Bridge Bust

Two Saturdays ago, I went to the annual Bridge Bust where the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge is closed to vehicular traffic and opened for human traffic. The bridge is over a mile long so it is a rare opportunity to walk the bridge without cars and trucks whizzing by. There is a narrow walk on one of the sides but I rarely walk it because of all of the exhaust.

There were vendors lined along the span. It was to be a craft fair of sorts. Instead, it was a crap fair. Junk food, used CDs, knick-knacks, and the like. I did see a "Trump for President" tee-shirt for sale and I was going to take a pic of it and post a comment of "Soon to be worn by a poor kid in the developing world." Just like the gear that gets shipped out when the other team wins the Super Bowl or World Series. The folks strolling the bridge looked on the rough side, not upwardly mobile types. 

After the walking of the bridge, I stopped by a Columbia Deli and was introduced to a local type of sandwich called "The Shifter."  It is a sandwich on white bread stacked high with sliced meat and cheese, plus large dollops of mayo and lettuce/tomatoe. When I asked what a Shifter was, the old lady behind the counter said that "You are not from around here, are ya?" Well, to use a biblical phrase I live in Columbia but am not of Columbia.  

I decided not to post my Trump slam. Too snarky. And I can't be too sure that Clinton Inc. is not going to implode. Both Trump and Clinton can't stop the hemorrhaging of their campaign and candidacy. Both major parties nominated very toxic candidates and it wasn't like it should have been a surprise. I see both candidates as the culmination of corruption, like the sea that vomits and washes up the garbage that people have thrown in it. 

I know that the Supreme Court hangs in the balance and there are smart and ethical people who support Trump as the lesser of two evils. There is another audience of the Trump crowd that is really profane and puerile. I was accused by one Trumper of not being able to read and not having a brain. I would like to think that such lowbrow retorts are not typical but when your head honcho resorts to insult, inflammatory language, and incendiary rhetoric, I don't know what else we should expect. I did mention back to the dude that I majored in Political Science for my college degree, have a Ph.D., and have written a book, so his charge of me being illiterate was most definitely false.

Like most low-browers, he then threw it in my face that I mentioned that I was highly-educated, as a way of asserting that I might just be more informed than he gave me credit for. I watch CSPAN 2 for fun. I am definitely a policy wonk and as conservative as it comes. I am naturally skeptical of politicians and their promises, and believe in what Thomas Sowell calls the constrained view of human nature. When politicians makes promises of what they will do and what great things will happen, we should already discount such words as fools' talk. No one can  predict the future. James says we should not speculate about tomorrow and assume that it will go according to our design.

That is why principles are important not political promises. Principles over time can produce results (probably). One of Clinton's pirated emails spoke of her having both a public and private position on issues and I think that is precisely part of the the problem with the political class. Both should be the same and let the cards fall as they may. Trump has flip-flopped on a lot of issues to garner support, so he is hardly a straight-talker. His "Making America Great Again" is not supported by his buying of cheaper Chinese steel, using undocumented workers, him employing bankruptcy laws to stiff vendors, running a sham university, etc. He is an opportunist, a con man, a blowhard. So it is like a heroin dealer underwriting the local school's DARE program.

I have to compare that the hope and dreams we place on the presidency and other political offices is very much like what ancient Israel did when they clamored for a king. So, God gave them Saul with a warning that it wouldn't turn out so well for them.  Most of the kings that Israel and Judah had were bad. There is a lesson there. But hardly anyone knows the Bible anymore and thus miss the hard but true lessons it teaches.   

Both Liberals and Conservative see government as the agent for change and I have to say that this idol ain't holding up so good under the heat. The Bridge is Busting under the weight of all those misplaced hopes. Part of us recovering our sanity is to understand that government is not the answer. Jesus is. He is the bridge between God and Humanity who bore the weight of our sin. It is on Him that we should place our hope and dreams. 

Eric Bierker Ph.D is the author of "On The Edge: Transitioning Imaginatively to College." A book for the college-bound.