Lunacy

The moon is about 238,855 miles away. That's pretty far. That you can make out some of it's surface features with the naked eye is pretty neat. But enough about that.

We have some excitement in our hemisphere now, and it's not just the deaths of a few notable celebrities. There was a military coup in Honduras. Given the right circumstances, Hugo Chavez said that it could lead Honduras to war with Venezuela. I'm not totally up to speed on it all. As I understand it, Zelaya is a leftist who was democratically elected but was pushing to change the rules so he could bypass an imposed term limit. Then there was the coup. Keep an eye on it. Honduras is not that far away from us and lord knows central and south America have made for some ugliness in the past. Let's all be aware, even if only slightly.

We can not like Bush, we can not like Obama, we can not like the fat cats in Washington, we can not like a lot of things, but we should like that we have had a stable democracy through some trying times. It's a balance of power and rules that we should appreciate. The United States is the exception, not the rule. Our rules make us exceptional, and the fact that we generally abide them makes it all the more remarkable. I guess it's pretty timely with the 4th coming up. But the Fourth was about our right to govern ourselves independently. Drafting and ratifying a constitution that has worked for over two hundred years is more impressive. It's one thing to declare independence, quite another to maintain that independence. Each day we don't spiral into anarchy we should have a small celebration for the constitution. By 1788 it had been ratified by enough states to take effect. But for being our lasting, governing document, it was not a home run. Consider the following states and the margins by which it passed: Massachusetts 187 to 168, New Hampshire 57 to 47, Virginia 89 to 79, New York 30 to 27, and Rhode Island 34 to 32. Pretty interesting. Some of those were powerful states with powerful economies and powerful influence. Happily, it works. Our country has done some regrettable things, but more than it's fair share of remarkable things, and I, for the most part, am just along for the ride.

Tonight I celebrate by sitting on the back stairs that have been heated by the sun all day. I stare at the graphic display of stratus clouds lit up by the setting sun and watch my dogs roam relatively free. After that, I'll look up at the moon, because it's there.