Topping the blog lists!

You made Thinking Out Loud one of the top ten conservative blogs on "Top Political Blog" site (on April 28, 2012) with an international audience. On February 18, 2013, we hit in the top 50 of ALL political blogs. (This changes all the time, so keep reading.) Thank you.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Being a man in 2013

I love this letter by John Ransom on advice for how to be / what is a man.

http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/johnransom/2012/12/25/on-being-a-man-n1473616

John writes "Firstly, God has put a special responsibility upon you to help and protect those weaker than yourself, those less fortunate than yourself and those in distress. The measure of a man is in how he meets these challenges. A good man treats those around him with kindliness and consideration especially under trying circumstances."

Responsibility. This is what separates a man and a boy. A man accepts that he has responsibilities that do not include me, me, me. And takes responsibility for his own actions. A man acts responsibly, in public and in private.

One of those responsibilities, as John points out, is protection of those weaker and less able. That is the kid being bullied, the special needs person who just wants to live their lives in dignity without being ridiculed, the elderly and the infirmed who deserve respect as human beings. The measure of difference between man and boy is such that a man does it out of kindness and compassion. A man protects those who need him not out of some hero swaggering reason. He does it because it is right to do so. A boy does it to make himself seem important.

To head off the feminist and women who would claim this ideal of manliness must mean I am misogynistic or a throwback to the days of female oppression. Neither is true. As John himself points out "It does not however mean the man is the boss of everyone. It consists of accepting the responsibility of making decisions, without any prejudice, for the good of your family; and then being accountable to God for the outcome."

Women are important in life and in the household. But a man, as head of household, does not abandon his family for selfish reasons. He does not leave a mother and children to fend for themselves. And he does NOT lord it over them. A marriage is a partnership and a family is a unit. A man will accept responsibility for tending to and protecting his family. A man understands that it is not "my word is law" in a household; he will do what is good for the family, not what makes him feel good about himself.

One of the probelms with the world today is that there are too many boys playing at being men and not enough role models for them to look up to. Celebrities who abandon their families and responsibilities, who offer up as models to young boys "ownership" of women and poor treatment and the axiom that toys make you happy. These are childish, un-manly activities. But this is what young boys see.

And they see childish boys in government acting in childish ways. NOT doing what is good for their "family" of constituents, NOT being men of responsibility, NOT looking out for the weaker ones (that is, those without the power these "men" in high office have).

If more men of honor and responsibility stepped up and offered true inspiration, perhaps this country and this world would take on a more positive hue.

Until then, it is up to pundits like John to point out the boy behavior of those who claim to be men so that the young can see the truth in their actions and NOT model themselves after such children.

Agree or disagree, it doesn't matter to me. So long as I get you to think, then all will be well.

Have a wonderful and happy 2013. Make a resolution to avoid the Spin and stop being sheep.

Charles

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Morgan Freeman is wrong

Good, now that I have the attention of celebrity hounds, maybe I can enlighten you.

Morgan Freeman supposedly weighed in on who is to blame. True or not, it has sparked a wave of people who "blame" the media for "glorifying the killer." A poll at the end of the article linked above showed that an overwhelming majority of the 1500 plus people (at the time of this writing) indeed blame the media. Very few said it was that some "people are beyond reason."

Neither one of those is truly accurate. But it is proof that the real blame lies deeper. And it lies with all Americans.

I just have to say that although I commend anyone for maintaining the focus on the victims of these senseless events and I am often at odds with my colleagues in the media, I msut - to their defense - say that it is not them who makes these "household names." In fact, I will bet my next print paycheck that there would only be maybe 1 in 100 - hell, 1 in 1000 - who can name the shooters from these past crimes beyond a week or a month after the events. I don't speak the names of the Columbine shooters at my house. I would have to look them up if I were to refer to them in an article. And I bet dollars to doughnuts that as brilliant an actor as Morgan Freeman is, even HE had to look these names up. Its the news. It gets reported. It SHOULD teach us a lesson. But if the lesson it taught Morgan is that kids will want to emulate these sickos, then he got the wrong message. (Although, as stated above, it has come out that maybe Morgan did not say this, it certainly feels like something he would say in light of his recent public statements.)

So, just going to say it. People will get pissed but they can just get over it. Two things about gun control. 1) You pass a law to ban gun ownership and you end up living in a country where there is no protection from a possible dictatorship or military coup. 2) CRIMINALS DON'T OBEY LAWS NOW, so why the hell do you think they would do so with some NEW law?? Okay, one more. 3) There are laws NOW about 
what a citizen can own, how they can own it and when they can own it . . . if the law can't uphold THESE laws, what good is passing a new one?


What happens when people kill lots of other people has nothing to do with gun ownership. It has to do with a society that has become lazy. When I was a kid, we knew if we did something wrong our parents would find out because our neighbors would tell them. We knew that actions have consequences. But in America today TOO MANY people don't even know who their neighbors are, they hide behind closed doors and curtains if they hear kids doing bad things outside and there is no belief in actions = consequences anymore. Not where there is no personal responsibility anymore.

Americans are responsible for these tragedies that are happening. If we want them to stop, we have got to make some DRASTIC changes on how we live our lives. Find out who your neighbor is, get involved in your community, ACTUALLY care about the people in your community, stop holding stupid grudges, smile once in a while, be more concerned about the quality of life than the quantity of things in life, hold yourself / your kids / others accountable for their actions and don't make lame excuses for bad behavior, get into the lives of those around you and get the government out of them. Otherwise, sick people will continue to go unnoticed, signs of erratic / irrational behavior will go unchecked and more and more these things will continue to happen.

I'm done now. Yell, scream, rant, rave. Whatever. But deep inside . . . you know I'm right.

Agree or disagree, it matters not to me. What matters is you stop being hypnotized by others and come up with conclusions for yourself by using your own brains. Look at the world around you, dig deep for facts (not speculation, innuendo or what the latest celebrity or politician has to say about it) and formulate your own opinion. Do that and I will have done what I set out to do. Because, after all, this is just me, Thinking Out Loud.

Have a great day.

Charles