'Deja Vu' All Over Again Reflects National Mood

Cycle Comes Full-Circle With “Negative Factors” - This Time Sure to Force Positive Changes.

Harry Reid art courtesy: Sodahead.com

(SEASIDE, Ore.) - Academics and pundits in full panoply across every communications channel seek today’s pander-perfect “progress report” to spike down the unspeakable failures of this nation in this current segment of those many circumstances which have led, surely and very substantially, to our current world leadership, maintained in most meaningful areas even while we fight the wild seas never so ferocious before.

Under full sail, we were seeing remarkable progress to maintain that lead-status, even in the face of equally remarkable --and sickeningly sudden-- reversal of positive results in many kinds and levels of business, social, economic and particularly political programs, participation, process-and-protocol --if not parties themselves-- with every step and stance furiously facilitated by growing rapid applications of communications and understandings never possible before the worldwide advent of still-arriving modern technologies.

Even as these and other decades-long developments in worldwide democracy point-the-way for us to then flash still further ahead, we fail to realize that --remarkably so-- this is simply “deja vu all over again”. Anyone well acquainted with our American history will see many and essential parallels in paramount parts of our whole “American Story” from the Continental Congress on through the Gilded Age and the Civil War --and with increasing rapidity-of-incident ever since.

We’ve had our run of everything from true revolution to paltry substitutes for the true gold of tested and proven patterns, protocol and programs --and we are still continuing to learn, That is quite probably the heart of our American exceptionalism so wonderfully explained throughout those two and nearly-half centuries of achievements on the record for all to see --and many to follow.

Naturally it is the latter circumstance and situations resulting that snatch so much essential attention that we perhaps fail to perceive that these suddenly-subversive and notably threatening “circumstances and situations” are --irrevocably and historically-- twig, branch, and limb torn by circumstance (and “progress !) from that whole tree of national and international development for which our national story is truly the (very) hardwood of structure and content.

Perhaps the most potent possible documentation of that widespread concept held by many leading historians is that of the cycles they themselves have described --to whiich we can add the simple question: “Do you really think the Founders, as a group and among themselves, would find surprising our national reactions to ongoing turmoil, tumult, torn-out allegiances, total economic desolation --and our ongoing recovery from all such challenging situations?”

Most would respond that the basic values of that true “American exceptionalism” for which their mutual open, honest, democratic dialog led to decisions changing the world --and obviously lasting more than two full centuries-- still exist, still hold true for millions in this nation and as dream materials for millions around the world, and should reassure us as to the demonstrated depth, strength and durability of our system.

SO it is that at Thanksgiving in our 235th year since’76 we should perhaps solace ourselves with the solid achievements still under way and still progressing as foundation and buttress for more-to-come as we prepare ourselves and our progeny to make that great and “exceedingly different” effort for still further cooperative counsel and close coordination that history shows through many centuries is the only true basis for what we profess to believe --and live: A democratic system growing and changing for modern times and troubles.

At 21, Henry Clay Ruark was Aroostook Editor for the Bangor, Maine DAILY NEWS, covering the upper 1/4 of the state. In the ‘40s, he was Staff Correspondent, then New England Wires Editor at United Press-Boston; later Editor for the Burlington, Vermont 3-daily group owned by Wm. Loeb, later notorious at Manchester, New Hampshire UNION LEADER for attacks on Democratic Presidential candidates.

Hank returned to Oregon to complete M. Ed. degree at OSU, went on to Indiana University for Ed.D. (abd) and special other course-work; was selected as first Information Director for NAVA in Washington, D.C.; helped write sections of NDEA, first Act to supply math, science, foreign language consultants to state depts. of education; joined Oregon Dept. of Education, where he served as NDEA administrator/Learning Media Consultant for ten years.

He joined Dr. Amo DeBernardis at PCC, helping establish, extend programs, facilities, Oregon/national public relations; moved to Chicago as Editor/Publisher of oldest educational-AV journal, reformed as AV GUIDE Magazine; then established and operated Learning Media Associates as general communications consultant group. Due to wife’s illness, he returned to Oregon in 1981, semi-retired, and has continued writing intermittently ever since, joining S-N in 2004. His Op Eds now total over 650 written since then.

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