For the Good

 My intentions were to have my semi-traditional end of the year blog post and then my (again) semi-traditional beginning of the New Year, blog post. As you can see though, we are eight days into the new year and so I am combining. I guess this makes sense though in the big scheme of things, since nothing in 2020 was traditional (semi or otherwise), and thus here you have it. 

If I am honest, 2020 was a year that made me feel a whole lot of emotions and actually changed me a great deal. In fact, this past year probably changed me more than any year I have ever lived through. Perhaps it made me realize that we are no longer strong resilient people like I know we once were. Instead, we seem to have become weaker. We are a country of people who would rather talk than act, would rather be safe than free, and who would rather be taken care of than stand on our own two feet and earn what we have by the sweat of our brow. 

No, I am not going to get political per se, but I can't ignore politics completely if, in fact, I want to honestly speak about this past year, as in many ways, politics were behind much of what made 2020 what it was. 

Not to rehash the last couple of decades, I will simply say that who we were as a country in 2001 and who we are now, is a night and day difference in everything from our patriotism to our core beliefs, to our morality. And while many of us who are older and blame it on the youth, we need to keep in mind that these newer generations hardly remember 9/11 and are so far removed from the threat of real war and the truths of communism that they can hardly be blamed for their beliefs and much of this is our faults. 

We rallied with patriotism after 9/11, because our parents and grandparents had fought in wars. They had been bomb-shelter babies, who knew the realities of losing their rights and their freedoms to those with dollar signs in their eyes and complete submissive rule over others in their hearts. Today's younger generations know none of this and because we sheltered them, they see the world much differently. If they really understood the dangers of the world, do you think they would put themselves or their future children in danger? Of course not, but they are young and as my mom always used to say, "youth is wasted on the young." They do not have the foresight to see what age and wisdom tend to bring. 

So 2020. It started with an attempted political coup and low and behold, 2021 started with the same, with sides reversed. Weird right? Last year also gave us a pandemic, a toilet paper and sanitizer shortage (and I still have no understanding of the toilet paper thing). Then we had the "14-day" lockdown, which was designed to help us get through "the worst" of the pandemic, which turned into months. People were out of work, out of money, and quickly growing out of patience. Kids were not allowed to finish the school year at school, so teachers, parents, and kids did their best to finish the year with as little issue as possible, but truthfully there was "a lot" of issue. 

We learned that the CDC could give hope and take hope all in the same newscast. Doctors and medical professionals could not agree on the best course of action to avoid the disease and people were panicking as worst-case scenarios were constantly barraging both social media and mainstream media. People became paranoid, fearful, and angry as we went into late spring and early summer.

Many milestones and events were either postponed or canceled altogether and graduations, funerals, and events both big and small had to either be changed or completely disregarded. People were working from home if they were working at all, and cabin fever was becoming something very real and very debilitating. People were starting to rebel as neighbors began to turn on each other and "tattle" to the police about gatherings or those that refused to wear masks. That's right! Who would have thought that "masks" would be the new accessory of 2020? 

If politics had not divided us enough at the end of 2019 going into 2020, then the maskers vs. non-maskers wedged itself into that divide even further and people were actually getting into fights in public over......you guessed it....masks. 

Then began the summer of BLM. Like many issues that start with good solid reasoning, when you get humans involved, the issue often takes a sharp turn onto a path that neither is positive nor productive. This was the resurgence of the BLM and their summer of destruction and rioting. It started with a need to look into police departments where racial injustice reared its ugly head. We all knew it was there and that in some areas it was a huge issue, but with our new world of CCTV and a cell phone in every hand, as well as a very high strung media, it was a recipe for disaster. 

People who had been trapped inside for months, who were already frustrated and angry, clung on to the movement like it was the air they breathed. Every city was rioting, destroying, and killing over the movement without a thought to the fact that many times they were destroying their own neighborhoods, businesses, and homes, nor that many of the faces on the front lines were white ANTIFA members whose agenda had nothing to do with black lives and everything to do with anarchy and destruction. Many lives were lost before people started to realize that maybe these riots and destruction were not so much about getting rid of bad cops and racial injustice and more about politics and agendas that really didn't even care about black lives. 

