Dancing in The Dark

As a teenager at UCLA I recall listening to and clumsily dancing to the song, "Dancing in the Dark", a melodic romantic song. Written in 1931 for the Broadway musical "Band Wagon" starring Fred Astaire, the song was recorded in the 40's and 50's by such famous vocalists as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Bing Crosby. The mood set by the song was that of love and faith (check the link if you want to read the lyrics). Seems to me we need much more of these ingredients today, particularly in Congress where most Republicans seem to have closed their eyes to reality as they bask in darkness. They are "Dancing in the Dark", but not with a sense of love and faith resonated by the song.

As the Republican and Democratic Governors of our 50 United States of America are sinking in a quagmire of budgetary problems they collectively support or are willing to receive help from the Obama stimulus plan (just passed without a single Republican vote in the House and only three Republican votes in the Senate). Republican Governors from Florida, California, Vermont, and others have openly supported the Obama Stimulus plan even though the Republican Congressional representatives from these same states were consistently opposed and virtually all voted, "nay".

How is it that most Republican Governors welcome the financial help for their states while the Republicans in Congress say nay? Is it possible that those Republican in Congress care more about party allegiance than they care about allegiance to the United States of America? If any Republican Congress members are old enough to remember how the Depression influenced their families (as I do remember) and this second Depression is now creating austerity among most Americans, perhaps they can rekindle the original meaning of the 1931 song, "Dancing in the Dark", and break out of their self-imposed hibernation. Hopefully, they will then see the light of day while really "Dancing in the Dark", and regaining hope and faith to help restore the dreams of American families.