Across The Pond: Turbulence . . . Off and On the Ground

Just went through a "spot" of turbulence so wild it shook the tea out of my Styrofoam cup. Is that where politics is headed?

I thought I'd wash down the surprisingly rich and moist triple-chocolate brownie from my airplane dinner with a cup of tea. No sooner did the trying-to-be-perky-but-too-exhausted-to-succeed air steward pour it then we ran into a "bit" of turbulence, the likes of which I'd never before encountered.

In the air, at least. Ups and downs like that I usually experience at the Coney Island amusement park. This wasn't just a brief shudder. The soaring and dipping continued for a good seven minutes. Forget trying to drink the tea (still hot--a first) so that it wouldn't be in the cup to spill onto my lap. Didn't want to hold it over the tray table for fear it would slosh out of the cup over the seat back pocket and onto my new beloved toy (netbook computer).

So I'm torqued like a corkscrew holding the cup into the aisle . . . because if it splashes onto the well-trodden indoor-outdoor carpet, who cares? Doesn't my exceptionally high airfare cover cabin cleaning?

The current political landscape on both sides of the "pond" is leaving familiar terrain. Like turning off I-95 onto a highway cloverleaf interchange to get to the local roads. And we're not the only ones who feel our politics is stuck in a rut. There's a malaise sweeping across England as well that the "same ol' same ol'" is no longer an excuse people are prepared to swallow. These challenging times call for fresh thinking.

Problem is, all the party leaders claim to have the solution. Is it a matter of being "right" (as in having the right answer), or is it enough to suggest a course, and then correct it if it turns out to veer us too far from the desired destination?