As fall rolled in, many schools refused to open back up full time and students were either left with online learning or a hybrid of both in school and online education. Kids that had been apart since spring break and who had been looking forward to returning to something that was normal were highly disappointed. So were parents and grandparents who ended up having to brush off math and science skills long ago forgotten in the cobwebs of their minds. Many a learning situation has been peppered with the tears of both the instructor and the instructed as both students and "their adults" have suffered through the 2020-2021 school year. 

The holidays this year were hardly festive for many. Between being out of work, having many normal festivities canceled and being limited on financial resources, limited on the ability to socialize (even with family), and the constant droning on of the media of worst-case scenarios.......suicides, domestic violence, and mental health issues sky-rocketed. Drug addiction and drug relapses have been at an all-time high and added to that, it was a presidential election year. None of us was in a good place by Thanksgiving. 

This was the worst election year in my memory. People were sure they were right about EVERYTHING and almost all civil conversation on the topic of just about anything became contentious. No one was listening, everyone was talking and very few had enough facts to even back up their opinions. We were a hateful, hate-filled people, who were turning on each other and constantly going out of our way to cause issue with each other because of how miserable we all were about EVERYTHING! Most of us couldn't wait for the date to change and for it to become 2021. Unfortunately, it takes more than a calendar date change, for a real change to happen and when you drag the baggage of 2020 into the New Year, you are likely not going to see a lot of change. We dragged it and we got exactly what anyone with an ounce of common sense would expect.......more of the same. 

So in bursts 2021, and suddenly those that had supported a coup in early 2020, were now condemning the current coup and all those involved and wondering why everyone can't just get behind the president-elect. Regardless of which side you are on, if you have been watching all this time, you have to understand the ridiculousness of the whole situation and the hypocrisy that oozes from every pore of the American people. Personally, I rolled my eyes so long and so hard, I was afraid they might stick that way. 

For me personally, 2020 was a year of great loss and great sadness, and none of it had to do with COVID. We also had COVID go through our house, and yes, we took normal precautions, wore masks, and washed our hands, but common sense told me that catching COVID was a possibility, just like catching the flu, and that nothing was 100%. I blamed no one (mask wearers or non-mask wearers) and was fully aware that if God chose my death to be by COVID, then I had very little say in the matter. Was it fun? No. Did we all survive? Yes. From the beginning though, I never really feared it. I refused to quit living over a possibility. I guess I would rather die while I am living free than die of fear. 

I can't say that 2020 was all bad. I learned a great deal about people and my relationships with them and I learned about what I will accept and won't accept or tolerate in my life. I found that while an amusing distraction while sitting in a doctor's office, Facebook for the most part is about as non-essential in my life as kale. Trust me, kale is very non-essential. I also found that there is no longer anything remotely ethical about the news media and rather than lose my mind listening to biased and altogether unfactual news reports, that if I want to know about something, I will research it myself and get as close to first-hand information as I can. I don't want to be told how to think. I choose to think for myself. 

I was told in 2020 that because I was a white woman, I was automatically racist. I was also told that I was entitled, for the same reason. On further thought, I realized that we are all a bit racist and prejudice regardless of color or ethnicity. Of course, there is a bias depending on where and how we grew up. It is natural and yes, there are people that take it to extremes in every race, but our differences are what makes us beautiful, unique, and interesting, and as a white woman, I have every right to be proud of who I am, without taking a thing away from any other race or culture. As far as entitlement goes, I feel each of us is entitled to get what we want from life, as long as we are willing to work hard, face obstacles head-on, and yes, fight for it. So if that makes me entitled, then so be it. 

I also learned this year, that to start something and set a goal, does not have to coincide with a calendar date. I started some really interesting things, way before the new year, and some even with a mid-week date. I realized that the date didn't matter. What mattered was that I started. No big goals, just small attainable projects, and so far, all are still in play and I am still succeeding. 

