Charles Dickens famously opened “A Tale of Two Cities” with “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” If I were writing an updated version, I would announce it is the worst of times. Wherever you turn, you are confronted by journalists, politicians and just plain folks, who make you ashamed to be a member of the same species.

These days, America is divided between the useful idiots who believe everything they read in the NY Times or hear from Obama and the useless idiots they elect to fill the seats in the House and Senate.

Primary schools used to be places of learning not only one’s ABCs, but what it means to be an American and the debt we all owe to guys named Washington, Jefferson, Adams and Hamilton. But ever since the liberals took control of the teachers unions, and the unions gained control of the schools, they’ve been turned into laboratories of social engineering. As a result, every dumb and dangerous left-wing experiment, ranging from so-called sex education classes that turn the kids into teenage libertines to busing them across town, miles away from friends and family, are conducted on the little guinea pigs.

On top of all that, the government has decided it’s their job to provide the kids with breakfast, lunch and, in some cases, even dinner. It doesn’t really take a village to raise a child; it only takes Marxists like Bill and Hillary to say it does, although you notice they didn’t allow Chelsea to be raised by some damn village.

Others have pointed out that we are all supposed to experience moral outrage because al-Assad used sarin gas to kill 1,400 Syrians, which for some reason was supposed to trump the 120,000 who had died through such conventional means as bullets and bombs. Others have pointed out that although 300 of the victims were children, many of the same bunch that want us to involve ourselves in a civil war involving Muslims have no problem with Planned Parenthood performing 300,000 abortions every year.

Speaking of which, I expect that someday a murderer is going to stand up in court and say in his own defense, “Of course I killed him, but that was my choice.” If he has the right jury – say 12 women from NOW – he just might beat the rap.

We keep hearing George Santayana’s line – the one about people not learning from history being doomed to repeat it – being tossed around. Possibly because I have studied history, I never thought very much of the quip. What history really tells us is that most people never learn anything. As for those of us who do, we tend to be powerless against the greedy and ignorant mob because of their sheer numbers.

I also thought it was the height of hypocrisy for Lincoln to say that God must have loved the common man because he made so many of them. But I suppose when one is seeking to win an election, it doesn’t hurt to butter up the typical voter. I just don’t think it’s fair to blame God for all the ignoramuses.

If you want to get a clear picture of the common man, you only have to look at how hard the Democrats have to work to get those folks to vote on Election Day. They have to do everything but get their lazy butts out of bed and give them piggyback rides down to the polling place. The Democrats pretend that it’s the lack of photo IDs that keep the riffraff from voting. But even when the louts are provided with food, housing and free cell phones, in return for their votes, the majority choose to stay home and watch re-runs of “Good Times.”

It used to be my feeling that if you only got to know people as individuals, you would always find a better reason to despise them than their race, religion or odd sexual proclivity. But these days, so many blacks, Muslims and homosexuals, have adopted a position of moral superiority combined with an insufferable sense of entitlement, I no longer feel that way.

In case you missed it, because a bakery in Gresham, Oregon, refused to bake a cake celebrating a lesbian marriage, its owner, Aaron Klein, has been forced to close its doors. Not only were the members of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community, a group that the creatures congregated at the bar in “Star Wars” would find bizarre, demonstrating outside the shop, but they were threatening to kill him and his kids. They also threatened repercussions to the local florists and wedding planners if they continued to work with Mr. Klein. Naturally, Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries, having nothing better to do, threatened to launch an investigation. Not into the criminal actions of the sexual freaks, but into Mr. Klein’s refusal to ignore his religious convictions.

The irony is that the place was called Sweet Cakes by Melissa, which sounds like a place that would appeal to the LGBT crowd. Come to think of it, perhaps they were attracted by the name in the first place, and then felt betrayed in a way they wouldn’t have been if Mr. Klein had simply called it Klein’s Bakery.

Finally, consider the fallout from ObamaCare. Although no groups outside Obama’s inner circle fought harder to get it passed, today the Catholic Church, labor unions and Hollywood, are all lined up in opposition. The Church discovered that tucked away in the 2,500 pages of the Affordable Care Act were words that demanded it provide contraception to its employees. The unions discovered that the law would make hash of the traditional 40-hour workweek and encourage employers to stop providing insurance. As for Hollywood, it found that the law would lead to a loss of thousands of jobs in the industry.

All I can say is that there’s a lot to be said for poetic justice even if it doesn’t always rhyme.

Author’s Note: Although I’m still seeking sponsors, my online radio show is on the air, every Wednesday, at 1 p.m. That’s L.A. time. Access www.latalkradio.com, channel 1, and click on Listen Live. You can also download to your iPhone or Android apps. The call-in number is (323)203-0815. I’d like to hear your questions and comments, pro or con. Especially pro.