Look at the substance, not the wrapping

Thomas Fields

Thomas “Tuffy” Fields is an author and regular contributor to The Gazette. He can be reached by email at thelouisianaexplorer@yahoo.com.

America is losing a certain edge that has made it such a unique place to live, such a wonderful example for other countries to aspire to be.
In the 1770s America was made up of 13 colonies; 13 colonies that were each subservient to mother England. Louisiana could not even claim to be a part of the :Crowne” as it was owned by France while Florida and even the Florida parishes of Louisiana were a part of Spain. Though the linage of the New World was claimed by numerous old world countries in Europe, the content of the men and women that made it up was very unique.
Men and women of the cities were clothed in anything from the finest clothes that would be purchased in the finest clothiers of Europe or the cities of America or the men and women could be clothed in the garb of the frontier fashioned from hides. As much as people admired what a person wore and how a person spoke or wrote, that was not what separated the early men and women of America; it was the spirit within the person that made them so unique.
It was not the wrapping of the men and women of the American Revolution that made them so special. It was the substance under the wrapping that made them special. Yes, the men of the Continental Congress were well dressed but the delegates were not enamored by what was worn. Just below the crust of these noble patriots stood the common men and women that dared to take on the most powerful country in the world in the name of freedom and liberty. Instead of being awe struck by the duds of the elite and the dress of their wives, the common man was awe struck by the words and deeds of these leaders that dared to challenge oppression and Central Control. The substance was far more important than the wrapping.
Today we find ourselves in a different situation. With the power of the press, regardless if it is accurate or not, and the world of multi media which allows anyone to make up an artificial world and project it as fact and a domain where actors of great acclaim but without great intellectual substance tell the world how to live; this changes the narrative that we live in today.
Do we vote for an individual because of what they offer to our nation, “substance,” or do we vote for someone because of what they wear, how they speak or their demeaner, “wrapping”. Today we have more of a tendency to select a leader based on his or her one liners, smiles and how they bounce across a stage in unison to some popular rock music. America needs to take a step back, take a deep breath and reflect on what is really important. We need to look at a person’s leadership and experience and what that candidate can do for the country and the citizens that live in it.
As the election season is in full swing it is up to the individual voter to evaluate what they truly want in life and then who will provide the leadership to get us there. As one man told me today, his grandchild is about to be born and he is scared to death to think of the life that child will grow up in.
Look at the substance, not the wrapping.
God Bless America, God Save the Ukraine and Pray for Israel.