WindbagWe are living in "The Golden Age of Windbags." You cannot escape them, you cannot ignore them, and you have to accept them as part of our uber-hip, weird, talk-to-me culture. Their mouths run like water, words evaporating into the nothingness of time and space, only to be replaced by another flood of bloviation. We needed the Dutch boy to put his finger in the dike and stem the deluge a long time ago, because now we're living in a non-stop Katrina or Super Storm Sandy of chatter, gossip and jabbering. Sure, you're going to agree with some arguments and opinions. In the 24/7 world of talky-talk, the odds are good you'll find some congruity somewhere. You'll be in concert with somebody on something, somewhere, if for no other reason than through attrition. But even if you try and stay off the grid and leave the blather behind, you will eventually have to pay attention. They accost you in line at Starbucks, at the mini-mart, at the airport. Whoops. Not the airport. That's one place, standing in the security line, where blather reaches zero gravity. No sense in taking the chance that something you say will be recorded, or overheard, and officials will be called and BOOM! You miss your flight because you get taken into the little room listening to the authorities. Better to break the windbag, pardon my French. Thousands are prattling on as you read this, sharing their expertise and offering solutions in every outlet, all social and alternative media, not to mention talk radio and all the podcasts. You'll also be forced to read what are supposed to be attention-getting T-shirts and placards and old-media (newspaper and magazine) headlines. Not that this is new to the world and certainly not to the USA. The Broadway hit musical "Hamilton" (good luck getting tickets) is the quintessential archetype for our time, using the medium of hip-hop and rap to describe the hectic, dramatic and powerful beginning of a rogue nation, shaped by people who talked. And talked. And gave opinions and argued and debated and shouted and tried to convince others they had the solutions. There are many similarities to the world of today and the time of Hamilton. Death and violence were just as prevalent (Hamilton lost a "duel" on the shores of the Hudson River, ending his life and his speeches); the world was in the midst of significant change (then: the beginning of a new nation - now: technology makes modern life a crazy video game where we all have starring roles, good and evil); and politicians use the situation for their own personal gain. It's become obvious that all the talking, arguing and voicing of opinions won't change things. There are some here in the USA who have figured it out. The time for dialogue is over. Things have to change. I am, as always, grieving for those who lost family members, loved ones, friends and co-workers. From all walks of life. This is our country. I'm probably like you: I don't want to talk about it. I've tuned out the windbags. Time to do what I can, in my very small, humble, modest way.