The buck stops here, but it doesn't seem to stop anywhere else in America these days. It certainly hasn't stopped in Washington D.C. at least since the assasination of John F. Kennedy, and it never did seem to stop in Congress at least since 1776 nor in any of the state capitols. It doesn't stop with the FBI or the CIA or the DEA. Neither does it stop in any administrative or execuative offices of any large corporation. No, the buck just seems to flow from one place to another, around and around, just as it does on the street. No, the buck doesn't even seem to stop in US courtrooms any longer, once known for the uncompromising standards. Standards? What are these to powerful interests that money cannot somehow buy, divide and multiply? But the buck stops here, and perhaps that is why the buck never flows here. Opportunity is something money buys in prodigious quantities. Money can buy expensive cars, nice homes, beautiful spouses, status and prestige. Money can buy power and it can buy mobility and publicity and popularity. It can even buy more money. Money can even make a pig smell good. All this is well and good, and I am happy for all the money-mongers of the world, but the buck still stops here. In spite of unfettered capitalism, there still remains some non-material things that money just cannot buy or compensate for. Freedom of course is one of these things, but so is integrity, honesty, genuine equality and fair play. Money cannot also buy real friends, love, respect or trust in other people. Money cannot buy back human lives once they are lost and thrown away in the name of greed or some selfish purpose. Of course, the rich do not seem to care very much about anything, as long as they make more money, and of course, these are not anything that we can eat. Money enough to eat well is important for every human being.

Why does the buck stop here? The buck stops here because freedom must always be defended from tyranny. The tyranny of unfreedom begins with ignorance and prejudice, and extends to all forms of human violence and authoritarianism. The buck stops here because preventing the further loss of genuine value and human relationship in American culture begins with every person. The buck stops here in honor of my parents and grandparents, and in honor of my ancestors who have fought to preserve what it means to be an American.