Finally, I learned that even though I am a fairly positive person, being inundated with negativity day in and day out is debilitating. I was beginning to be a hateful and hate-filled person and I really didn't like myself much. Once I stepped away from social media, the mainstream media, and quite a few people, I found myself to be happier, more joy-filled, more productive, and a lot less stressed. Sadly, a few people I love and have no issue with have also fallen into the abyss, since I have socially distanced myself from people (not for COVID reasons at all) but slowly, I will add them back in, if and when I feel social. 

I have taken this time to educate myself, learning to do new things and different projects. I have looked inside myself to see who I really am as a person and what I like and don't like about myself and I have learned to enjoy what I have and to realize that what I want and what I need are two completely different things. 

So there you have it. I have said good-bye to 2020 and hello to 2021 with no real expectations and no desire to make any changes that aren't healthy for me both mentally and physically and positive for my own little piece of the world. Maybe this year I will take up a hobby, take a new path, or find something else new and exciting about my own little world. Whatever happens though, I can pretty much say that 2020 changed me for good and quite possibly for the good, and in the end, that is all we can hope for in any year....right?

Mama Weer All Crazee Now!

Politics! Again? Yep. I just can't help it as we are in an election year, in the midst of unprecedented partisan impeachment and people seem to have lost their minds.

This morning as I was looking at social media posts and comments, I couldn't help but think of the old Slade song, "Mama Weer All Crazee Now." We are and I think that needs to be the theme song for 2020, because when it comes to voicing our opinions on politics, that crazy ex-girlfriend comes out in all of us.

Now I am no paragon of virtue and I certainly don't pretend to be. I have my own political views and opinions and yes, the closer it gets to the election, especially with all this impeachment stuff going on, it does get harder and harder to not verbally explode all over the place. My saving grace is a private social media political page where it is all about politics and therefore verbal explosions are expected. Still, from time to time I can't help but make a post on my personal page or that of a like minded friends when the political craziness gets to much. Other than that though, I try to keep my personal Facebook page focused on the positive, because honestly, there is still much good in the world....we just currently have to look a little harder.

I think the saddest thing that has come from this new political era that we have come into is the brash idea that there is only room for one opinion and that if someone has other opinions, that it is somehow your right to "stalk" them into seeing things your way. It appears to be part of this new world of entitlement. You are entitled to your opinion and beliefs but no one else is. Again....yes, I have plenty of opinions and from my view, my beliefs are correct, but I am not entitled enough to believe that I am 100% right all the time and that there aren't other sides and view points to any given issue or topic. I am always interested in hearing respectful opinions. They don't necessarily change my view, but they do make me think and possibly even understand why others come to the beliefs and opinions they have. It's called being an adult who has respect for others whether I agree or not. Sadly though, many have lost the ability to accept that others can disagree and still be worthy of respect. While I know many with this current view, one in particular comes to mind.

It is easy to understand in this day and age that younger people, especially millennials have trouble accepting others views, after all they are the generation of thinking that they are the center of the universe, therefore they are right about everything from eating tide pods to the belief that they are somehow entitled to all things free. It is however a little surprising, not to mention off putting when you have a grown adult who is my age, acting with this same immature outlook. Now don't get me wrong, believe as you will, but when you are trying to force your beliefs on others, as someone who is supposed to be an educated and mature adult, then there seems to be a deep seated need for either attention, to be constantly right or simply to harass those who think for themselves and not as you.

There is a person I have known many years who seems to be falling into the millennial maturity well into their 50's and I seem to be their target for stalking or harassment or possibly it is just as simple as they need to be the loudest voice in the room. Whatever the case, I am kind of at a loss. This individual and I have never been what you would call "friends," but I have been friends with members of their family. At one time in fact, I had quite a bit of respect for this individual as early on, they had to make some tough choices in life. As adults we have been social media friends and although our politics are polar opposites, I have enjoyed their posts and comments on mine, simply because you can learn even if you don't agree. Recently though, this person has taken to coming to my social media and trying to call me out for my posts, political or otherwise. Of late, it almost feels like a stalking situation, where this person just waits for me to posts just so they can tell me what "horeshit" or "crap" my post is.

