The America I would like to live in...
The America I would like to live in is not so dissimilar from the America that I grew up in.
Should I blame Reagan and Bush Sr. for the bad of it?
Thank Slick Willy for the Good of it?
Probably not. Statistically- economically speaking- I am told that the country does better with a Democrat in the White House than a Republican (and after Dubyah I'm inclined to agree in no undue haste).
But, I am a man, by some measure at least, who has seen things many ways here in Alabama, and outside for that matter.
Thanks to a Guardian.uk Op-Ed- I'm realizing quickly that "Small Town" America is a place that people think still exists, and in a way certainly does.
After living 5 years in Tuscaloosa, I miss it.
Returning to Huntsville- I've returned to a spread out and White-Collar crowd that has little place for someone like me (there are plenty of rednecks too).
But I find, the things I miss most about Tuscaloosa are here and there...
My old "neighborhood" near campus and the strip- where I spent most of my food and entertainment dollars...even on groceries.
I also miss Northport- even working at the Waffle House almost. It was an overly stressful job for insufficient pay/earnings and hours and it was badly mismanaged at the time at least- but the people who came there often enough were "salt of the earth" or just weird enough that I found them agreeable.
A nice man who knew folk remedies and grew greens practically wild on his property that I spoke to on occasion as I ate my post shift breakfast, an older school teacher who collected odd bits of currency, or a man who knew the value of a dollar because he'd been hustling this or that item for sale since he was a kid.
Nice people, some mean too. Enough of them dirty, poor or ignorant to deem "red neck" and some how disparage. Yet, I only ever took a dislike to people who didn't show others- me in particular I guess- respect or kindness.
The America I would like to live in is one where the three R's that are worked hard at instituting are the three I learned about in a Public service announcement as a kid (I believe it was during Clinton's first term, for the record)- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Hell, they even had that message in my morning cartoons.
The America I would like to live in respects the founding fathers- not for their foibles, but for their principles, for their ideas of what things should be like for the Nation they were agreeing to form.
Washington's idea of the office of President being a duty- something that he didn't want because he didn't want to be a king, something that he did because he wanted to continue serving the people that believed in him, and then leave when he was there long enough.
George Washington's idea that Party Politics were not the best way to go.
And now, that There aren't Red States & Blue States, just the United States of America.
I believe in Obama, not because he's some liberal or an intellectual (I identify easily with him because he's a smart man who is educated), I believe in him because he believes in me, in my America, in our America, in American citizens- who serve their community and help their country and its people.
I'll be donating what's left of my "birthday money" to his campaign- locally. I was going to do it online, but today I had a phone call from someone with the campaign. A fairly nervous and awkward young man reading copy- asking me for something more than I could give, but more or less what he expected- save the fact that I was still willing to give and open to the options he wasn't expecting for my residential area...something in the $15-10 bracket.
Apparently a packet is in the mail.
He convinced me to donate locally as there aren't any service fees like an online charge would involve.
So I'll do that.
I like the idea of grassroots, people giving what they can for a cause they believe in- for an idea they support and yes perhaps to fight against ideas they don't believe in and don't support.
I do not agree with John McCain- because I do not find him agreeable. Certainly I don't agree with the conservative ideas he's suddenly espousing in hopes of election- his support of promises so similar to George Bush's campaign promises that they bear mocking by John Stewart- hero news personality of our generation. A man with bravery and humor to confront both the truth and the fact that his job is fake news...comedy, but to be a source of information and humor to a cynical and at times emotionally wounded audience.
My father claims-out of fear, not wishing- that Obama may lose because half of his young supporters simply won't vote. This might happen, but I'm well aware that twice as many young people (another presumed made up figure similar to my father's) are getting out and voting for the first time thanks to his inspiration.
And frankly, the America they represent is the America I want to live in.
There is a future where we will be caring for our parents- and our children.
And I do not want my country at war, occupying countries that do not want it's troops there, fighting ideas and networks that have little measurable ability to be defeated or would surrender even if we had the power to put them to that point...
I do believe that we MUST learn from our nation's history- especially, but also our world's history and growing banks of knowledge and influence of technology to stem the tide of disintegration that threatens the very balance of our shockingly tenuous survival.
