Mother Knows

How do you know that you're doing the right thing?
Robin Williams once said, "What's right is what's left after you do everything else wrong." If that seems a little trite, consider where we are now. All those people who threw caution to the wind four years ago and voted for Donald Trump saying, "Well, what could go wrong?"
Briefly? Everything.
Even the billionaires aided by tax cuts lost some slim percentage of their ridiculous fortunes. The National Rifle Association is currently on lockdown, and CNN beat Fox in cable news ratings for the first in nineteen years.
My mother, who has lived long enough to see a few twists and turns on the road of life found herself once again surprised at just how awful things had become in such a relatively short period of time. Even though she is my voice of reasonable doom, she continues to marvel at just how many days have trended anywhere but up. Hers is the so-called "silent generation," but I don't recall a time when my mother lived up to that label. She was the one who was ready to climb on the back of my older brother's motorcycle with him to ride to Canada if the draft board ever came looking for him.
They never did, so she came in on the first wave of the women's liberation movement. It was my father who used to fuss about "Equal Rights." He would insist that he would be fine if there was a constitutional amendment that ensured equal rights for bald-headed printing salesmen. Dad didn't always get it.
My mom did. Does. Always has. Incredibly patient, but not willing to take any serious malarkey. Well, from her sons periodically, but certainly not from anybody in elected office. She raised us to be conscientious members of our community. Do not litter. Do vote. Do not act like a sheep. Do question authority.
Do the right thing.
The good news is this: Right now, figuring out what the right thing to do is easier than ever. If you see a bunch of red baseball hats all headed one way, go in the opposite direction. Over the past few weeks we have seen characters such as George W. Bush and Mitt Romney make choices that made them appear clever or courageous. It's pretty absurd company to be keeping, but as I mentioned earlier, these times are curious, and getting curiouser. But when it comes to mom, don't bet against the house.