Now, I usually can keep my inside voice in check and am respectful to just about anyone. Not too long ago though, I did fire back pretty heavily at this person on one of my posts that they decided to critique with all the tact of a drunken sailor on leave. I will never blatantly insult a person, call names or be hateful, but pushed far enough, I will bluntly tell you what I think of  your post and your position. I did just that. I am also not a back down kind of person. If you start something....I will finish it. It apparently pushed buttons on this person that I had no idea about and opened the door to them having to comment on the most absurd things on my page. Depending on my mood, some days it amuses me and other days, I am just perplexed as to why this person would waste precious time in such a silly way.

Another friend and I were laughing about it the other day and she asked why I didn't just unfriend this person? What a great question. For some reason, I almost feel that maybe I'm the only one that will spar with this person. Maybe that is what they need, just conversation....good, bad or indifferent. We all know they old saying, "For some, bad attention is better than no attention at all." Now some would say that this is reaching on my part, but is it? You would think as much "BS" as they think I post, that it would drive them to the point of simply unfriending me. Heck, I have been blocked for a whole heck of a lot less, and yet there they sit....watching, waiting and ready to reply. As Dr. Phil always says, you stay in a situation...even a bad one, because there is some payoff in it. Obviously this person and I are both politically crazy enough, that we get something from this whole little polar opposite dance.

The funny thing is, I am not the only one going through this. A couple of other "out spoken" friends of mine, have their own version of this dance going on with political opposites too. What the heck is wrong with us? Has politics brought us to the point where we bait, stalk and spend precious time playing stupid back and forth games while our friends watch to catch the next episode of, "Who bested who?"

I can tell you that writing this was extremely good therapy. Reading back over it, I don't feel good about myself as a human being on any level right now, as I am as guilty as this other person for allowing the silliness to continue. Yes, Mama.....weer all crazee now and admitting that is half the battle. The other half is changing back to who I know I am deep down. I can't change anyone but me, but I can change me and how I act and react to silliness.

Sometimes you say more, when you simply say nothing at all. We'll see if I am capable of that. And with that....I'll leave you with this:

From Farm-to-Table to War

The Red Hen Restaurant, Lexington, VA. The name sounds quiet and homey and quite honestly, it might be on many of our dining lists if we were in the Lexington, VA area. It boasts a cozy atmosphere with farm-to-table dining. Yep! I'm in! The owner is Stephanie Wilkinson and not only does she own and run this quaint little establishment, but she is also director of Main Street Lexington. Wow! She owns a great little restaurant and is active in her community. Bonus! Honestly though, you had me at farm-to-table dining. 

Then Friday, June 22, 2018 happened and by a decision that Wilkinson claims she put to a vote among her staff, she may single-handedly have imploded not only her own business, but much of the business in Historic Downtown Lexington. WHAT......You ask could have caused this? Wilkinson refused service as a business owner to a customer. WHAT? You ask again! Factually, this hot mess is not nearly that simple. The customer that was refused service was Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and since Sanders was there with a group of family members, it wasn't just about her, but a whole table. To make it a bit worse, Sanders and her group had come in, been seated and had ordered. She had been recognized by the wait staff who called Wilkinson who was at home at the time and Wilkinson rushed over. Apparently Wilkinson and much of her staff have a liberal leaning politically and having the Republican press secretary dining in their establishment ruffled their feathers.

Upon arriving and seeing the situation, Wilkinson decided to put Sanders ability to stay or go to a vote among her employees and apparently it was decided that Sanders would be given the boot. Wilkinson then asked to speak to Sanders outside and told her that morally and politically she was against Sanders political stance and therefore she would like her to leave. (Apparently the rest of the party were welcome to stay). Sanders politely left and even offered to pay. Wilkinson said their non-served and non-eaten meals were on the house. Needless to say, when the most high profile person at your table is asked to leave an establishment, the rest of the table then follows suit.

