The Erwin Pawn Trade-A-Thon, Resolutions, Muslims, And More

The show that invites you to call in to buy, sell, and trade took the airwaves for the first time in 2016 on Saturday.

It's want ads on the radio and you are the heart and soul of the show.  We rely on your phone calls and without them we don't have much to present.  We'd appreciate you rummaging around the house to locate a few things you'd like to sell on the show.  You'll be surprised by the results!

We do it every Saturday and it costs nothing to participate and of course its totally free to listen.  You just might find something you've been looking for years to find.  We get those kinds of calls every week.

THE BIG QUESTION

We ask all our callers a poll question before they give their items.  It provides a running theme for the show and gives you something to listen for other than the ads.  It also helps us get to know you better and can provide an informal gauge of how people feel about a certain issue her in Amarillo.

Being our first show of 2016 we decided to find out what our callers had resolved to do or accomplish during the New Year.

What is your New Year's Resolution?

Those making resolutions: 10

Those not making resolutions: 7

We got several good resolutions like to lose weight, quit cokes, generally improve, be more thankful, and to turn the television to another channel anytime President Obama appears.

I don't usually make resolutions but as I asked the questions of our callers, I thought it only proper to make one myself.

My New Year's Resolution is to be less fabulous in 2016.  I was a little too fabulous in 2015 and now my peers are jealous and my fans can only take so much fabulosity.

RULE #6

We start each hour of the show with a recitation of the rules.  It's pretty standard stuff and easy to follow along.  Of course we highly encourage horseplay on the show and we have no objections if you want to run around the Trade-A-Thon pool while carrying scissors.  It's even more fun when it's wet.

After presenting the five regular rules I always bring you a special Rule #6.  It changes each week and is sometimes inspired by something that happened to me over the last week, or from a local news story, or it's my attempt at poor man's observational humor.

I get struck with Rule inspiration all the time and I save those for days when I'm having trouble coming up with something original.  I had to go to the well this week and came up with a good one, if I don't say so myself.

This week the rule is not funny and is a bit heavy.  It's a thought that struck me while I was reading some history and an analogy struck me in regards to the lack of understanding of militant Islamist, why they hate us so much, and why they would prefer to cleanse the world of us.  It is perhaps the greatest clash of culture in the history of the world.  It reminded me of another great culture clash of history between two very different groups and it was inspiration for the rule.

Rule #6: Islamic thinking is as similar to American thinking as European thought was to Native American thinking.

Immigrant Europeans and their philosophy of improving the land was in direct conflict with Native Americans who had no concept or need to improve land.  The two groups were so diametrically opposed there was never hope for reconciliation or accommodation in large part because their worldviews were dramatically different.  Over the span of four centuries immigrants eventually overwhelmed the Native Americans,  I don't think it began as an attempt to steal land, it was Europeans improving the land as was their culture.  The two cultures never found common ground or respect.  Eventually one group won, the other lost.

I see many similarities in the situation between our country and our fight against radical Islam.  After careful study it has become obvious to me there can never be a reconciliation between our two cultures.  Follow that line of thinking to it's logical conclusion and you are left with the disturbing outcome of eventually one side will win, the other will lose.  Even if it takes centuries.

I hope I'm on the winning team.

And I equally hope to hear from you this Saturday on the next Erwin Pawn Trade-A-Thon!