SEAGRAVES: The Ox is in the Ditch

Published 10:00 am Wednesday, October 30, 2024

A month after the Korean War began Republicans and Democrats were pointing fingers at one another, each blaming the other for an inadequate American defense. Representative Carl Vinson eloquently put the argument to rest with these words: “Our great need right now is to get the ox out of the ditch – not spend a whole lot of time and effort trying to find out who pushed him into the ditch.” Able to clearly see the problem Mr. Vinson put aside any partisan feelings he might have had and spoke to the heart of the problem, not how the ox got in the ditch but how do we get him out?

Nearly 75 years have passed since Vinson spoke those words from the floor of the U.S. House. Have we learned anything? Quite simply, no. Rather than doing what Uncle Carl suggested and working together to get the ox out of the ditch, we are still pointing fingers of blame for the myriad problems that face our republic. Immigration, the economy, abortion, social security, the list goes on and on. Rather than working together for viable solutions our elected officials (the Office of President, and the U.S. Congress) would rather play the blame game. Rather than engage in meaningful dialogue our officials speak words intended to shift blame to those who sit across the aisle.  “It’s not my fault, it’s his.” Is it any wonder that we have become a people who do not accept responsibility for our actions when the very people elected to represent us do the same thing? 

2024 will mark the 16th time that I have participated in the process of electing our President. I can remember one other year that I felt disheartened at the process … I felt that neither candidate deserved my vote and I wondered if this was the best we could do? On Election Day I asked the poll worker if I could write in Jimmy Carter, and she looked at me with murder in her eyes so I didn’t.  I have found myself feeling the same way during this election cycle … is this really the best America has to offer? Is it more about winning an election than doing what is best for the American people? Perhaps that is the question that Vice-President Harris and President Trump should ask themselves before going to sleep at night and upon rising in the morning, “What is best for the American people?” Would not this country and indeed the world be better if our elected leaders worked together to answer that simple question?

Several years ago, just before COVID, I found myself in Washington, D.C. on a bitterly cold night, standing in front of the statue that dominates the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. On the statue are these words “Out of a mountain of despair a stone of hope.” Perhaps we are once again living in a “mountain of despair.” If Dr. King was right, and I believe he was, then somewhere out there is a “stone of hope” that will unite and not divide. A “stone of hope” that will work on getting the ox out of the ditch rather than worrying about how he got there.   

—Scott Seagraves is a retired GMC Prep educator. His column appears occasionally in The Union-Recorder.