FSOTD #11/Shakey Ground (1975)

"Shakey Ground" by the Temptations, my first song of the day for Tuesday, September 1, 2009. I know this song mostly from the 20th Century Masters Temptations collection. And while I was somewhat familiar with the song when I heard it, I have to say I don't really remember it from its time.

Released in 1975, "Shakey Ground" held the distinction for many years as the last #1 hit for the band. It rose to 26 on the U.S. pop chart, but it was a #1 R&B hit. In 1998, The Temptations scored what now stands as their last #1 with "Stay," which rose to the top of the U.S. Urban AC list.

So I was musing about the title "Shakey Ground" and was struck by how it is an apt metaphor for so many things these days: health care, the financial meltdown, global warming, and our two Muslim wars (call 'em what you will, we're fighting Muslims). A little later, I was reading today's essay by George Will about Afghanistan. His premise - one I heartily agree with - is that a ground-based, troop-intensive war is a dead end (pardon the pun). All estimates converge on two grim realities: it will take many, many more troops and many years to (possibly) achieve any sort of stabilization in what the Brookings Institution ranks as the second weakest state in the world (behind Somalia).

But that's not what caught my eye, at least not for the sake of this writing. It was Will's use of the "risible." He was referencing NATO assistance in the campaign, terming it "reluctant and often risible." A quick trip to Webster's solved the uncertainty. Risible means laughable. It would seem George Will does not think much of NATO, an organization that surely realizes in Afghanistan they are standing on shaky ground.


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