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.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Come On People All Lives Matter

There are some serious gaps in the education of our youth (and I mean going back decades, so that we find ourselves with an ignorant and uninformed adult population as well).

That has to be the explanation of all the very stupid things people are saying and doing these days. Right? I mean how else do you explain the stupidity of the Black Lives Matter movement? Or the This life is better than that life concept that has followed?

I say this because there is a storycoming out (not on any mainstream media outlet, of course) about a young ex-Marine who was assaulted by a gang of black youths (he figures five between the ages of 16 – 21, including one female) outside of a McDonald's. They had been harassing him inside, cornering him and shouting the question did he think black lives matter. He was knocked unconscious and robbed of money, credit cards, VA id and driver's license.

Here is a young man who surrendered his rights and the possibility of his very life to protect the freedoms these ignorant punks (and that is what they are, “usually a petty gangster, hoodlum, or ruffian”) enjoy.

So I am going to get real here. I mean really REAL. I am aiming this at EVERYONE! Men, women, children, politicians, civilians, black, white, red, straight, gay, transgender, rich, poor, middle class, the powerful and the powerless . . . EVERYONE in the United States!

The founding document of this country, the one that separated us from our colonizer nation, the one that outlined why we became who we became, explains things pretty clearly about who we should be as a nation.

The Declaration of Independence.

It starts out “We hold these truths to be self-evident . . .”.

For the uninitiated into the English language, let me translate. “Here is the obvious truth.” Its obvious, or self evident, to anyone who cares to simply open their eyes and see. Here are some truths and they are obvious. Pretty simple. But some people numbly look at you with a blank stare and go “huh?” and then ignore the document.

Okay, so we move on. “ . . . that all men are created equal . . .”. WOW! That line just blows away all of these separatist movements. All. Men. Are. Created. EQUAL! By men, the founders meant men as in mankind, as in humanity, as in EVERYBODY. So, everybody. Created equal. Boom! Black lives matter movement shut down. Because ALL lives matter. Says so in the founding document of this country. Rich lives, poor lives, homeless lives, working lives, black lives, white lives, ALL lives! End of discussion on that.

Now here comes the boom that makes the actions of thugs like the ones who attacked that Marine and like the ones in elected office un-American. “. . . that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights”.

You may ask what the heck “unalienable” means, and what are unalienable rights? Well you would be in good company because this has been discussed over and over by many people in the past. But here is the 411. Unalienable rights are rights that cannot be taken away. That's it. They are rights that you are born with. Like the right to breathe. No one can take that away. They can take away your ability to breathe. But your RIGHT to breath? No, they can't take that away.

So what are these rights? “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Now these are not the only ones. As I said before, you also have the right to breath. But the founders thought that would be kind of obvious to anybody, so they prefaced these rights by stating “that among these are”. So there are others but they wanted to include these three specifically.

Everyone has a right to life, to be alive. Therefore taking a life is not to be done for the hell of it. Any life. (And yes, I know, the taking of lives in war, any war is necessary to preserve life. A contradiction to be sure, but as I said, not simply done for the hell of it. Self defense, protection of others. Usually undertaken by those willing to sacrifice their own lives to defend the freedoms of these rights I am discussing.)

Liberty. Freedom. Everyone has a right to be free. You can be enslaved, in so many ways, but you choose to fight for this because everyone has a right to freedom. We fought a war to be free. People have staged protests to be free. Because it is a right everyone is born with.

And finally, everyone has the right to pursue a happy life. To be happy. To pursue it. A right. Born with it. Not to be taken away. Ever. By anyone.

So how do we secure these rights so that no one takes them away? The Declaration answers this. “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Which means it is up to the government to preserve these rights. Governments that derive their power from the governed. That's us. The governed. The people. The voters who put the government in place.

But here is the rub. We the people have to ensure the government abides by the tenets of our country. And what to do if they don't? Well, we have elections to make sure that the ones who fail are replaced. But what if it gets so bad that we find ourselves falling apart at the seams, as we are now? There is an answer for that, too.

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Kind of extreme. So if we want to avoid the latter, the abolishment of it, then we need to get active and work on altering it. By voting in people who do not derive their popularity or power from dividing us.

United, we stand. Divided, we fall. In modern times, one of our Founding Father, John Dickinson, used these words in a pre-Revolutionary War song called "The Liberty Song". In July of 1768 Dickinson wrote: "Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all! By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall!"

These Black Lives Matter movements do just this. They divide us. As do all of these “fill in the blank” Lives Matter groups, and as do all those who seek to usurp power by dividing us. And politicians who only wish to garner the largest amounts of votes. And they not only do a disservice to us as a country, but they tear apart the very tenets this country was founded on. That every one of us are created equal.

To that point, there is not one single candidate for public office in a very long time that is not guilty of dividing us. And we let them. We fall prey and victim to their manipulations.

