Quacking Ducks

From My Perspective - - -

Ducks have lost their quack – or – have they? They will probably live to quack another day! The rhetoric of the United States demonstrates an innate love of Idioms. The day following an Election Day has the well-used phrase: “Lame Duck” applied to one who had held office but who failed to be re-elected. The Origin and History of the phrase includes the following: A Lame-Duck is “…a person or thing that isn't properly able to function, especially one that was previously proficient. The description of 'lame duck' is often applied to politicians who are known to be in their final term of office, when colleagues and electors look toward a successor. It is also sometimes used to describe office-holders who have lost an election but have not yet left office…” It’s always fascinating to search for how the term was first used.

The following is submitted by The Phrase Finder website: “Historians now describe various 19th century US presidents as 'lame ducks'. The first such description of a US president I can find which was written while he was still in office isn't until 1926 though, and relates to Calvin Coolidge. The Wisconsin newspaper, the Appleton Post-Crescent ran a piece entitled, 'Making a lame duck of Coolidge', in May 1926: …the voting in other Republican states should hinge pretty largely on the issue whether Mr. Coolidge shall be permitted to become a lame duck president for the final two years of his term. The actual origin of the term is nothing to do with politics though and is quite specific in meaning. It comes from the London Stock Market and referred to investors who were unable to pay their debts. In Horace Walpole's Letters To Horace Mann, 1761, we have: Do you know what a Bull, and a Bear, and a Lame Duck are? In 1771, David Garrick, in Prologue to Foote’s Maid of Bath wrote: Change-Alley bankrupts waddle out lame ducks! In 1772, the Edinburgh Advertiser included: Yesterday being the settling day for India stock, the bulls had a balance to pay to the bears to the amount of 23 per cent. Only one lame duck waddled out of the alley, and that for no greater a sum than 20,000."

In the United States, the campaigns have come to a halt; placards will begin to weather and be removed; the explanations of the “why” and “how” particular individuals either won or lost will soon fade; the Media prognosticators will continue to opine, analyze and try to shape opinion regarding what all of the voting means and how it will affect the next two years. They will speculate about how the shift of power will alter the course of a President’s agenda. Some politicians and media will be like the Aflack Insurance Duck – just keep quacking away – not making much meaningful sense – but quacking nevertheless! The Aflack Duck is amusing – the hackneyed politicians and media are not.

In an increasingly secularized society, and important factor is often ignored, forgotten and/or avoided. The focus is in terms of – Where Is The Almighty God In All Of This? Proverbs 21:1-2, “The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.” The Message translates these verses: “Good leadership is a channel of water controlled by God; he directs it to whatever ends he chooses. We justify our actions by appearances; God examines our motives. Proverbs 14:34 instructs: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. The Message translates Proverbs 14:34, “God-devotion makes a country strong; God-avoidance leaves people weak.” A Contemporary Worship Chorus can and should serve as a personal, as well as a national encouragement - - -

God will make a way, Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see - He will make a way for me
He will be my guide - Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day –

He will make a way, He will make a way.

These words should be a source of hope, comfort, encouragement and strength for you. The Motto of and for our lives should be similar to the confidence expressed by Daniel’s three friends as they faced a fiery furnace: “Our God Is Able…And He Will Deliver Us.” Consider these things with me!