Thursday, February 21, 2013

Breaking Point and Limits



So....we've all been there. Even the nicest, calmest most easy going individual has done it. What am I referring to? Being pushed to your limit. Some people are non-confrontational, some have a knack of letting things just slide off their back.....and some....like myself, get to an age where they/me....simply learn to pick which battles are worth busting a kidney over and which ones are not. However.....it doesn't matter who you are or how generous of spirit, kind or even tempered you are.....we all have our breaking point and when pushed far enough....we are left with no choice but to stand up and fight.

I have talked in the recent past about what I have seen on facebook (fb) lately. A lot of people who have spent literally years on fb talking about their day to day lives, showing pictures of their families and sharing recipes.....have suddenly become hyper political. Daily their wall is filled with pictures, quotes and news stories of what is going on in the political arena and none of it is good. In fact it is down right depressing to the point of bringing others down so low that they are deleting long time friends and family. It isn't even about disagreeing with these posts for many. Some totally agree....they just simply feel they can do nothing about it and therefore they can't deal with every time they look at fb all they see is more of the same negativity. So why are these once mild mannered fbers suddenly spending literally hours of their days watching news reports and combing the web for political information and then filling their fb page with it? Because they have been pushed to their limit!

What has happened in this country since 9/11 is astonishing. If you sit back and really look at the big picture...you can't help but be amazed (and not necessarily in a good way) at how we as a country and a people have changed. Before that day in 2001...we were a country that wasn't particularly political as a whole. Yes we had our two main parties...democrats and republicans...most politically affiliated because that's just the way our parents had always voted....and we had the occasional independent or other rogue party, but that was it. No one much thought about politics unless it was an election year and even then we were living in such an apathetic world that even the presidential elections were pretty lack luster at the polls. We had lived in a world where our freedoms were in tact, war was far removed from us and we were the greatest nation in the world in all areas where it counted. Other countries either feared us or wanted to be us and our enemies were held at bay with the knowledge that we could crush them without even breaking a sweat. We were smug in our belief that this was forever how the world would be....and we let our guard down.

On September 11, 2001...our apathy was blown apart and fell to ashes with the Twin Towers. The bubble of safety, security and superiority was burst with the crashing of the first plane. We as a country and a people were changed forever. Instead of deflating though and tucking our tails and running....we did what Americans do. We regained our footing, stood tall and fought! We had been pushed to our limit as we watched workers remove rubble and the body count climbed higher each and every day. We weren't defined as any one political party...we were all Americans and as Americans....we were going to handle this together. The enlistment lines were blocks long, flags were flying and people teared up and filled with emotion each time we heard our National Anthem. We were a people united and no terrorist or group of terrorist was going to destroy what our forefathers had fought so hard to create.

In hindsight....the war was not what anyone (including the president) thought it would be. We had the image of ourselves striking fast, striking deadly and returning home victorious and that all those lives lost that day would be avenged. The reality though is that all these years later we still have soldiers deploying and although two very dangerous enemies to our country are gone....we still know that many more are out there just biding their time to once again strike and try to destroy us. At the time of 9/11....the president...George W. Bush was reading a story to a group of school children. When he got word about the first plane hitting the Twin Towers...rather than jump up and run out in a frenzy....he opted to finish the story he was reading and then head out, thus not alarming a roomful of school children. Should he have done that? Many jumped on him for that and said it showed he didn't care. For years that was brought up in the media and he was taken to task over and over again for this one act. Did those few extra minutes really matter that much? Could he have really stopped anything or made it any better? Would any fewer lives have been lost? It was Bush's Benghazi...and the beginning of the end for Bush in the media's eye and from that point on....he was the butt of every late night talk show host's joke and the villain of CNN and MSNBC. However...even with the negative press he was getting....when fighting fire with fire was on the table, the majority of American's regardless of political affiliation along with most of Congress voted for and supported us going to war. We had been pushed beyond our limits and we were not going to just stand idly by while we were attacked. We were going to fight!