All-in-all, it was quite a civil exchange and although I am sure Sanders left feeling a little disrespected not to mention hungry and Wilkinson and her staff probably felt justified and jubilant, all of the civilness wore off the next day when Sanders tweeted about her dining experience the night before. All the civility from the previous night, between the two political factions became an all out war and the center of the this battle was Lexington, VA, a town all too familiar with  civil war of the past. Ironic don't you think?

So three days later, the war continues. There are those commending Wilkinson for standing her ground and just as many if not more, ready to tar and feather her out of her business, her community and maybe even her state. To all of this I say......KNOCK OFF THE CRAP!

I am sure that my opinion is not going to be a popular one as I have seen many conservatives sharpening their proverbial pitch forks ready to see Wilkinson left with nothing except her "misguided" convictions. As a conservative though, I think this is wrong. In my humble opinion, Wilkinson had every right to refuse Sanders service for any reason she chose. This is America people and the right to refuse service for any reason has been a landmark mantra of businesses, especially small businesses for decades. You start a business, build it up and work hard to make it a success and if you want to refuse service to anyone....then you have that right and I really thought my conservative friends realized this back with the whole bakery situation a few years ago.

You all remember the bakery situation..... where the Christian bakery refused to bake a gay wedding cake. I supported that. Not the gay wedding cake, but their right as a business to refuse to do it. That was their business and they had the right to refuse service to anyone they chose. Again.....why shouldn't they have that right? Why should the government, politics or society tell them what their moral compass should be or what they should view as right and wrong?

I am really shocked and amazed at the double standard here and more so, I am shocked that just like before when the couple lost their bakery, their livelihood and had to go through the court of public opinion to the point of almost losing their minds that now Wilkinson and her family are  having to go through the same. How is this right and more so, how do conservatives and liberals alike look themselves in the mirror when they are both so ridiculously hypocritical?

So let me pull out my soapbox here for a minute. Wilkinson! Her business! Her rules! Do I agree with her politics? No, but then again I get along with a lot of people that I don't agree with politically but I learned long ago....people are more than just their political stance. What I do agree with is that she is a hard worker who built up a business and by doing so, she is helping to support a community. Because she chose to refuse service to Sanders does that mean I would never eat at the Red Hen Restaurant? Chances are, I likely would if it were still open and I was in the Lexington area. I did mention that they had me at "farm-to-table," right?  Of course, I would also have gone and bought cakes from the bakery who was forced out of business for their political stance too. Why? Because I support both businesses right to refuse service to anyone they choose! 

I am tired of people pushing their political agendas down peoples throats to the point that they are trying to take our rights away from us. It doesn't matter whether it is your right to own a fire arm, speak freely or turn down a customer, those rights should be not only supported but fought for, because if we don't.....someday those rights will no longer exist.

GUESS WHAT?

GUESS WHAT?  I literally have got nothing today. I woke up trying to come up with a couple of topics, but I have learned over the years, if the ideas are not organic and don't just pop out at you, then people will read your blog piece for what it is.....forced and unimaginative. This is not to say that even the blogs that do pop out at me don't read a little forced and unimaginative from time to time, but.......

I decided that I MUST blog today, even though the ideas weren't exactly bowling me over because I challenged myself and.....even the forced word is better than no words at all. In light of this thought process, I fell back on an old tried and true trick and decided to just free associate this blog. In other words, whatever comes out....comes out. So hold on to your reading glasses cause this could be interesting for both of us.

Politics.....I despise them. I used to kind of enjoy talking politics. This of course was back before social media and people using their computers and phones to hide behind and degrade others for their opinions. Yes, back in the day I knew very little about politics. I found it very interesting to discuss, listen and learn peoples views from both sides of the coin. Believe it or not, there was a time when people could have a political conversation, be on different sides, listen, respect each others views and walk away friends. Now though.....not so much. I hate it and I find it to be part of the negativity which is wearing on this country. Let's face it.....neither side is much to brag about and political entities in general are not in it for this country. They are in it for the power and sadly, this country was not set up to be a power struggle because when that happens.....we all lose. Case and point....The Civil War. 

