When I was young and naïve, I thought we all agreed on the goal – to make things better – but we disagreed on methods. Liberals favored Plan 1, while conservatives pushed Plan 2, yet we were all Americans and wanted the best for our homeland. But I was wrong. Some people want to make things worse.

When we watched the bridge collapsing in Maryland, most people thought how horrible, those poor workers dumped into freezing, dark water without warning. Others thought about how severe the disruption of the supply chain would be. Still others thought about mandatory ship safety inspections, to ensure that engines, transmissions, and electrical systems were reliable.

But some people thought, “How can we turn this to the advantage of my group? I know, let’s keep harping on the fact that Francis Scott Key owned slaves. Let’s turn a bridge collapse into a racist wedge to drive our citizens even further apart. Let’s defame Key and the anthem he wrote. Yes, let’s do that!”

I’m pretty good with words, but I can’t find printable words to express my disgust at people like that. But don’t call them vultures. Vultures are useful birds that clean the earth by eating creatures that are dead. These people love things that are dead and do their best to kill them – our American republic, for example. No, don’t insult vultures.

My feelings are summed up on a tee shirt I got from Emerson Knives. An image of a tattered American flag is accompanied by the words, “Beat to hell, still there.” I believe they apply to the flag, and to me as well. Yes, we’re still there. Just try us.