The first few years of the war this country stayed strong and united. We believed in what we were doing and if ever there was doubt all we needed to do was look at the crater left by the Twin Towers or think about all the families who had lost someone that day. By 2007 though, the war was still going strong. Every day more troops were being deployed and every day the American body count was rising. Our quick in and out war was turning into something much bigger and much uglier than anything we had ever dreamed and American's were losing hope. We were tired of watching our soldiers coming home in body bags and seeing families being torn apart by this unwinable war. It felt as if we were just sending our young men and women to a country where the people were incapable of taking care of themselves and in an effort to protect and defend these people...our people were dropping like flies. Once again....we were being pushed to our limits, so when "hope" and "change" became the battle cry of a man from ChiTown.....people listened.

It didn't hurt that this man was black and that he spoke with a charm and ease that could sell ice to Eskimo's. The war suddenly was the fault of one person and one person alone.....George W. Bush (forget all the Congressmen and American's behind him when it started) and this was the beginning of the what I like to call Operation Scapegoat. Suddenly everything from Bird flu to Global Warming was Bush's fault and the media ran with it. The American people heard absolutely nothing good about Bush during the entire campaign and election process of 2008, BUT suddenly this little known ChiTown ice salesman was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Barrack Obama was not a name I knew. I cared nothing about his color....but his charisma was something that could not be denied. Every time he spoke...the words "hope" and "change" flowed from his tongue like honey. He was making promises of an end to the war, more jobs and an end to the recession. We also heard murmurings of "free" healthcare for one and all. The picture was bright and suddenly everyone put on their rose colored glasses and rushed to the polls. People were sick of war, sick of funerals and sick of thinking about 9/11 and terrorism. People wanted hope and change and they rushed to the polls to make it happen. Once again Americans had been pushed and they took a stand. Was it the right one?

During this time....there were those who didn't quite buy into the charm exuding from Obama's lips. It had nothing to do with race and everything to do with research. There were questions about his birth origin (which he himself and his wife helped put into question in past interviews....when she called him Kenyan born and he called himself a foreign exchange student when he was going to school in this country). When these discrepancies were pointed out.....the media began an immediate and steady character assassination of any person or group who should even question this new president. Rather than immediately show a birth certificate that would have undoubtedly relieved many minds and gone miles towards uniting Americans after a political split during an election year.....Obama chose to remain indignant and refused to relieve anyone's mind. Many of us who had just left the Bush years where he was bashed for days on end by the media if he smiled wrong, were amazed that there was not more outrage at even the possibility that we might have a nonAmerican born president. We all knew that if it was Bush people would have been yelling for impeachment on speculation alone. Instead...Obama supporters ignored it and conservatives suddenly became the new American terrorists in the media.

Then came the Healthcare Act or Obamacare as it is casually known. Many were against this act...Americans and Congressmen alike. There were too many unknowns and we as a country were asked to support something that we really knew little about. The word "free" (much like hope and change) were bandied about daily and people who had not been able to afford healthcare or those that had never had healthcare were sold. It was at this point that many Americans really started to question not only this administration....but also the mindset of some of their fellow Americans. Common sense was being thrown out the door. We seemed to have forgotten that you don't sign an agreement before you read it through and you know exactly what it is in it. AND you get what you pay for. Free is never free! We were told that we would know what was in the bill when it was passed. REALLY???? There was a whole group of highly intelligent Americans who didn't even flinch when this comment was made by Nancy Pelosi. They apparently only heard the word "free" and were sold. Forget that we had no idea what we were getting....and that it was a big bunch of unsubstantiated promises that we were not allow to know details on. All anyone seemed to care about was it's supposed price tag.....free. Suddenly....at the eleventh hour of signing this bill....Obama told the American people that it would be signed regardless and miraculously....those Congressmen that had either been on the fence or against the bill....were suddenly on board with it. And how about the fact that the president, his family and no one in Congress or their families will have to participate in Obamacare? Yes...people will say that their insurance was grandfathered in therefore they are exempt. My thinking...if the Healthcare Act is good enough for the American citizenship then why not as a show of support for this act as well as a good faith gesture.....did Obama and Congress not include themselves? Again...this could have done a lot of damage control and done some uniting of the division. Instead the divide grew deeper. Was all of this not a red flag? Apparently not for many. It was simply becoming business as usual.

