About Leashes

I'm still walking in the morning in spite of the effect it has on my tortured thinking. This is contrary to what I read in the paper this morning. The article reports that  research at the Cleveland Clinic has shown that exercise appears to increase brain activity in memory areas of people at high risk of Alzheimer's disease. Can I conclude from this that since walking seems to have a dangerous effect on my mental health , I'm not at high risk for Alzheimer's?  Fail to see the logic? Remember I just finished my walk and I'm not thinking straight. Does that mean I'm thinking crooked? Time for a coffee break.

Now that my little grey cells have had time to recuperate, I put them work trying to recall what momentous thoughts entered my mind during this morning's walk. Ah yes, diversity! I'm impressed with the number and variety of dogs in the neighborhood that I encounter on my walks. There are pony size dogs, rat size dogs, black dogs, white dogs, brown dogs, yellow dogs, spotted dogs, purebreds, and mongrels. What surprises me is how well they get along as they trot along the walking trail. There's the occasional bark and an effort to sniff the human walkers but by and large they are well behaved and seem to share the environment amiably.

Before I went on my walk I had glanced at the morning paper and read about all the trials and tribulations of the my fellow humans. Racism, religious intolerance, immigration crack downs, political turmoil, corruption all dominated the news. The highly developed human species is running amok. Then it struck me - how in hell do these dogs share the walking trail in harmony in spite of their differences.

It's the leash! All the dogs are on a leash.  Without that leash, these creatures would be at each other's throats. The leash governs the action of the diverse dogs much like government attempts to control civility in our society.

I would conclude therefore, that those who advocate less government would have us humans on a long leash leading to tangled leashes and the conflicts which must inevitably arise.When that happens we will hear the call for a short leash which means oppressive government. The answer is a strong leash or strong central government capable of formulating laws which keep us from getting at each other's throats.

I notice an Animal Control truck coming up my driveway. Some neighbor must have reported that I was out without my leash. Hope that it's only a warning.