Hmmmm.....racism. Yep, it is alive and well in this country and in the last few years, it appears that it has had a pretty nasty recurrence of some of our less than stellar days gone by. My opinion? (Notice I prefaced this by "my opinion"). Anyone and everyone can be racist. I heard the other day that blacks cannot be racist. Yes they can. When they are demanding white people die, if that is not racist then what is it? Regardless of your race, when you wish evil, harm or death on another race, YOU ARE RACIST! And if we don't start leaving the past in the past and start trying to build unity and work towards mutual respect, we are going to be our own undoing. Bottom line, I don't care what color you are or what your ethnic background is. If you listen to me, I will listen to you. If you are kind to me, then I will be kind to you. AND.....if you respect me, then I will respect you. It is just that simple. It is not rocket science. Furthermore.....if we not only treated people in our own country like this, but people from all over the world, my bet is that there would be a lot less hate, anger and war. But that is just my opinion and I am just a housewife from the Midwest......what do I know?

Roseanne.....Lord help us all. I always liked Roseanne. Her comedy was a bit irreverent, but hers was not the only one and apparently for nine seasons no one was too offended by her as hers was always a highly watched show. Evidence of this was her Roseanne reboot that just finished it's ninth episode and was once again highly watched. Her undoing? Social media and her mouth. Now granted, even before social media, Roseanne had no problem voicing her opinion and putting her foot in her mouth. I remember being highly unimpressed when she decided it would be a good idea to get up and mock the National Anthem and yet she survived and it apparently didn't dissuade her audience even a little. Social media though is almost a death sentence anymore for people and careers. It is drunk dialing on a world wide level. People and especially celebrities seem to think their words and opinions are so highly sought after and important, that they can say whatever they want about whomever they want and it will be just fine. Guess what....they are wrong and more than one celebrity has learned this the hard way. I don't care if you are on Ambien, had a 1/5th of vodka or you are just so narcissistic that you think you are bullet proof......keep your outlandish and disrespectful opinions off social media.....unless of course, the unemployment line is your end goal.

#Metoo.....Please stop! Yes! There are women and men that have been harassed, molested and raped and every last one of them deserves justice. However, this campaign has probably set their ability to get justice back a decade. Hollywood has always been a hotbed of casting couches and lecherous directors that wanted their actors and actresses to do more than make a blockbuster movie. In fact there are literally hundreds of autobiographies, biographies and memoirs of actresses who went into the business knowing full well what the expectations were and working that very system all the way to their star on the Walk of Fame. The phrase sleeping their way to the top was coined for a reason. Do I think that some of these claims are real? Absolutely and I think these directors and people in charge need to spend the rest of their lives behind bars. However, what frustrates me is the little actress who either has never quite made it or her name is no longer in the public eye, suddenly coming forth and saying so and so put his hand on her knee back in the 1980's. If it's true, should he have done it? No, but he was likely young and stupid and touching a knee when you are young and stupid while inappropriate, should not be enough to 1) tie up the court system so real cases can't be tried or 2)make this older and hopefully wiser man with a family and a career lose it all over such an incident. I also believe that many of these people that have come forward were more consenting to the actions of the past then they would like to admit. When dollars and fame came into play, I think #metoo lost all of it's power and became something it was never intended to be. Again.....just my opinion and I pray that every woman and man who were legitimately harassed, molested and raped make the bastards that did it to them pay!

Where's Spring?.....Yes. And finally just what happened to the Spring of 2018? It seems that in the same week in April, we were all still wearing parkas with 40 degree temps and north winds wondering if winter would ever end. Then the blessed 70 degree temps hit.......for two days and by the end of the week we were in the 90's. What the heck? Now here in Kansas we have 90's every day with high humidity. It is really doing a number on people with inflammation issues, people who are sensitive to heat and anyone who wants to go outside and not sweat through their clothes. Truthfully I was very sick of winter by April but I wasn't quite expecting summer two months early either. Of course, truth be told, the weather never makes me happy and I complain year round, but come on! Let's face it. This year has been weird country wide.