As his first term continued on...."it's Bush's fault," became Obama's battle cry. When unemployment rose, gas prices became astronomical and our soldiers were still being deployed, his excuse was always Bush. Forget that he had promised that he would see unemployment decrease, prices go down and he would bring all our soldiers home within the year. Perhaps he was seeing that as president your best intentions are not always possible or maybe......this was actually the "change" he had intended all along.

It became more and more evident that rather than giving American's hope...Obama was causing more despair. Our national debt was rising at an unfathomable rate. More people than ever before were out of work and turning to welfare. Welfare was being run dry because of all the generational recipients receiving benefits and then add to that all the new out of work recipients and we had a mess. We were also dealing with weekly and even daily price jumps at the gas pump, food and necessities going up and small businesses going under at an alarming rate and we were in the midst of a recipe for disaster. When we got to the point where Congress couldn't even pass a budget....we started to see something new going on with Obama. I call it the presidential tantrum. This is threats he makes when things or Congress don't go his way. He will threaten soldiers pay, medicare and social security OR he will threaten to circumvent both the Constitution and Congress if he doesn't get what he wants. He has openly done this on numerous occasions something that I must point out once again.....Bush would have been crucified for....and yet his supporters don't flinch. What is going on????

When the 2012 election came around....those of us who had lost hope for any good change.....once again saw a glimmer. The common sense thought that if something is broke you must fix it, seemed to be more prevalent. Obama's leadership was not working and the numbers don't lie. Between prices going up, the job market failing and the inability for the president to reign in spending and unite Congress long enough to accomplish even a budget said.....it was time for real change. Not just the kind of change promised long enough to sway the voting masses...but then never delivered on....but REAL change. 

Prior to this election....Americans were killed in Benghazi and neither the president nor Hillary Clinton, both privy to what happened lifted a finger to help. They watched as Americans died and the media swept it under the rug. Try as people might....Obama and his supporters refused to discuss Benghazi. For any other president at any other time.....Americans would have demanded that he be held accountable. It would have been an outrage to every American in this country, but instead there was silence. It was as if those lives lost meant nothing. At this time there were also many rumors some substantiated and some not about the presidents past, his ties to Muslim extremists and his real agenda where the United States was concerned. It all fell on deaf ears as he was re-elected once again.

Since November, we have heard Hillary Clinton say "What difference does it make" in regards to Benghazi (a total disregard for American lives lost). We have seen a huge increase in censorship and major line crossing in our 1st Amendment rights. What was a right to free speech during Bush's presidency (disrespectful cartoons, outbursts from the other side during speaking engagements and social media posts that disagree with the president) are suddenly being censored and those speaking out are being viewed as American terrorists. One of the worst things though has been this presidency using tragedies such as the Sandy Hill school shootings as a way to manipulate the public and try to enforce gun control which is blatantly illegal according to the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution. Once again common sense has been thrown to the wolves and mass hysteria is being used to convince the public that ANYONE with a gun is dangerous. People seem to overlook the fact that if you disarm law abiding citizens....then the only ones with guns will be the ones getting them illegally. And how about the fact that the president and his family are protected by guns...but he doesn't feel that the American people should have the same right? We have now gone past the red flag warning stage....we are now in the sinking ship stage. We sent a loud message when Obama was re-elected. It said that we don't care about our country, our Constitution, our rights, what our forefathers fought for, or most of all.....what our children will have to live with and clean up after. By re-electing him he knew he had won and that he had free reign with this country and we as Americans didn't have the moxy nor the patriotism to stop him. And this....pushed many of us to our limit.

Maybe when you see all of those posts of negativity you ought to read a few. Maybe if it raises a red flag....you should head the warning and do some research. Maybe you should quit letting the mainstream media lead you. Maybe you should ask yourself if you are really any better right now than you were before he took office the first time. Will you be when more comes out of your check to fund his healthcare act? How about when you realize that free isn't free and you have to pay for your healthcare or get fined for not having insurance? What about when your employer cuts your hours in order to not have to insure you and you are making less money and STILL have to pay for insurance? What happens when you can't voice your opinion on this because you are either deemed racist or a terrorist? The list of things to question goes on and on and some of us have been questioning it for a very long time. Those posts aren't made by people who want to drag you down, hate the president or even want to see him fail (for if he fails....the country fails). Those posts are made by people who care passionately about this country and about the future of our kids. They are made so that information besides what the mainstream media wants you to hear is put out there. They are made so that you can ask yourself.....if this was Bush or any other president....would I disregard it, accept it or fight it? 