I say it is time to stop listening to them and start listening to the concepts that formed this country that is the envy of the rest of the world.

Only by standing united, as one citizenry, as Americans all, will we fight off those that would divide and conquer us. Whether they be outside sources such as ISIS or Communists or Socialists or money grubbing, power hungry corporations, we must battle them all by ignoring their attempts and uniting.

Another document that looked to create a better country, a better world for all that followed them – for posterity – is the Declaration of Independence.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

It is time. To stop being sheep and to stop believing in “the spin” of all these divisive people and groups. We are ALL Americans. Not black Americans nor white Americans nor rich Americans nor poor Americans nor any other kind of such and such Americans. We are Americans and we need to stand united in the knowledge that ALL are created equal. All lives matter. Our Founding Fathers tried to make sure we understood this.

Normally I say agree with me or disagree with me, it doesn't matter. But I can't say that this time. Read it for yourself, don't just take my word on it. But if you disagree, if you think that all lives don't matter, that we are not all Americans, that we do not all have rights that cannot be taken away, that we don't need to stand united, then we will not all fall divided – then there is not much I can do for you. So just think for yourselves. Read what this country is all about. If you don't like that we are all one citizenry, then maybe you should think about finding a country that lets you feel divided and promotes divisiveness. But really, this is just me, Thinking Out Loud.

I hope you have a great day, and that you take my words into consideration the next time you hear someone saying something that divides us.


Charles  

Friday, February 12, 2016

Trump, Trumpism, Charles Murray and the Anger of Americans

COMMENTARY - Trump vs Murray?? Charles Murray wrote this back in October 2015: "It could be the 1850s and the Know Nothings. Same fear, same rhetoric, same fascist tendencies. And I don’t use “fascist” loosely."
Yet today Murray writes in the Wall Street Journal (online - which you can only read the full story by logging in or subscribing) "If you are dismayed by Trumpism, don’t kid yourself that it will fade away if Donald Trump fails to win the Republican nomination. Trumpism is an expression of the legitimate anger that many Americans feel about the course that the country has taken, and its appearance was predictable. It is the endgame of a process that has been going on for a half-century: America’s divestment of its historic national identity."
So which is it, Mr. Murray? Is Trump and all he stands for the same rhetoric as the 1850's Know Nothings, representing fear and fascism? Or is it an "expression of legitimate anger"?
Like most "pundits" and politicians today, they just don't understand the appeal of someone like Donald Trump. Do people ACTUALLY want to elect The Donald as President of the United States of America? Mostly not. But what other choice do they have to vent their anger and frustration at a government intent on lying to (poorly) and dividing (convincingly) the entirety of the American people? What other choice do they have when there are so many incompetent people in power who really don't get the economy like a businessman of The Donald's obvious skills in that area? What choice do they have when the other choices are people who are cowards in the face of international mayhem?
With the damage this current president has done to not only the fabric of American society by the psyche of the American spirit, not to mention the nilly willy way in which he consistently violates the separation of powers with his use (or misuse) or executive orders, the people are frustrated.
Its also why Bernie Sanders on the Democrat side engenders so much support. Even though he has been a part of the problem for decades, he "says" the right things to a people who would not support ANY Republican. He is their ONLY choice to vent.
So what is the answer? Do away with parties. At least for President. Everyone can run on their own merit, their own ideas, their own platform. The person with the most votes (by the people, not some elusive "Electoral College") gets the job. The person with the second most votes becomes vice president. Its the only fair way in today's environment of political shenanigans and payoffs via party PACs and donations.
The American people are neither Republican nor Democrat nor Green nor Socialist as a whole. And neither should the President be. The President is NOT the leader of his respective party. He is the duly elected Executive for ALL the American people.
But you know what? This is just my opinion and thoughts on the matter. You can have your own opinion and thoughts on the matter. But thats what is great about our country. We can each have our own opinion and try to convince others of our ideas being the . . . .okay, I was going to say the right ideas. But in truth, as in governmental structure, there is no "right" and "wrong" idea. Its the BEST idea among all the competing ideas out there. Whats best for US. And I do mean US as in the capitalization "us".
Bottom line, though, is that America is pissed. And it will continue to be pissed long after whoever is elected president is sworn in. Because none of the damage done in the past 70 years can be corrected overnight. Or even in four years. But even if it doesn't, and even if Americans stay angry, if something isn't done to make corrections NOW, it will just keep getting worse. And THAT is the appeal of Trump and Trumpism. So Murray might finally have it right. Not sure because I will not be paying for a subscription of the Wall Street Journal to rad the conclusion of this article of his. I just can't afford it.
So, as I always say here, agree or disagree, thats up to you. Just do your research and think for yourselves. Don't be sheep and think what the pundits or your "betters" in politics tell you what to think. Not even me. Because this is just me, Thinking Out Loud.
Have a great day.
Charles