He went on to say that former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop had been brainwashed by the liberal media.

What's significant about this debate is that it is typical of how our current political dialogue works. Rather than be honest and straightforward, the actual issue gets buried under a cloud of double speak. The real issue isn't whether or not tobacco is harmful to one's health. The issue is whether Dole has a profitable relationship with the rather large tobacco industry. Instead of coming out and saying, "Yes, I do. They have supported me throughout the years in return for my votes in the Senate," he has to try to deny the relationship by blaming the media, perky little Katie Couric, and that funny looking guy with the beard. You don't have to look very far to see others who use the same tactic. President Clinton has basically used the same strategy while defending his actions in every scandal he's been involved in, from Whitewater to the current FBI file/privacy snafu.

There is something terribly American about using the denial strategy. Our culture teaches us to get away with as much as we can as opposed to doing as much as we can. It's like being dragged down to the principal's office and sheepishly denying any and all wrongdoing until the facts become so overwhelming that some guilt is admitted, and punishment is accepted. To accept responsibility for our actions is never as easy as trying to cloud the consequences with the smoke rings of blaming somebody else.

So if you are anything like me you are showing the first signs of Campaign '96 fever. The latest political dialogue shows we are in for a long and entertaining Presidential campaign. I've already set my VCR to record all the scintillating action of the Democrat and Republican conventions later this summer. The next President will be the one that leads us into the 21st Century which really isn't that big a deal. It's just another number created by those smoking Commie media types.