In less lofty terms. We must learn from history. We must learn from dissenters, we must in fact learn from the presumed Judeo-Christian values (well, really the Deistic guidelines our fore-fathers had the foresight to instill in our government) and calm down and realize that if we wish to be seen as truly powerful, as the true leaders of our kind- we must be strong, but gentle, we must be meek, and we must be acceptant- at least without malice or unnecessary force when confronted by our own citizens who disagree with the institutions that have led us thus far.
I cannot abide by the constant flux and be silent. Where there are dissenters, there is the status quo, no? And who is in charge? Republicans? Yes, and no. As potentially vile and evil as Nixon was- John McCain is not, but the cronies of Dick Cheney & Karl Rove run the risk of putting our country into an early grave through corruption, corporate greed and misappropriation of American Funds and American Values.
I know, somewhere inside of me- and outwardly as well, is a man willing to fight openly- and with a closed fist if need be, for what I believe in. To protect those who need it, or those I love and would rather be harmed than have harmed.
I wouldn't go out and volunteer for the Army now- because it is no longer the United States Army that fought WWII, it is a corporate co-opted army of proud and at times misguided servicemen, whom I consider fellow Americans- who perhaps didn't have a better way in their home towns than to join the army. I do not want their lives ruined by war any more. I do not want a leader without wisdom or scruples to realize that War is not to be engaged by Politicians, it is engaged by people willing to fight. That the idea of Occupation should be one far from the mind of Generals (and Princes), that wasting the lands of our "enemies" is very close to wasting the lands of our allies and kin. And above all- that while Grand Strategy demands sacrifice, no where in proper strategy does foolishness belong. That the more we attempt to distract from the realities we face at home, the worse we will be for going abroad attempting to continue fantasies and finding only harsh and deadly realities.
I once took upon the name "William Sinister" as a mantle, I spoke out against the war that we were joining, I do not wish to see my country and my countrymen locked in endless war.
I do not want to see the idea that we must go out and defeat evil abroad succeed over the idea that we must clean out the evil at home first.
We should be stalwart, we should be building defenses against economic collapse, starvation, chaos, destruction and immorality in our own neighborhoods.
Lao Tze once spoke of great princes doing what was best for their people- and he told them to simply do nothing. The people will find their morality and their own security.
I read this of course within a Libertarian text, but I still agree with it.
I still agree with Fredric Bastiat, that The Law- that Governments- should exist soley to prevent plunder as he called it, and any law that actually enabled, contributed, led to or acted out plunder was an unjust law, and by extension the same for any government.
Now, this is a different world we live in- and in actuality the Socialists Bastiat spoke against then are not the Socialists that McCain speaks against now- and he is certainly not attempting to enact the kind of reform that Bastiat would approve.
To be concise, The American Dream should not die with us. I do not want to see my friends poor and hungry while fat cats lap up bowls full of ill-gotten gains.
It is one thing to work hard and save, it is another to walk into a crowd of people and claim power over them and their future without having any interest in their present state or their tomorrow.
I am beyond radicalism with these interests, I'm not the type to be a revolutionary lest History and my fellows demand it of me.
I am a protector, a protector of the left perhaps- but more so what is sinister to some, and perhaps necessary to others.
The America I would like to live in, is one I am proud to say I am part of, and I am not afraid to say that I am an American today, but I do not want to fear it tomorrow.
I feel that America of which I am proud to be a part exists today, in every stifled hope, every frustrated effort and muffled dream.
I lost faith when the Anti-War Effort packed up and went home early (to come back again and again, but never as strong until recently) in Tuscaloosa.
I lost faith when, after becoming drunk on hopes with Dean, our dreams faded in the muck of a bad hang over, stuck in bed with a fool and his badly influential friends.
The America I want to live in, has a smaller gap between Rich and Poor- and thus is healthier, more prosperous and more secure.
We will not accomplish a better America or a better future if we are unwilling to work together and we are unwilling to compromise, if we are unwilling to sacrifice and if we are unwilling to live together.
I love my family, I love my friends, I love my life and I love my home. This state and this country I call home, but above all- this Planet Earth that every day has the rest of its natural order pushed over a bit more by its most ambitious inhabitants.
The America I want to live in is not a dream, it is a potentiality...
