Election and General Comments
So, the elections are over.
As anyone who is reading this journal knows, I am staunchly conservative in my bent. I do believe in a few 'liberal' things. I do not believe that it is 'our' place as voters or the governments place to define civil unions, or marriage as being between a Man and a Woman. There are lines that I believe should not be crossed, not because they are morally 'right' or morally 'wrong' but because they infringe upon those 'self evident freedoms' that we are granted in life.
That said, I do not understand the stances of so many 'Liberals' that I see on forums, on the news, hear on the radio. Because I voted for Bush, because I felt that he was the leader that this country needed in these trying times, I automatically labelled 'white trash' or 'walmart america'. Working class does not mean stupid. Watching Nascar and living in Rural America does not mean you are a stupid slob. The day the Democratic party realizes this, is the day that they might win the south and the midwest.
You know, every time I hear that, every time I see that, just makes my conviction to never vote Democrat even stronger. I grew up damn near at the poverty line. My dad was the only income earner in our family until I was in high school, and it was my freshman year before his monthly income peaked over $1600 a month after taxes. I have two brothers, and the only thing I ever remember my parents fighting over was money.
We were poor. My mom bought each of us boys 3 pairs of pants ever year, by the next time we bought jeans again, we had patches on patches, on patches. I make more now a year than my Father does, and he manages somewhere between 10,000 - 12,000 acres of irrigated farmland for a cattle company that is probably going to gross 300 million dollars worth of profit this year. I work 40 hours a week, he works 70+ and is not payed overtime in fact, he's a salaried worker.
I grew up white trash. I was one of those kids that got .20 lunches at schools and wore those same 5 t-shirts once every week. I tried to get through college and both failed in exercising my academics, and ran out of money. If I hadn't slacked on the academics I wouldn't have ran out of money.
Still, not finishing college has hardly hurt my career so far. I'm still looking at getting ahead in my life, maybe someday finishing up that degree. There is one thing that I learned from my 'white trash' days, and that is you never get anywhere by blaming anyone. Hard work, determination, and the will to see things through to the end no matter how bad, or how crappy things are, will always win the day.
I see myself in Bush. I voted for him, because he was the canidate closest to me, closest to my values, closest to my outlook on life. I may not share his unshakeable faith, yet I understand what it means to him, and how far it will take him in life. I do not agree with all he says, but I do agree with most of it.
That said, I don't agree with any social program that there is in the US with the exception of education. Not social security, not welfare, and none of the the health care programs. Don't talk to me about that bleeding heart crap. I have never once taken advantage of any of those programs that I have spoken against, and neither has anyone in my immediate family. Do not tell me I must bear the burden, because I have fought for my postion in the world, of those who have not. If you wish to support welfare for the poor, healthcare for the sick, retirement for the old, then feel free to do so through the method of Non-profit charities. Do not tell me that *I* must do so as well. Do not tell me it is the government's right to chose to give my money to those who have no right to it.
Maybe that comes from growing up in an area of the nation in where success is judged not by how well he/she does by how it *is* done. Success is not measured in dollars in my hometown, not measured in how big your house is, or how expensive your car is. It is measured in your family, how they act, how you've faced the challenges in your life and how you treat other people. Maybe that is foreign to people that have grown up in a city. I know I find much about city life still foreign even after living in one for the better part of 8 years.
I don't understand why people treat each other the way they do in the city. I don't understand why there is no sense of community, or seemingly a sense of family. Family is not just your parents, or your children, or your siblings. Its cousins and aunts, uncles and grandparents. It is people you've known all your life. Family is blood being thicker than water. Family is supporting each other through thick and thin, through the good times and the bad. Family is going to your child's sporting events even if it means driving hours to get there, driving hours back, and waking up exhausted before dawn to go to work. Family is compromise and hardship. Community is knowning your neighbors and caring about what happens in their lives.
This election came down to one basic question. Beyond economics, beyond personal backgrounds, beyond the war and terror. One question. "Who is America?" America is people. America is not government, nor is America media moguls.
As John Kerry said today in his speech, everyone in America today is a winner. We wake up every day, Americans. We need not worry that tomorrow wearing red may be a death sentence, we need not worry that we'll be dragged out of our house by 'security' and have our tongues cut out or our hands lopped off. Outside of some sort of worldwide disaster, we'll have enough food on our plates every day, and the chances we're going to die to a suicide bomber are very low.
Parting words of advice for those Democrats and/or any liberal leaning people that might be reading this. Stop assuming that everyone who voted against you, is stupid. Its not true, and looking at the current (rough) demographic data on this election isn't even close to being true. Decide what your points are, and decide what you want to change in this country and start working on it *now*. Don't wait until the election, try to change things before then. Speak your word, and then stick to it. And damn sure, don't call a man a liar, while supporting one yourselves.
