Wednesday, October 2, 2013

"Mending Wall": American Heritage and Border Relations

A Rolling Eyes Column! ((O) (O))

As America's Poet Laureate, Robert Frost delivered his encomium on boundary diplomacy in the simplest terms. "Good fences make good neighbors" serves as his refrain in this famous utterance which pits the enthusiasm of good will against the sturdy resilience of deeds and property.

While this line comes under challenge from international communications providers like Vonage, whose TV ads portray communicants taking axes to walls, Frost's refrain echoes with simple—not virtual—honesty and practicality. Open borders leave everyone and no one responsible for repairs.

Like that other old wise man of American Art Johnnie Cash, Frost dramatizes neighborly neighbors walking the line annually between their outposts in civilization. And these dudes apparently remain civil ad perpetuum, unlike America's current unrepentant president and other assorted politicians.

United by mutual interest in security, as well as geography, Frost's solid citizens review where they stand together. Who can deny that their annual ritual provides an examplary model? If this writer's neighbors followed Vonage's advice, and crashed through her walls, would laundry ever get done?


Would her garden survive untrampled? Would meals arrive on the table? Even cats and dogs understand these needs, as they scramble for advantage. When DC decides to read Frost, instead of talking points, maybe American citizens can practice business as usual, in the land of the free. 

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