Yes...we all have our breaking point....our limit if you will and I hope Americans....ALL Americans come to theirs soon. I hope that we are able to take the blinders off and stop listening to what we want to hear and start hearing what is really being said. We are given common sense for a reason and red flags should never be ignored. Obama is not the greatest president ever. He is not even a great man. He is a man in a job that he is not capable of carrying out. He works for us....and in any other setting....if a man was hired on promises and after five years had nearly bankrupted the company...took lavish vacations on the company dime.....carried out almost none of his promises....constantly worked on dividing the company.....and whenever was asked for accountability..... blamed his predecessor, he would have been out the door long before now. So have you come to your limit yet? Ready to stand up and fight? If not, you will be soon enough I'm afraid. I just hope by the time you are...it's not too late for us all.


17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I do love your political posts. You speak what so many of us feel and can do nothing about. Please give us more of these!

Anonymous said...

Sometimes you just have to say WoW! This is one of those times. I am impressed. Great blog and I plan on sharing it. In fact, everyone should share this.

Anonymous said...

What is wrong with you? Obama won not once but twice. He is here to stay and if what I hear is true he will pass legislation to dissolve term limits so he could be here for years. Why fight it? Just sit back and wait for the apocalypse.

Anonymous said...

It is time to fight because I have certainly hit my limit.

Anonymous said...

A suggestion. I like your weekly religion blogs. I would love to read a weekly political blog from you. Something to think about.

Obama Nomore said...

Voting for Obama the first time looked good on paper. After the fact not so much. Those that voted for him a second time,I have no explanation for.

Soapbox Preacher said...

We have no need to worry about the enemy beyond our borders. The true enemy is our apathy, our blindness and our need to follow the man who is most politically correct and who says all the right things. We are following the Pide Piper right into hell and most are too lost to even know it.
We are not the country that I parents lived in and I have no doubt that our not so distant ancestors would be disgusted and ashamed if they could see what this country and its people have begun.
So many wars have been fought so Americans could have freedom and for what? So that we could become the Socialist United States and lose all our rights? So that we could have a dictator instead of a President?
I am ashamed not of this country for this country is still a thing of beauty, but I am ashamed of the people who hide under the flag, the Constitution and use their rights to belittle this country and the Americans who still wish only the best for her.
People better get their thinking adjusted and pay attention to the red flags that are flying everywhere as this blogger points out and take a stand before we have nothing left to stand on.

Not a Loser said...

This blog is both sad and ridiculous. Talk about your sore losers and if you didn't vote for Obama, then you are a double loser. Not a word you posted here is fact. I could go through and poke holes in everything you said but who has the time for that and anyone with a brain can figure it out for themself. I will say though that I love reading your blogs. They never fail to amuse me and sometimes even make me laugh outloud. Keep up the good work. I can always use a good laugh.

Anonymous said...

NAL, I don't know what you are on but it must be some really good sh!t for you to be that delusional. You say you could be poke holes and I say go ahead and try. Prove that what she wrote is not true. The funny thing is during the whole blog she never once stooped to insults and she stated her case beautifully and you bare got two words out before you let go with insults and a lot of barking with no bite. When you can produce facts, then you come back and play with the big kids. Until then enjoy your psychedelic and let the adults talk.

Not a Loser said...