And I am ready to work toward its reality.
Should I blame Reagan and Bush Sr. for the bad of it?
Thank Slick Willy for the Good of it?
Probably not. Statistically- economically speaking- I am told that the country does better with a Democrat in the White House than a Republican (and after Dubyah I'm inclined to agree in no undue haste).
But, I am a man, by some measure at least, who has seen things many ways here in Alabama, and outside for that matter.
Thanks to a Guardian.uk Op-Ed- I'm realizing quickly that "Small Town" America is a place that people think still exists, and in a way certainly does.
After living 5 years in Tuscaloosa, I miss it.
Returning to Huntsville- I've returned to a spread out and White-Collar crowd that has little place for someone like me (there are plenty of rednecks too).
But I find, the things I miss most about Tuscaloosa are here and there...
My old "neighborhood" near campus and the strip- where I spent most of my food and entertainment dollars...even on groceries.
I also miss Northport- even working at the Waffle House almost. It was an overly stressful job for insufficient pay/earnings and hours and it was badly mismanaged at the time at least- but the people who came there often enough were "salt of the earth" or just weird enough that I found them agreeable.
A nice man who knew folk remedies and grew greens practically wild on his property that I spoke to on occasion as I ate my post shift breakfast, an older school teacher who collected odd bits of currency, or a man who knew the value of a dollar because he'd been hustling this or that item for sale since he was a kid.
Nice people, some mean too. Enough of them dirty, poor or ignorant to deem "red neck" and some how disparage. Yet, I only ever took a dislike to people who didn't show others- me in particular I guess- respect or kindness.
The America I would like to live in is one where the three R's that are worked hard at instituting are the three I learned about in a Public service announcement as a kid (I believe it was during Clinton's first term, for the record)- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Hell, they even had that message in my morning cartoons.
The America I would like to live in respects the founding fathers- not for their foibles, but for their principles, for their ideas of what things should be like for the Nation they were agreeing to form.
Washington's idea of the office of President being a duty- something that he didn't want because he didn't want to be a king, something that he did because he wanted to continue serving the people that believed in him, and then leave when he was there long enough.
George Washington's idea that Party Politics were not the best way to go.
And now, that There aren't Red States & Blue States, just the United States of America.
I believe in Obama, not because he's some liberal or an intellectual (I identify easily with him because he's a smart man who is educated), I believe in him because he believes in me, in my America, in our America, in American citizens- who serve their community and help their country and its people.
I'll be donating what's left of my "birthday money" to his campaign- locally. I was going to do it online, but today I had a phone call from someone with the campaign. A fairly nervous and awkward young man reading copy- asking me for something more than I could give, but more or less what he expected- save the fact that I was still willing to give and open to the options he wasn't expecting for my residential area...something in the $15-10 bracket.
Apparently a packet is in the mail.
He convinced me to donate locally as there aren't any service fees like an online charge would involve.
So I'll do that.
I like the idea of grassroots, people giving what they can for a cause they believe in- for an idea they support and yes perhaps to fight against ideas they don't believe in and don't support.
I do not agree with John McCain- because I do not find him agreeable. Certainly I don't agree with the conservative ideas he's suddenly espousing in hopes of election- his support of promises so similar to George Bush's campaign promises that they bear mocking by John Stewart- hero news personality of our generation. A man with bravery and humor to confront both the truth and the fact that his job is fake news...comedy, but to be a source of information and humor to a cynical and at times emotionally wounded audience.
My father claims-out of fear, not wishing- that Obama may lose because half of his young supporters simply won't vote. This might happen, but I'm well aware that twice as many young people (another presumed made up figure similar to my father's) are getting out and voting for the first time thanks to his inspiration.
And frankly, the America they represent is the America I want to live in.
There is a future where we will be caring for our parents- and our children.
And I do not want my country at war, occupying countries that do not want it's troops there, fighting ideas and networks that have little measurable ability to be defeated or would surrender even if we had the power to put them to that point...
I do believe that we MUST learn from our nation's history- especially, but also our world's history and growing banks of knowledge and influence of technology to stem the tide of disintegration that threatens the very balance of our shockingly tenuous survival.
