Clear-eyed in the midst of the minefield.

It has been my experience, walking about the big blue marble for a more than a couple of decades, that the cosmic baker took us out of the oven just a bit toooo early. Sometimes, that's a blessing; and sometimes, it's so obvious a curse that it's like a big parade, with curse marching bands, a couple of those big curse balloons, and lovely curse floats.

I call it "The Knee-Jerk Reaction Syndrome."

I'm not saying that it's crazy, or inappropriate, but it does demand some kind of attention. Because The Knee Jerk Reaction Syndrome flies in the face of logic and common sense, and as a society we should always to be logical and common sensical.

It usually begins with some kind of accident, some kind of tragedy, that incites the people to actually pay attention to their surroundings: Let's look at an absurd example:

A woman buys a cup of coffee at a well-known drive through, inexplicably puts it into her lap, and drives away. The coffee, which is of course HOT, spills onto her in a very uncomfortable place, and she sues. The general population hears of this, and begins a HUGE and expensive investigation that leads to restaurants having to put a label on their cups that say, WARNING: CONTENTS MAY BE HOT.

This "Knee Jerk Reaction Syndrome" has been well used this first decade of the millennium; our knee jerk reactions have toppled two foreign governments, killed many of our countrymen, and torn our constitution to very rags.

But here's my point: In the coming months, the people of this country have many difficult decisions to make, and from what I've been hearing and seeing many of my countrymen have a bad case of "The Knee Jerk Reaction Syndrome." And they are calling it "Change."

I am of the belief that we do need change in direction. But I'm not willing to believe that ANY change is a good one. We need to look deeply, see past what the televisions are telling us, forget the flashy ads and the celebrity endorsements, and look at the RECORDS.

It's important, I think VITALLY important to make an educated choice this fall. And I, for one, am tired of living in this paranoid paradise, this kingdom of bullies, this divided land.

It's time to sheathe the sword; it's time to dust off the book; it's time to find a unified voice; it's time to lead by example.

And that's just about as optimistic as you'll see me.