State of Affairs

A new adjective passed my ears, a word that I couldn’t believe: Modeyfied.

Let me address the glaring. I am not a resident of the City of Grants, I am a resident of Cibola County. I cannot and do not vote in city elections. I consider myself a moderate and did not vote for either major party candidate in the 2020 Presidential Election.

I care little for party politics, I find it slimy and damaging to the republic. I do, however, care a great deal for practical, ethical, and productive policy.

“Modeyfied” crossed my ear during a discussion – yes, a discussion, not an argument, because we can still speak about government and politics civilly – about the city’s finances. I clarified that Grants Mayor Martin “Modey” (this nickname lends its name to the adjective) Hicks had been alerting the city council to financial danger the city was in. While his execution in this effort could have been more eloquent, that’s just not the kind of person you get in Mayor Hicks.

As I was explaining this, I was told: “Oh you’ve been Modeyfied.”

I was flabbergasted. I commit myself to no doctrine, I simply expect my elected officials to be accountable; in this instance, Mayor Hicks was doing his job as a guardian of the city, its charter, and finances – this is a fact.

Yes, the mayor has had many unbecoming moments in the last two years, but when we’re singularly focused on one issue, it’s inappropriate to change the scope of the conversation to make the mayor look bad.

Establishing lines and divisions between people like “Republican” or “Democrat,” or political identifiers like “Modeyfied” are dangerous and can lead to discrimination. This is a political practice called Sectarianism, the act of excessive attachment to one ideology. Anyone can fall into this practice, whether they’re Democrat or Republican, or even some third party.

Sectarianism becomes an issue because people stop viewing each other as countrymen – this, in a time where patriotism and national unity is suffering – and they eventually start viewing citizens with different viewpoints as their enemy.

We are Americans, and we must reckon with a changing world – changed because America was too lax in its worldwide responsibilities and allowed China to catch up to it, changed because of a care-free generation entering a workforce dominated by tradition and heavyhanded policies, changed because of a modern plague that continues to ravage the world and rise fears of another shutdown.

The world has an abundance of misery and a drought of hope at the moment. We all need to take a step back, breathe, and return to our place as proud Americans, ready to stand shoulder-by-shoulder in defense of this land we take advantage of.

To the naysayers, there is no place in the world with access to freedom and liberties like the United States, it’s our only home and we can’t throw it away over petty political disagreements.

If we allow ourselves to waver, we risk losing all our freedoms and liberties. Afghanistan capitulated and surrendered their freedom and liberties without trying to fight for them, the US is at risk of losing everything in much the same manner if we don’t buckle down and start electing people who will be fair and just at governing our country, not people who are only running for office to advance their party’s interest over the welfare of their constituents.

Before closing, I want to highlight an important date that is coming up, from September 17 – 23, America celebrates Constitution Week, the birth of our great Federal Democratic Republic. This is the USA’s birthday, and I think it would be awesome if every American would read the constitution throughout the day, see where our laws and rules come from and how our freedom and liberties are secured in the nation’s constitution.

With that, take off your partisan goggles and do your country a favor by getting vaccinated. There is only one way out of this plague that is ruining the world – with vaccines. It’s our American responsibility, roll up your sleeve and get the jab, Cibola!