By MARSHA MERCER
On a Saturday afternoon in May, a fisherman in Nags
Head, N.C., reeled in a 34 ½ inch, 19 pound cobia. Travis Kemp attributed his
catch to “good karma” because he had helped free an entangled brown pelican
minutes earlier.
The Outer Banks Sentinel ran a photo of Kemp holding
the big fish with the headline, “Cobia karma.” That’s news people like to read.
I saw the newspaper while on vacation and had an
idea. If a simple good deed can bring such quick and positive results, let’s
convene Congress on a fishing pier on the Outer Banks. The president can
provide rods, lures and bait. Surely our elected leaders would accomplish more
fishing there than they do posturing in Washington.
Getting
away can bring a new perspective. While they’re visiting North Carolina’s beautiful
beaches, members of Congress and the president could slow down and watch brown
pelicans cruise the shoreline for fish. These impressive birds with 4-foot wing
spans and long bills fly single file or in V-formation close to the ocean, occasionally
diving straight into the water for their supper. They know what to do and they do
it. (Hint, hint.)
The
denizens of Washington could even learn from the lowly sand crab, called ghost
crabs because of their translucent shells. These finger-sized creatures scurry about
their work. They have rotating eyes with 360-degree vision – an enviable trait
– and zip around at 10 mph. They dig tunnels 4 feet into the sand. The sensible
sand crab stays in its burrow when it’s hot outside and emerges when it’s cool
to dine on dead fish, plant matter and whatever else is handy.
To
take the time to watch the brown pelican and the ghost crab is to see nature in
harmony. The pelican is graceful and ruthlessly efficient; sand crabs are jerky
and industrious. Dogs may bark at the pelicans and people of all ages chase
sand crabs, but it’s good karma to let the beasties stay on task. They perform
the admirable task of keeping the beach clean.
No
one, it seems, is keeping Washington clean. The nation’s capital wears bad
karma like cheap perfume. We face many problems,
but our elected leaders seem content to jockey for political gain.
Americans,
understandably, are fed up with business as usual in Washington. The reputation
of the IRS is in tatters after it targeted conservative groups seeking tax
exempt status, but nothing has been done – except talk. Allowing Steven Miller,
the acting head of the IRS, to retire early and paying Lois Lerner, the head of
the division that handles tax exempt requests, to stay home are soft penalties,
if they’re penalties at all.
Lerner
was put on paid administrative leave after she pled the Fifth Amendment and
refused to testify before a House committee. She has a right to avoid self-incrimination.
She also has refused to resign. It’s unclear whether she can even be fired
under Civil Service employee rules.
Taxpayers who are paying her salary and politicians
in both parties are outraged, but no one can act. It’s maddening.
Fortunately, it’s nearly summer, and Washington’s
summer “scandals” are predictable. Next may be the Obamas’ vacation plans.
First lady Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia are eyeing an extended
vacation at Martha’s Vineyard, the Boston Globe reported. They also plan to
accompany the president on a trip to Ireland for a summit June 17 and 18. The
Obamas are unwilling to give up their frequent vacations, despite criticism
from the right.
For the record, about 40 percent of American workers
don’t get any paid vacation time, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Other surveys indicate that among those who do get paid vacation time, more
than half fail to take all the days they’re entitled to.
Americans need a diversion from the troubles in the
capital, and perhaps politicians could also benefit from a diversion. The
president could make arcade games part of his summer routine. Everybody loves teddy bears.
During Obama's joint appearance with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on the
Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk, rebuilt with a $2.1 million grant from the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, Christie won the prize on his first
football toss and gave it to Obama. Good karma.
With practice, Obama could improve his football aim before a rematch.
That too would be good karma.
© 2013 Marsha Mercer. All rights reserved.
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