“I’ve got a dream too, but it’s about singing and dancing and making people happy. That’s the kind of dream that gets better the more people you share it with.”

Everybody knows Kermit the Frog. Kermit the Frog is a froggy little guy with a wonderful personality and a hysterical voice whose goal in life is to make us laugh and smile. In doing that, he has succeeded for years. Through his shenanigans and charm, we have found a constant for happiness, a means to smile by, and a little buddy who will always hold a spot in our hearts. The governments of the world are all-powerful agencies whose purpose is to keep our freedom and our liberty safe while keeping us all happy. Since the day it was a spark of an idea in somebodies’ mind, however, it’s been trouble. A source of perpetual frustration and humility for its people, you’re unlikely to find a positive opinion of the government amongst a million thoughts. These entities, Kermit the Frog and the government, they hold a common interest of keeping people happy. If they were put in the same boat, however, it’s clear which is the paddle and which is the anchor.

Dealing with the government is frustrating business- depressing, really. Barring a case of frog-phobia, Kermit has never given us anything short of a pleasant experience. People can be found bickering over the government everywhere, online, at the store, even coffee shops seem to be of particular interest for these argumentative types. Best of friends can become the worst of enemies at the utterance of the word “politics.” Families are broken, schools are shut down; politics constantly wreak havoc and make good people undeservedly sad. Kermit the Frog, however, does quite the opposite. No reasonable people argue about Kermit. The streets of major cities are not lined with thousands of people holding signs in protest of Kermit’s policies. Countries don’t bomb each other over an episode of The Muppets. Rather, thousands of people are at home, belly laughing together as Kermit leads the way. The government makes us sad, Kermit makes us happy. In this simplicity, there’s importance. The government, with its twists and convolutions that frustrate and confuse us, makes our lives stressful. Kermit acts as he is, a silly little guy who makes us smile without any strings attached. Metaphorical strings, that is.

The government and Kermit do share at least one characteristic, in that they both make us laugh. The government is overwhelmingly hilarious. Politicians stumbling on their tongues, ruining relationships like a baby ruins diapers, lying through their teeth and falling into traps. The whole organization is like a confused toddler. Hilarious, but hazardous. Kermit the Frog incites laughter as well, but not quite the same way. Kermit is good for brightening our day by filling our homes with laughter, and not out of dramatic irony. Kermit is cute and fun; he is a loveable fella whose noble goal in life is to bring about happiness, his kind hearted intentions make us laugh and smile the day away. Where the government makes us laugh in derision, Kermit embodies the true purpose of laughter, to make us smile and forget your worries for a while, rather than amplify them to that scary point where you find yourself laughing in your apartment at your television. Kermits laughter is true, the government’s, to great surprise, is a lie.

The government and Kermit both, in a way, “have your back.” The government is there for you. The speeches promising so much and the subsequent lack of action, that’s touching. (Touching secretaries and mistresses, perhaps). Then there’s the ignorance, especially when it’s needed. Truly noble. Of course, the government has been famous for keeping peace for the sake of your safety. One would be hard pressed to find a single time in history where the government caused a potentially dangerous conflict with another nation. Kermit the Frog though, he’s got your back in a way even the government can’t manage. Kermit is a real friend, a true pal, the kind of guy who’s there for you when things get tough. He makes people feel warm and happy, even safe and secure. Kermit the Frog, in his own little way, has got your back. So the government may “be there” when it comes to the important things, like keeping everybody equal and providing a solid financial basis for itself and for you, but Kermit, although he’s a bit smaller, is by your side in a much bigger way.

The government has a big and stressful job, one that’s impossible to do perfectly. This is inordinately true, and it’d be silly to think otherwise. Just because it can’t be done perfectly, however, doesn’t leave an excuse for it to be done badly. The government, across the ages and across the land, has been a source of trouble for people. It’s a tragic case; a conglomeration of people who stepped up to a job they didn’t anticipate being unable to handle, and in that failure, people are hurt. Kermit the Frog, however, has been making people happy since the moment he was first seen. Perhaps he picked up a smaller task, but he excels at it, and he’d certainly never let himself hurt somebody. He represents happiness and produces smiles. So whether it’s Kermit’s joy to the government’s sorrow, Kermit’s laughter to the government’s tragedy, or Kermit’s embrace to the government’s chokehold, you’d find who’s done right by people. Kermit and friends once said-

“Keep believing, keep pretending; we’ve done just what we set out to do, thanks to the lovers, the dreamers, and you!”

Oh Kermit, thank you too.