Do It Now!

August 7, 2008 | Filed Under Democrats/Leftists, Europe, Family, History, Immigration/Immigrants, Media Bias, News, Publius Contributor, Security/Safety, Society/Culture, Vince Johnson |

-By Vince Johnson

Don’t tell Nike, but we have changed their slogan from “Just do it” to “Do it now!” We see no point in advising them of this event. They are happy with the way things are. We made this change last month when we signed up for a two week tour of New Zealand and Australia. This trip is one Barbara (my spouse) has wanted to take since her high school days. Whenever discussion about going to Australia came up, as it often did, I’d make all the comments you’d expect from one who knew such a trip would never happen. I don’t like to slosh cold water on people’s dreams. You know how that goes.

Things changed one day in early June when a travel brochure arrived. It was an invitation to tour New Zealand and Australia including a three day cruise of the Great Barrier Reef on the Coral Princess, a 25 stateroom boat. Within an hour we were having a serious discussion about doing it. The rationalizing went very well. We are nearing the time of life where such trips are becoming physically difficult. With a 25 couple limit we knew from experience that it doesn’t take long to book the entire cruise. Within three days we had made the commitment. We had been going along with the “Just do it” routine for years. It was time to “Do it now!” We did and another adventure has germinated!

A day or so later I actually read the entire brochure and suddenly my enthusiasm for the trip moved upward three or four levels. Dr. Nancy Lutkehaus, Professor of Anthology and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Southern California will conduct lectures on the culture, art, and ritual life of the people living in Oceania. Perhaps she could give me some guidance on a Reality Factor I have had on the drawing board for over a year.

I want to hear knowledgeable commentary based upon the following questions:

Has any society or nation having a population that is multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, and multi-religious survived for any significant amount of time?

If so, how did they do it? If not, what caused the failure?

Would a book on this subject written by a recognized authority (such as Dr. Lutkehaus) serve any meaningful purpose? I can guarantee you that I would read it. Wouldn’t you?

Would asking these questions be appropriate on a once in a lifetime pleasure cruise? What do you think?

Return of the pre-stamped card with your comments would be appreciated. To “just do it” doesn’t do it anymore! So… Do it now!

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Vince Johnson welcomes comments. Please send them to,Vince Johnson(vjadtrak@wvi.com)
See Vince in the new book Americans on Politics. Policy, and Pop-Culture.

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