Is a skull-shaped asteroid headed for Earth this Halloween?

Asteroid 2015 TB145 passed our planet three years ago. It missed us by just 300,000 miles and was visible to those with good telescopes. Eerily, it visited us on Halloween and looked very much like a skull.

This time around, however, the asteroid will not be in a Halloween mood. It will be twenty-five million miles away and will appear as a “dot of light,” according to NASA. Its shape may have changed due to collisions with other celestial objects. And it won’t be at its closest to us until November 11, well after Halloween.

A neighborhood our Founders envisioned

While the asteroid won’t be celebrating Halloween, my neighbors will. One already has “ghosts” hanging from their trees and a giant inflatable dragon breathing fire at those who pass by. If history holds, there will soon be dozens of houses in our area displaying a variety of goblins, ghosts, and ghouls.

It’s apparently not too early for Thanksgiving, either. A home in our neighborhood is displaying the word Thankful for passersby to see. Personally, I prefer their decoration to the lawn dragon.

As the November elections draw closer, we’re seeing more and more homes with yard signs supporting one or the other of our senatorial candidates. Campaign signs for state offices are proliferating as well.

While our Founders may not have imagined lawn dragons, this kind of opinionated diversity is just what they intended.

A parable made of bricks

In a monarchy such as the English system our Founders rejected, the king retains authority because his subjects fear his power and hope he will serve their interests. Governments in China, North Korea, Cuba, and Russia stay in power through the same means.

It is different in a republic like America, a system built on consensual self-interest. We elect those leaders we believe will best meet our needs. We support our country and trust that our country will serve us.

How is that working for us these days?

I was walking in our neighborhood…