'Vitamin Deficiency'...

♪ We are Flintstone kids, ten million strong, and grow-ing ♪
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHRKHNZLebY

That decades old advertising jingle for children's vitamins popped into my head yesterday, as is my wont. Random phrases of music flit about in there like quarter-note moths nearly all the time.

This particular jingle came out in '88. ( thank you, You Tube LOL ) Expecting my first baby, anticipating his arrival as my twin nephews were born, I lived in a constant state of baby-wonder.

24 years later, we await an election that has been fodder for vehemence, vitriol, and caused lost family relationships and friendships over ideological disparities. The kids in the target audience for that commercial, aged 3-10,  now have mortgages and babies and kids in elementary school.

Seems to me that we might be suffering from some sort of ideological 'vitamin deficiency'.

One can consume more than enough calories from the vast offerings available every day at the supermarket and eating establishments -- but how many of us hit the target for the vitamins and minerals we need without taking a supplement? A small percentage, perhaps.

The land of plenty hath produced a collective population of 'overfed malnutrition-ed patriots'. We've become consumers of our leaders as much as they have become consumers of their constituents, instead of leaders and supporters.

We vote for the 'brand' we prefer, the packaging, the promised results advertised, instead of sticking to healthier choices. Just as fast food clogs our arteries and raises our blood pressure, staunchly defending a candidate along party lines clogs our thinking and raises our collective ignorance.

Madison Avenue has lulled us into a marketer's dream state, where we are swayed by slick phrases and    glossy images...

... perhaps it's time for a more steady 'diet' where we get the political nutrition we need to keep this nation at full strength, and not simply what seems appealing.