Wrong Track

I appreciate democracy (if rights are guaranteed to the minority), and respect people’s opinions as much as I do my own. But I find polls on issues increasingly silly. A good example is one of the current favorites – “is this country on the right track or the wrong track?”.

In my experience, if asked how I feel about the world in general, on any given day my reply might vary considerably. Actually, it might change a good deal from hour to hour. And ” how do I feel” is at least a pretty firm question .

But ask me if I am on the “right track” or not and I would be pretty lost. The thing is, a track goes somewhere. So the first question implied is do I think there is a single destination like Chicago or am I just “heading west.” And am I sure that’s where or the way I want to go? 

The second problem is momentary detours with good reason. I want to get to Chicago but this train is heading for Pittsburgh. Is that bad? If it’s heading south to avoid a mountain range, is my journey going wrong? And trains? Tracks? Who uses tracks anymore anyway. So restrictive. 

But okay, all of that, bundle it up, maybe I can give an answer in personal terms. But a whole country,? Everyone? The vast future? This is a ridiculous and meaningless waste of time. 

But folks like to believe in something. At least asking about non-existent tracks is relatively harmless