As anyone who is reading this journal knows, I am staunchly conservative in my bent. I do believe in a few 'liberal' things. I do not believe that it is 'our' place as voters or the governments place to define civil unions, or marriage as being between a Man and a Woman. There are lines that I believe should not be crossed, not because they are morally 'right' or morally 'wrong' but because they infringe upon those 'self evident freedoms' that we are granted in life.
That said, I do not understand the stances of so many 'Liberals' that I see on forums, on the news, hear on the radio. Because I voted for Bush, because I felt that he was the leader that this country needed in these trying times, I automatically labelled 'white trash' or 'walmart america'. Working class does not mean stupid. Watching Nascar and living in Rural America does not mean you are a stupid slob. The day the Democratic party realizes this, is the day that they might win the south and the midwest.
You know, every time I hear that, every time I see that, just makes my conviction to never vote Democrat even stronger. I grew up damn near at the poverty line. My dad was the only income earner in our family until I was in high school, and it was my freshman year before his monthly income peaked over $1600 a month after taxes. I have two brothers, and the only thing I ever remember my parents fighting over was money.
We were poor. My mom bought each of us boys 3 pairs of pants ever year, by the next time we bought jeans again, we had patches on patches, on patches. I make more now a year than my Father does, and he manages somewhere between 10,000 - 12,000 acres of irrigated farmland for a cattle company that is probably going to gross 300 million dollars worth of profit this year. I work 40 hours a week, he works 70+ and is not payed overtime in fact, he's a salaried worker.
I grew up white trash. I was one of those kids that got .20 lunches at schools and wore those same 5 t-shirts once every week. I tried to get through college and both failed in exercising my academics, and ran out of money. If I hadn't slacked on the academics I wouldn't have ran out of money.
Still, not finishing college has hardly hurt my career so far. I'm still looking at getting ahead in my life, maybe someday finishing up that degree. There is one thing that I learned from my 'white trash' days, and that is you never get anywhere by blaming anyone. Hard work, determination, and the will to see things through to the end no matter how bad, or how crappy things are, will always win the day.
I see myself in Bush. I voted for him, because he was the canidate closest to me, closest to my values, closest to my outlook on life. I may not share his unshakeable faith, yet I understand what it means to him, and how far it will take him in life. I do not agree with all he says, but I do agree with most of it.
That said, I don't agree with any social program that there is in the US with the exception of education. Not social security, not welfare, and none of the the health care programs. Don't talk to me about that bleeding heart crap. I have never once taken advantage of any of those programs that I have spoken against, and neither has anyone in my immediate family. Do not tell me I must bear the burden, because I have fought for my postion in the world, of those who have not. If you wish to support welfare for the poor, healthcare for the sick, retirement for the old, then feel free to do so through the method of Non-profit charities. Do not tell me that *I* must do so as well. Do not tell me it is the government's right to chose to give my money to those who have no right to it.
Maybe that comes from growing up in an area of the nation in where success is judged not by how well he/she does by how it *is* done. Success is not measured in dollars in my hometown, not measured in how big your house is, or how expensive your car is. It is measured in your family, how they act, how you've faced the challenges in your life and how you treat other people. Maybe that is foreign to people that have grown up in a city. I know I find much about city life still foreign even after living in one for the better part of 8 years.
I don't understand why people treat each other the way they do in the city. I don't understand why there is no sense of community, or seemingly a sense of family. Family is not just your parents, or your children, or your siblings. Its cousins and aunts, uncles and grandparents. It is people you've known all your life. Family is blood being thicker than water. Family is supporting each other through thick and thin, through the good times and the bad. Family is going to your child's sporting events even if it means driving hours to get there, driving hours back, and waking up exhausted before dawn to go to work. Family is compromise and hardship. Community is knowning your neighbors and caring about what happens in their lives.
This election came down to one basic question. Beyond economics, beyond personal backgrounds, beyond the war and terror. One question. "Who is America?" America is people. America is not government, nor is America media moguls.
As John Kerry said today in his speech, everyone in America today is a winner. We wake up every day, Americans. We need not worry that tomorrow wearing red may be a death sentence, we need not worry that we'll be dragged out of our house by 'security' and have our tongues cut out or our hands lopped off. Outside of some sort of worldwide disaster, we'll have enough food on our plates every day, and the chances we're going to die to a suicide bomber are very low.
Parting words of advice for those Democrats and/or any liberal leaning people that might be reading this. Stop assuming that everyone who voted against you, is stupid. Its not true, and looking at the current (rough) demographic data on this election isn't even close to being true. Decide what your points are, and decide what you want to change in this country and start working on it *now*. Don't wait until the election, try to change things before then. Speak your word, and then stick to it. And damn sure, don't call a man a liar, while supporting one yourselves.