An old Chinese curse goes like this:
"May you live in interesting times"
It sure seems to me at this particular time in this great political, social and human experiment called America we've reached a very interesting and might we even say convoluted crossroads. Our political landscape seems to be cut right down the middle. The views from the one side seem to be saying the whole thing is off track, failing and doomed without drastic counter measures.
The views from the other side seem to be saying quite the opposite, that we're just going through another of many ups and downs, same as all throughout history and that everything just like before will eventually come out just fine, with or without the politicians interdiction.
I'm not sure of the exact percentages but the same seems to be true with our social/moral views. One side saying we're heading down the road of moral corruption and ruin and the other side believing we're on the cusp of finally starting to remove a lot of the barriers in the way of total social and intellectual freedom.
It seems to me the last time most Americans were on the same general page was in the first world wars. Those times we had a common and excepted enemy. An enemy that seemed to be trying to take our coveted and loved way of life away. We behaved as a family unit back then. Mess with my family to your peril was the cry and hue of the day.
Let me admit something here. Every day I hear some "fact" thrown out there that positively proves to me that their point of view is right and just. Then practically the very next day, I hear another "fact" telling me everything the other person or side said was a complete fabrication. A flat out lie to further their particular political agenda.
Now these "Facts" not only come flying out of the woodwork from all the media sources and politicians but also just normal hard working folks I come into contact with.
These normal nice, seemingly intelligent folks walk in with their "Facts" in hand either screaming bloody murder about some injustice being inflicted on the huddled masses or screaming about America going down the drain of communism, socialism or any number of other "ism's", far to numerous to count.
One minute we for sure have more oil available right here under American soil than all the other countries combined and the only thing stopping us from using it are those crazy and oft hated environmentalist. The next I hear is that's all a complete exaggerated lie by all the Oil companies in the world to keep ripping us off in price.
Some "Facts" I found on the Internet:
Where are the reserves?
Proved oil reserves are those quantities of oil that geological information indicates can be with reasonable certainty recovered in the future from known reservoirs. Of the trillion barrels currently estimated, 6% are in North America, 9% in Central and Latin America, 2% in Europe, 4% in Asia Pacific, 7% in Africa, 6% in the Former Soviet Union. Today, 66% of global oil reserves are in the hands of Middle Eastern regimes: Saudi Arabia (25%), Iraq (11%), Iran (8%), UAR (9%), Kuwait (9%), and Libya (2%).
So in the end folks, I think we're back to the basics of psychology here. We each have it within ourselves to form opinions and attitudes about all the subjects we care to pay attention to slipping in whichever emotional Tagalogs we choose to add. Is today going to be a nice day or a crappy one? Is the weather too hot or just right. Are we going to see life through rose colored or dark glasses? Is America on the cusp of ruin or will it be just fine eventually?
The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.
-- Carlos Castaneda
I admittedly and proudly count myself in the latter. I make a choice daily to see the positive in life. Most people I come across think life is pretty damn good right now and fully believe it will always only get better on into the future with the normal bumps in the road. I suppose it depends on where you live but I get proof everyday where I live and work. Everyone I come in contact with, including me are holding their chins high and their glasses proudly half full.
I have no plans whatsoever to start trading in my cash for gold, building a secret bomb shelter or Ark for that matter, to stock with food, guns and ammo for the "The end". I'll leave that up to the thousands throughout time, both from politics and religion who continue to make those silly and obviously failed proclamations.
Oh, one more thing. Every time I get on this rant, someone inevitably accuses me of being the ostrich with it's head in the sand hiding from reality. Sorry guys. I hold my chin and head high and enjoy the fresh air of my own attitude choices and I choose to think positive.
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2 comments:
I think that there are an awful lot of us who are neither extreme left or extreme right - but most of us are somewhere in the middle depending on the issues. We are just every-day, average folks trying to get through life with all the challenges thrown at us, and trying to survive and raise our families.
But all too often, people take what they hear or read from the National news networks, or local papers "as gospel" or "fact". Gee, the networks and papers don't have an agenda? They aren't trying to influence people?
Point in fact - "Banks are not lending money" - I work for a large Bank, and we are lending BILLIONS each day - But what does the MEDIA report, and people take as fact, "greedy banks are not lending money." Banks are like any other business, whether you are a Barber, Butcher, or any business - you are in business to make a profit and get ahead. And if you don't lend money, you don't make a profit.
Why has it become unfashionable to work hard, make money, and get ahead - why should the rich be taxed more? Because they were smarter and worked harder than the rest of us? Very few of them were handed a silver spoon - they had ideas, took a chance and acted on them and made money. Just because others chose to sit around and do nothing, and be content with welfare or sponge off others, and milk the system, why should those who worked hard have to support those who didn't.
You picked the direction in life you wanted - now live with the consequences.
With regards to doomsday prophets, we can't continue to ignore the fact that our politicans are spending more money than they are taking in. If I go to my boss and tell him "you need to pay me more because I'm spending more than you pay me", what do you think they'd say - control your spending or find another job that pays more. This is going on at the City, State, National, and Global level -and sooner or later, we will have to pay the bills - we can't ignore it much longer. I for one want the government out of my pocket, and I should be the one who says where I spend my money. If I want to help the less fortunate, that should be my choice, not some policician who's trying to get re-elected and doesn't give a shit about what happens
Uncle Bubba
Tell me the media isn't biased - read the following (all of it)
"A grand jury [sic] convicted former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, on 17 of 20 counts of corruption. 11 of of the guilty verdicts related to attempts to profit from the "sale" of the U.S. Senate seat Barack Obama vacated when he became president," Tom Blumer of NewsBusters.org wrote last night:
In six items all carrying today's [now yesterday's] date found at the AP's main site in a search on the former governor's last name at 8:15 p.m. ET, the wire service not only failed to tag Blago as a Democrat, it failed to tag anyone as Democrat.
This was eventually remedied, Blumer reports, in a 9:41 p.m. AP dispatch. That dispatch was updated again this morning; its fifth paragraph reads: "Uncharacteristically, the 54-year-old Democrat had little more to say, adding only that he was stunned by the verdict."
An NPR.org blog entry from yesterday likewise made no reference to the Democratic Party, except for this passage quoted from the New York Times: "For Democrats here, in a state government controlled almost entirely by Democrats, the final chapter could not come soon enough." (That Times story, likely also updated since yesterday afternoon, mentions the ex-governor's party in the second paragraph.)
By contrast, a reader sent along no fewer than 11 NPR.org links (sorry, we're too lazy to paste them all in) about the trial and conviction of Randy "Duke" Cunningham, a former California congressman--all of which identified him as a Republican.
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