How many remember Earl Pitts? For those of you who don’t he was a satirist. He carried on about things that make him mad on our own country music and news station WBRV the Moose. He began his dialogue with; you know what makes me mad. I think of him often the older I get. Perhaps it’s because most of his views coincided with mine. Basically we both believed that a decline in our culture over the years is responsible for many of our problems today.

Everyday in every way I see examples of what in my day would be deplorable examples of human behavior tolerated because we have no other choice. I have an older friend who claims that the reward and punishment factor we once lived by is no longer effective and aberrant conduct is being accepted in many quarters as part of our culture. He may be right. Is it good for the nation? I fail to see how it is.

Is this a rant? Yes, it is. How can you express an opinion about things that debilitate our country without sounding like you are ranting? Isn’t that what our nation’s leaders do for a living? They all talk about stimulating the economy and play the blame game about who caused the crisis in the first place.

Sure someone will say they are talking about much loftier subjects that have a bigger impact on the nation as a whole than what I have to say. Everything has a beginning much like an avalanche. In our nation, family and culture dictate the ultimate outcome. Our family life and culture has changed dramatically during my lifetime and in my humble opinion not for the good of the nation. They may be subtle but evidence of everyday lack of manners with ever increasing frequency portends a shaky future. Remember the Roman Empire? The following are a few of the harbingers of change as I see them.

One is the number of people who leave shopping carts in the middle of parking lots. I do not mean older people who have extreme difficulty walking. I am talking about people who are well able to return the carts to a designated place. I saw several people obviously in good health this past summer unload their carts and nonchalantly leave them in the adjacent parking lane. In contrast I see many examples that make me proud. They are seniors returning wayward carts to where they belong and a business like Diorio’s in Old Forge helping those that are in need carry their goods to the vehicle.

Traffic manners seem to decline with the years. I cannot remember in past years the numbers of people running red lights and going through stop signs. The number one complaint from locals is the traffic situation in the villages. It is not so much the traffic but the manners many people bring with them. Lack of manners is one thing I can live with but the danger posed by the actions of some is really hard to accept. How many of you reading this has been run off the road this past summer? I have, and more than once. The scariest had to be by someone bombed out of their mind.

I was driving north at dusk on a rainy night and was just coming up to the railroad crossing in Thendara. Suddenly I noticed a car practically on my rear bumper. Just as I passed the railroad crossing it pulled by me like a bat out of hell. At the same time three cars were coming south under the overhead railroad bridge. If I had not had room on the shoulder it would have been a real mess. By the time I got to the curve by the Steakhouse his taillights were well past Frankie’s.

Speaking of Frankie’s my next example of something else that is becoming more prevalent came to my attention. It was a used baby diaper plunked down on the parking lot smack in front of the front entrance to his restaurant. What kind of a citizen do you think the child that dirtied the diaper will grow up to be? What really scares me is that both its parents are eligible to vote. Littering of our roadsides, public and private is a constant reminder to those who care about what kind of world our grandchildren will inherit and it bothers those of us who care.

Finally I heard of one incident that plagued me the most and it has been hard to get it out of my mind. A friend of mine had a beautiful spaniel puppy given to her by a friend. The friend found it on the Moose River Road with a plastic bag tied around its head. What sort of deviate would do such a thing? Could it be the same kind of person that would do so to a child? Or perhaps a jury that believes a mother who did not report her child missing for over a month and the child was found dead had done nothing wrong.

Does it bring back my old friend’s analogy that the reward and punishment factor has gone awry?