Bob McCarty Writes

A story from my father’s self-published autobiography, Some Events in One Life: Mine!, illustrates my contention that, if ever there was a time for Americans to stop behaving like sheep and start holding their elected officials accountable, that time is now.

The brief story below is true and based upon my father’s life on a small farm in Wayne County, Iowa, during the Great Depression.  Read it, then I’ll explain my points:

Among our sheep on the Rickert farm as an adult, fully-developed, mean-tempered and aggressive ram.  He delighted in attacking almost anyone in the barnyard that wasn’t carrying a club.  He usually left dad alone, but one evening dad was carrying a sack of corn over his shoulder and not paying attention to the ram.  The animal saw him and decided it looked like too good an opportunity to pass up.  After dad passed him the ram backed up a few steps to get a running start and charged.  When he hit, the corn went up into the air and dad’s feet went out from under him.  He got up, swearing a blue streak, which was unusual for him.  He was not seriously hurt, though I think it did damage his pride temporarily.  That winter, we ate mutton.

In the brief story above:

• The ram represents the American taxpayer tired of being abused by the people who purport to represent them in the nation’s capitol;

• My late grandfather (i.e., my father’s dad in the story) represents the out-of-touch politician, though he resembled a corrupt politician in no way whatsoever;

• Taxpayer dollars are represented by the sack of corn;

• Americans demanding accountability — perhaps even revolting — are represented by the charging ram;

• An end to business-as-usual politics in Washington, D.C., is represented by corn flying in the air; and, finally,

• The mutton “we ate” represents a political house-cleaning in Washington, D.C., and a return to governance of the people, by the people and for the people.

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Below are more posts about my father’s life:

• My Father’s War Stories from World War II
• Americans Must Be Willing to Change
• ‘We All Came Home Alive!’
• Story Paints Picture of Life on Southeast Iowa Farm