Have you ever heard of spell check you moron. Oh and don't tell me about insults when you come on saying that I use drugs. As far as facts go, Obamacare will essentially be free healthcare just like all the other progressive nations have. People won't have to worry about pre-existing conditions and they can get medical help without going into the poor house. I am sick and tired of people being so rich and self centered that they don't want to help people that can't afford insurance. Anyone who doesn't support Obamacare obviously doesn't need healthcare. You all make me sick. I also think that is a load of crap about Obama throwing fits. When you can't get congress to agree you have to do something. He makes threats that he has the power to back up. He wouldn't do that if congress would act like adults instead of disagreeing toddlers. As for you anonymous don't pretend to know my issues and don't condescend to me like I am a child. I can talk all day about the good Obama has done and I am at my limit with people like you and this loser blogger who can't see a good thing when they have it. How is that for hanging with the adults?

Anonymous said...

Wonderful post NAL. I love the way you stomp your feet and give your "Because I said so," defense. Why should I pay for someone elses insurance? I have no problem helping those who need help. My issue comes when I have to help the lazy. I won't do that in my own family and I sure as hell won't do it for a complete stranger. You speak of those other nations that have Obamacare or free healthcare. Do your research. Many of the people subject to that healthcare die waiting to be treated. Many are not treated to the full extent that they could be because of age or degree of health or infirmity. Many of the people who have free healthcare in their country come to this country if they can afford it to get the proper care that they need. Just because you said so doesn't cut it. Neither does just because you want to believe something so that somehow magically makes it true. I am also sure that you don't see Obama's manipulations as tantrums as you seem like you might be pretty good at throwing your own, like for instance when you have no facts to back up what you say but you still think you should sound like the smartest person in the room. If you put together a list of the good things Obama has done for this country and the bad things he has done and set them side by side, the good things would be a very short list and the bad would be very long and still a work in progress.

Not a Loser said...

Anonymous please tell me if it hurts to be as stupid as you are or you too stupid to even notice the pain. I have run across many people like you and I think the real problem is race. I think it kills a lot of people that a black man can come into office and not get elected once but twice and he can now tell not just whites, but blacks, yellows, reds and all the rest what to do. A black man calls the shots and this has never happened before in the history of America. I am not black but I am proud to have a black president and you know that there are slaves dancing in their graves that this black man is now in charge. We can't have a history of treating a race so terribly and not expect karma to come back and bite us. I think the history books will show that President Obama will be the greatest president on record and I think you and your kind can't stand it.

Anonymous said...

NAL this is my last post to you because talking to a fool is totally unproductive and does nothing but give me a headache. Race has nothing to do with the issues Americans have with this man. I think the majority would support anyone for president regardless of color or sex if they had the countries best interest at heart. You have not really produced any evidence that Obama is good at his job nor have you produced any evidence that this blogger is wrong. You have though played the race card which is about power for the course when someone either has no facts or is too lazy to produce the facts. Sorry I don't buy the race card, mainly because I am black. I am a descendent of African slaves brought to this country and looked upon as nothing more than property. My family was very proud and since being freed we have worked hard and never given up. No one in my family has ever been on welfare and that has meant some of my family has had to work two or three jobs at a time to make ends meet. We have never taken charity of any kind and never expected a handout from anyone. I resent a black man taking office and furthering the notion to other African Americans that they are too stupid or too ineffective or less than anyone else, so they can't make their own way and the government should then take care of them. This black man Obama is in his own way trying to enslave African Americans all over again. He is trying to do to blacks what was done to Indians. No man should be a slave to another man and no man should be a slave to his government. So whoever you are, you played the race card with the wrong black man. Now run along because you and I are through here. In case I didn't say so earlier. Great blog blogger.

Not a Loser said...

What a f'ing hypocrite you are. You are a successful black man but you aren't willing to help your own people. Thank god there are black men like Obama who are willing to help those who can't help themselves. You are right we are through here. You make me sick!

Anonymous said...

Strange ranger

Anonymous said...

Hey it let me post...

Anonymous said...

"A lot of people who have spent literally years on fb talking about their day to day lives, showing pictures of their families and sharing recipes.....have suddenly become hyper political. Daily their wall is filled with pictures, quotes and news stories of what is going on in the political arena and none of it is good."
And yet, it is largely because YOU were doing this that I removed you from my facebook feed. I'm not even an Obama supporter, but your constant anti-Obama posts were so repugnant that I found facebook to be unpleasant to visit, so my only option was to either stay away from facebook or stay away from your irrational hate for our freely-elected president.