Clearing The Cobwebs From My Mind

It's been a while since I sat down to write about anything serious but it's time to clean some thoughts I've been storing. In my life, just as in yours, events take place every day that impact the way I feel, live, spend, eat and sleep. Some of these events are within my control and some are not. This blog is my place to feel like my opinions matter to someone other than me. It's my place to rant at the big guys and point out how wrong they are or how right they may be. It's therapeutic at best and a good way for me to keep reality in check. By reading my thoughts perhaps it will help keep your world in check too.

FRIENDS, LOVERS, POLITICS AND RELIGION

My friends don't always know how to take me. To the conservative ones I'm a liberal and to the liberal ones I'm conservative. The truth is I am neither. As a brilliant woman I once worked for used to say about herself, I am every man. I am the middle of the road. I am the one that will stand in your face and ask questions that hundreds of others wish they could. I am not a sheep waiting to be led to the slaughter like so many others. I am a product of the generation that learned to question everything, and remained true to that ideal.

With that said I will also say that I am a person that does not believe I am always right, nor do I close my mind to any mans, or woman's, opinion. A closed mind has no chance to grow, it becomes a vacuum that lives with archaic concepts. A closed mind leads to a lack of progress, and it stifles personal growth and the advancement of society. Many have said a version of this thought before me, and they were certainly wiser than me, but the only certain thing in life is the uncertainty of constant change. Life is flux and to be a productive member of society, we too must be in flux, in our thought process, in our willingness to adapt.

Note that I said to adapt. No place did I say we had to put aside our values or our ideals, but in a democratic republic you do need to be willing to open those values and ideals to personal review. In our form of government there is no "It's all my way" or "I am against everything you stand for". That was never the intent of the founding fathers. If it were they never would have created such a complex system of checks and balances within our government. If they thought that "I'm right and you're wrong" attitude was the proper way to govern they would have created a parliamentary monarchy, or a theocracy, but certainly not a democracy.

With that said our political arena today turns more venomous and hateful with each passing day. Personally I have lost three friends in the last 30 days due to political debate. How stupid is that? Now it so happens that these friends were conservatives and making statements about Obama, socialists, death panels, political lies and religion in a public forum. When I pointed out that many of the things they posted were untrue they took exception. When I asked them to back up their statements with clear facts, I was called names. And when I pointed out the hypocrisy of their sitting in judgement of others in the name of Christianity I was rudely dismissed.

How stupid was that? How ignorant have we become that people, friends, cannot express conflicting or different points of view without someone reacting like a 6 year old? In fact, to draw a parallel to a 6 year old is an insult to every elementary playground in the nation. Everyone knows when they get mad they take their ball and go home but they always return the next day.

Now, my three friends severed all ties. I feel bad for them and I feel bad for myself. For them because they live in a vacuum and they are destined to live a life filled with frustration because they can't always have it their way. I feel bad for me because I cared for these people, I sometimes agreed with them and other times I thought they were a few sandwiches shy of a picnic. But they were always entitled to their opinions because the more I saw someone else's point of view it allowed me to allow mine to evolve.

Oh, and before all of my liberal friends start high fiving each other, you're just as closed minded as the conservatives. How'd that taste?

WAR, HUH, GOOD GOD Y'ALL, WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR...ABSOLUTELY N'THIN'

Do you realize that our country, The United States of America, has not won a war or major conflict since WWII? And if you look at the amount of Toyota's on our roads or the products on the shelves at Walmart, that statement may not be so accurate either. But I digress.

No, we did not win in Korea, Viet Nam, Bosnia, Somalia, Desert Storm nor are we winning in Desert Shield. (All the other skirmishes we were involved with ( Panama, etc) were like pitting 280 pound NFL lineman against a little league football team so they don't count.) Now before you get your panties all up in a wedgie, think about it, we had no absolute victory in any of these wars named. They all resulted in political resolutions.

I believe it was General George Armstrong Patton that is credited with the quote " Wars should be fought by soldiers, not politicians", and if he didn't say it, well dammit, he should have.

We have seen time and time again the severe toll in human lives that takes place when politicians try to play soldier. Today I received a call from my niece and in the course of conversation she mentioned that her brother-in-law was hit today by a rocket in Afghanistan. The family is not aware of how he is doing but hope to find out soon.

Now I was one of the first ones yelling to invade Afghanistan, to kill Bin Laden, after 9/11. I objected to our invasion of Iraq because it served no purpose other than GWB cleaning up the mess left by his Dad in the last war run by politicians. But after 8 years of young people trying and dying to fulfill their mission, I need to say;

Mr. Obama shit or get off the pot! Play politics with your health care, green energy, electric cars, but let the Generals dictate how to win wars. They know, you don't! And if you don't want to be in this war then get our children out of harms way.

Sir, you are the Commander in Chief and as such it is your constitutional obligation and job to protect this country. But based upon your indecisiveness over the last 30 days about whether or not to send additional troops requested by your Afghanistan Commander I'm having serious doubts whether or not you're the right man for the job. Being a leader means you need to make snap decisions sometimes. You can't govern by quorum. It appears you want a quicker response to your national heath care plan than you are willing to give the soldiers dying on your watch.

Quit playing politics with young peoples lives.

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

Just this last week I lost a friend to cancer, I had another friend diagnosed with cancer, and a relative continue his courageous fight against cancer. I also had a friend give birth to her first baby, a boy named Mason. I'm waiting to hear from another friend who is about to be a Grandpa for the first time. I have a dear friend with a daughter needing surgery and another child sick. One friend lost his job and another finally found work, and one friend is getting married.

This is life. This is what you and I share in common every day. We have those moments that make us laugh and those that make us cry but each moment is precious. Take the time every day to tell someone you love them, for you never know if it will be the last chance you have to say it.