In less lofty terms. We must learn from history. We must learn from dissenters, we must in fact learn from the presumed Judeo-Christian values (well, really the Deistic guidelines our fore-fathers had the foresight to instill in our government) and calm down and realize that if we wish to be seen as truly powerful, as the true leaders of our kind- we must be strong, but gentle, we must be meek, and we must be acceptant- at least without malice or unnecessary force when confronted by our own citizens who disagree with the institutions that have led us thus far.
I cannot abide by the constant flux and be silent. Where there are dissenters, there is the status quo, no? And who is in charge? Republicans? Yes, and no. As potentially vile and evil as Nixon was- John McCain is not, but the cronies of Dick Cheney & Karl Rove run the risk of putting our country into an early grave through corruption, corporate greed and misappropriation of American Funds and American Values.
I know, somewhere inside of me- and outwardly as well, is a man willing to fight openly- and with a closed fist if need be, for what I believe in. To protect those who need it, or those I love and would rather be harmed than have harmed.
I wouldn't go out and volunteer for the Army now- because it is no longer the United States Army that fought WWII, it is a corporate co-opted army of proud and at times misguided servicemen, whom I consider fellow Americans- who perhaps didn't have a better way in their home towns than to join the army. I do not want their lives ruined by war any more. I do not want a leader without wisdom or scruples to realize that War is not to be engaged by Politicians, it is engaged by people willing to fight. That the idea of Occupation should be one far from the mind of Generals (and Princes), that wasting the lands of our "enemies" is very close to wasting the lands of our allies and kin. And above all- that while Grand Strategy demands sacrifice, no where in proper strategy does foolishness belong. That the more we attempt to distract from the realities we face at home, the worse we will be for going abroad attempting to continue fantasies and finding only harsh and deadly realities.
I once took upon the name "William Sinister" as a mantle, I spoke out against the war that we were joining, I do not wish to see my country and my countrymen locked in endless war.
I do not want to see the idea that we must go out and defeat evil abroad succeed over the idea that we must clean out the evil at home first.
We should be stalwart, we should be building defenses against economic collapse, starvation, chaos, destruction and immorality in our own neighborhoods.
Lao Tze once spoke of great princes doing what was best for their people- and he told them to simply do nothing. The people will find their morality and their own security.
I read this of course within a Libertarian text, but I still agree with it.
I still agree with Fredric Bastiat, that The Law- that Governments- should exist soley to prevent plunder as he called it, and any law that actually enabled, contributed, led to or acted out plunder was an unjust law, and by extension the same for any government.
Now, this is a different world we live in- and in actuality the Socialists Bastiat spoke against then are not the Socialists that McCain speaks against now- and he is certainly not attempting to enact the kind of reform that Bastiat would approve.
To be concise, The American Dream should not die with us. I do not want to see my friends poor and hungry while fat cats lap up bowls full of ill-gotten gains.
It is one thing to work hard and save, it is another to walk into a crowd of people and claim power over them and their future without having any interest in their present state or their tomorrow.
I am beyond radicalism with these interests, I'm not the type to be a revolutionary lest History and my fellows demand it of me.
I am a protector, a protector of the left perhaps- but more so what is sinister to some, and perhaps necessary to others.
The America I would like to live in, is one I am proud to say I am part of, and I am not afraid to say that I am an American today, but I do not want to fear it tomorrow.
I feel that America of which I am proud to be a part exists today, in every stifled hope, every frustrated effort and muffled dream.
I lost faith when the Anti-War Effort packed up and went home early (to come back again and again, but never as strong until recently) in Tuscaloosa.
I lost faith when, after becoming drunk on hopes with Dean, our dreams faded in the muck of a bad hang over, stuck in bed with a fool and his badly influential friends.
The America I want to live in, has a smaller gap between Rich and Poor- and thus is healthier, more prosperous and more secure.
We will not accomplish a better America or a better future if we are unwilling to work together and we are unwilling to compromise, if we are unwilling to sacrifice and if we are unwilling to live together.
I love my family, I love my friends, I love my life and I love my home. This state and this country I call home, but above all- this Planet Earth that every day has the rest of its natural order pushed over a bit more by its most ambitious inhabitants.
The America I want to live in is not a dream, it is a potentiality...
And I am ready to work toward its reality.