I sit in my favorite chair getting ready to write my weekly column when a loud thump causes me to look toward my hummingbird feeder. They are at it again. Those beautiful little hummers go after each other like they will absolutely starve if they share even a bit of the syrupy liquid in the hanging buffet. Now mind you, there is plenty of lunch to share, but they seem to enjoy fighting.

A particularly aggressive little bird drinks his fill, then sits on the perch in wait of any other who would have the audacity to seek out sustenance. If another hummer comes close to the feeder he darts into action flying directly at the hungry interloper. The other day an unsuspecting little guy became disoriented in the fray and hit the sunroom window so hard it knocked him out.

When his tiny body fell to the ground I hurried outside to check on him. I clapped and whistled trying to revive the poor little thing, but all my efforts failed. In the event he was only stunned and not deceased I left him alone and went about my daily tasks. The next time I looked outside he was gone. Hopefully, he revived and flew away. The thought of a hungry cat finding him crossed my mind, but I’m going with the first scenario.

These little creatures fight from a survival instinct. They don’t have the intellect to reason and make decisions to behave in a different manner. But when I think about it many people act as if they don’t have the good sense or common decency to treat others in an ethical and honest way.

I try not to be political in my writing and actually in my speech because I have friends that are both Democrats and Republicans, but the events surrounding the confirmation process of the president’s pick for the Supreme Court has been ridiculous. It’s time for our elected officials to behave in a manner worthy of their office.

As America waits and watches the powers that be act as if no one notices their lack of ethics and respect for others. Good people all over this country are fed up with the lack of personal integrity of many that hold political office. Decency must come back if our country is to prosper and continue to be a world leader.

The way our politicians conduct themselves, from the president of the United States to our local leaders, is and should be scrutinized. Many of the folks I’m disheartened with are from far away places where I obviously cannot make a difference in the ballot box, but rest assured people in their states are watching too.

I hope and pray the people of this great nation have had enough of the game playing and dishonesty in high places and vote for people of character in November.

The political climate in our country must be dialed back to a time when we respected people whether we agreed with them or not.

Jan Penton Miller can be reached at lilsisjan@yahoo.com.