It's been a while and there are a myriad of topics running through my brain, but the one that won out was politics. So I decided to use a quote as the title of this little rant and rave that I have heard numerous times in the past. But before I begin could someone please tell me: What the hell does that quote mean?
One of the things I learned while working in management is there are a few things you never discuss around the water cooler. Things like taxes, religion, and politics were pretty much off limits because they are so volatile, and there is no absolute right or wrong. The truth, as with much in life, lays somewhere in the middle.
Lately I have become more outspoken on political issues, as have my friends, and I think that is a normal progression as we age. Maybe it's because we have something to say, maybe because now we have the experience to back up our thoughts and maybe now because we worry we are running out of time.
Those that have known me a long time, know my political background. I came from a working class, Republican household that believed the less government involved itself in our lives the better off all of us were. I was a Milliken Republican, a Romney Republican (George not wimpy, 'er Mitt). Were they conservative? Yes but they were also moderate or progressive in their thinking. Both were excellent Governors in the Great State of Michigan during my childhood and their accomplishments are renown. They understood that it took give and take to make our political system work. Hell, they were Republican Governors in the most unionized state in the country, and they held the highest office for the better part of 16 years. They were politicians that served the people first, and the party second.
As I grew older there were changes going on all around me in both the political arena and society in general. Like many my age I experienced Viet Nam, Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Watergate, Free Love (such a great idea), Dr. Spock, Timothy Leary, Chicago 7, Ollie North, the Black Panthers, Jane Fonda, Charles Manson, Mohammad Ali, Patty Hearst, and the Moral Majority. So many events molding how we looked at the world. We became a generation that questioned everything, and rightfully so. But then something went terribly wrong. We evolved from an "us" society to a "me" society. And in doing so we became a society that forgot the merits of debate and compromise.
I moved out of the Republican Party about the time the Moral Majority moved in. First because I do believe in the separation of church and state, but mostly because those that professed to be moral seemed to pontificate an inordinate amount of hate. They said Liberals were "Godless" and socialist which I'm sure came as a shock to the many millions of Americans that lean towards the Democratic Party yet go to church, pray and tithe on a regular basis. It's that old adage God is on the winning side of the war. The problem is he isn't on either side because he loves us all. The MM hated gays, they hated reproductive rights, they espoused the dangers of the liberal government involved with every aspect of our lives then wanted to legislate a ban on personal reproductive choices of a woman and capital punishment. Is there anything more intrusive? They spoke of the "drive by liberal media" controlled by the left, yet I found it ironic I never heard someone from ABC, NBC, or CBS call a Republican Politician a Magic Negro, or Fem Nazi, or Shemale, or a Fag, but I have heard those terms used by Rush, Hannity and the like. So much for love your neighbor.
Now with that said I couldn't move on to the other end of the spectrum either. As much as Newt Gingrich (who is a brilliant man, by the way) made my skin crawl, the likes of Kerry, Dukakis, Ferraro, Gore and Biden didn't necessarily strike me as leaders. I look at this whole global warming debate with tongue and cheek. This theory was pushed into the limelight by the "Father" of the Internet, Al Gore. Of course they've had to change the term from global warming to climate change because of the holes in the theory, but hey, we didn't need those gas guzzlers anyway.
It seems Nancy Pelosi, while on the way to making this a greener world, has neglected to figure out how to prevent her home state from having it's annual 3 month marshmallow roast in the fields and woods of California, spewing tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and would rather put a couple of hundred thousand auto workers out of a job. They even had a cash for clunker program recently and the DOT did some creative accounting to show the biggest seller was Toyota, proving once again that Americans want small, fuel efficient cars. The problem with that is the NADA did there own tally by accepted sales recording methods, and it turns out Toyota was not only not first, the Ford Focus held that honor, Toyota finished 5th behind the Ford F-150 pickup truck! So much for that fuel efficient thing Nancy.
I watch Republicans say Bush did no wrong and that this recession has nothing to do with his lack of a domestic monetary policy for 8 years. He was a saint that could do no wrong. Water boarding isn't torture it's just aggressive conversation. He didn't lie to a nation, take advantage of the underlying fear of 9/11, just to have an excuse to invade a sovereign nation to clean up daddy's mess, did he? The hell he didn't! We are coming up on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and Saddam is dead, so are 4,000 young American men and women, and Bin Laden probably has 10 more kids. Yet the Conservatives want to tell me George did everything right? I defy any Conservative to list for me 7 things George Bush did wrong during his Presidency, without stuttering.
Then we have the recent passing of Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy. He was eulogized as a saint by the Liberals much as the Conservative do for Bush. Ted was a dedicated public servant, he believed in his causes but he was hardly a saint. Yes we all know about Mary Jo. It was a tragedy and he never owned it properly. In any event I thank you Mr. Kennedy for your efforts.
You have a new breed of Democrat in public office today. I like to call them Republicrats, liberals with an attitude. You have there leader, no not President Obama, it's Nancy Pelosi who makes Hillary Clinton seem warm and fuzzy, and she believes that just because America grew tired of George Bush she has a mandate to radically alter our way of life. She is on record as saying she doesn't need the Republicans, and with help from the Great State of Massachusetts she might be right. The problem with it all is power is fleeting. And power is never absolute in a democracy!
Our nation is in a stalemate. We have elected officials that serve the party first and the people second. You have elected officials that no longer know how to negotiate. When in doubt tell a lie and the people will blindly support you has become the mantra of the modern politician. We are a nation of lemmings, sheep, that will blindly support a party doctrine because we don't have the backbone to force a change.
No, not an Obama change. I mean real change. Obama is a disappointment. He had a window of opportunity to really change the course of modern politics in this country and what did he do? He recycled the Clinton Administration. That's not change! His policies are not those of a free thinker but are the policies of the Democratic Party, no more, no less.
Change will never come from the politicians, it has to come from the people. People need to demand honesty, accountability, and integrity from their elected officials. There is a need for a third party in this country as well because the difference between the Democrats and Republicans is negligible.
We need politicians like Bill Milliken and George Romney again. Politicians that understand name calling and being a standard bearer for a political party results in failed attempts for change. We need to embrace the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and return our political process to what it was, to what allowed us to evolve over the last 200 years. A system of government that focuses more on a mans political point of view than how much dirt we can dig up on him.
The next time you feel like spewing hate upon a political opponent, stop and think, will this accomplish anything positive or is this just more self gratification. See, that's what it's really about. Do "we" want this country to be about "us" or "me". If we choose to stand alone, we will fail.
Try something refreshing, admit you might be wrong. If you will, I might too.
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