Soap Box

*NOTE* Because of the timely nature of this soapbox, we're running it on Friday instead of Monday, and will run a rewind on Monday. - TeamCDB/BW

The election is over, the people have spoken, and although there is probably not a baker’s dozen in America who are completely happy with the outcome, it is my fervent hope that our president will dial back his acerbic rhetoric and the loyal opposition will put away the long knives and personal vendettas and take what’s good for the country into consideration for a change.

To tell you the truth, I am sick and tired of politics, the acidic campaign ads, the back and forth of innuendo, hyperbole and anything that can be used to cast aspersions on the opposing candidate, truth, veracity and honesty, be damned.

I have written, obsessed over, criticized, complemented, gotten upset and devoted way too many hours to watching the polls, the pundits, the commentators, the talking heads and the foul-mouthed fanatics who populated cable TV for the last few months and came away with a nasty, almost guilty feeling, as if I’d smoked three packs of cigarettes, though I gave up the habit in 1968.

Now that the whole thing is over, what I’d really like to do is to go fishing, pull a few largemouth bass out of some honey hole in Florida or limit out on crappie at one of my favorite lakes in Alabama, but since I’m still hard at work, putting the finishing touches on this year’s concert schedule, I’ve decided to cut my exposure to the political scene for the next couple of weeks.

Oh, I’ll find out the final results of the races and watch enough news to know whether the world stays in one piece, but as to swimming in the swamp of constantly being exposed to some nonsensical Pelosi statement or how mean the president’s latest tweet is, I’ll try to devote more time to watching sports and finishing a new book I’ve got started.

I’ve got song ideas I need to work on and a bunch of fun, creative things to do and as I stated on my Twitter account a few days ago, I have voted and I have prayed and that is the limit of the influence I can have on the election.

I have a tendency to be an obsessive person, in that I get so involved in what has my interest at any given time, whether it be writing, finishing an album or whatever other endeavors I take seriously and I find myself on almost an “every waking hour” fascination with the subject.

In the case of politics and elections, with the round the clock exposure, and the media’s obsessive coverage with every tick, the “panels of experts” dissecting, critiquing, criticizing and theorizing, hour after hour, the perceptions changing with every air shift, but always repeating the same stories, the redundancy and diverse points of view can almost drill a hole in your brain and leave you more confused than ever.

Yesterday we had a long trip to New England and took a rest stop for our bus driver in Richmond, Virginia and Hazel and myself spent a good part of the day walking around this big and unique shopping area looking at the newly put up Christmas decorations, the flaming fall colors of the trees and just enjoying each other’s company, something we never get tired of doing although we’ve had 54 years practice at it.

It was a simple day, culminating in a nice meal at a good restaurant last night and a long ride to New Hampshire, where I woke up this morning relaxed, ready to take on the world and have not cussed a politician all morning.

As to the election, it did not end up exactly as I would have liked it, as I said before, the people have spoken, and that’s that. I am not going to blame the losses my favored candidates suffered on Russian tampering or voter fraud. The votes are counted, the die is cast and we’ll all get a chance to do it all over again in two years.

Alcoholics Anonymous has an official prayer that - at least to me - sums it all up.

It goes, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Now, where did I put my tackle box?

What do you think?

Pray for our troops, our police and the peace of Jerusalem.

God Bless America

— Charlie Daniels

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Check out "Mudcat" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'