So there you have it. This is what happens when I've got nothing! ;)

My One and Only 2016 All Out Political Blog

I don't normally talk politics anymore, because....well.....I like to keep my sanity! Yesterday though, when the FBI decided not to proceed with action against Hillary Clinton, I did make a post on Facebook that expressed my frustration. It was fairly short and sweet and then I got busy and didn't come back to it until the middle of the night. What I saw at that point was interesting, disappointing to some degree and a bit scary knowing that this was just the tip of the iceberg as to where this country and it's people are headed. So, I decided to put my full two cents in this one time and then do a lot of praying between now and November.

Please keep in mind that this is my opinion and they are my thoughts and YES....I am entitled to them!!! Please also remember that I don't expect or demand that my family and friends feel the same. I do however expect and yes....even demand, that you respect my right to believe as I do, just as I respect your right to believe as you do.

It used to be that whether you were Republican or Democrat/conservative or liberal......we all wanted basically the same things for this country. We simply were going at those things from different angles. Yes, there were political disagreements, but we all had the common sense to know that we were going after the same things so we didn't tear each other apart in pursuit of our goals.

I know our current political situation did not happen over night, nor was it the responsibility of just one party. We have been running headlong into our current place in history for many years, even decades but the last couple of decades have been almost dibilating and who will pay for this? Our children. 

We have lost all perspective of who we are as a country and as a people. We are not perfect and never have been because we are human, but somewhere along the line.....we have lost track of what this country was founded on. We have lost our pride, our dignity and our respect for those who have fought and died for this country, those who started this country and those we call fellow human beings. We forgot that we aren't owed anything from anyone and that includes our government or our fellow man. We also forgot things like "anything worth having is worth working for," that "some things are worth fighting and yes.....even dying for" and worst of all, we forgot that "if you don't give respect.....you don't get respect."

In the 1970's, my mother made a profound statement to me that I have never forgotten. It was after Roe v. Wade. Her heart broke that our government made abortion legal and basically said that one human life trumps another "innocent" human life, therefore making it legal to murder/kill/destroy another human life at will. She said, "when we make it easy to disrespect an "innocent" human life in such a way, it will be no time before no life will be respected and we will all be animals in the street killing, maiming and destroying life at will." Forty plus years later and she wasn't wrong. I truly believe that this one act of legislation set the course of things to come.

I will now say, that our last GREAT president was Ronald Reagan. I know there will be many of you that have already started throwing your hissies just hearing the name, but in my opinion....this is pure fact. Did Reagan do it all right as president? No. He was human. Did Reagan lead to the best of his ability? You darn right he did! He was great not because of every decision he ever made, but he was great because of his ability to unite the American people. He never made it an us against them among us.....it was an us against them when it came to our enemies and our enemies knew that he was not playing. Reagan was a strong American who believed in a strong America. He made no bones about where the United States stood and what action would be taken if our enemies disrespected us. He was a diplomat and right or wrong.....he always put the American people and the best interest of this country first....to the best of his ability. Not since this man left office have we had a president who has done this....and it shows.

Bush the first, was not presidential material. He tried but the shoes left to fill were way to big for him. He may actually have been the start of what we are reaping today. Bill Clinton was a lot of things, unfortunately being a man of integrity or honesty were not among those things. Clinton could talk the talk, but he could not walk the walk. Luckily for him, he had Monica Lewinsky to redirect and divert attention away from his presidency and he had a faction of the American people willing to be charmed into believing that a president who molests interns and lies about it to the American people all while openly cheating on his wife, is acceptable. Many excused his actions saying that it was his private life, however.....his private actions happened in his business arena and lets face it, if he so easily lied about that, can you be sure he doesn't lie about other things? It speaks to his character as a man and he proved he would lie to save his own skin.

And how about that Hillary? She is not a friend of the truth herself. Apparently her and Bill are of the same character. She would prove that again and again over time. And let us not forget that long before the Clintons came to Washington, there is well documented information on how they conducted themselves and their lack of character going back to Arkansas. Yet somehow, the American people apparently no longer felt that we should hold our president to a higher standard than to be a liar and a philandarer. Now mind you.....Bill is a democrat and his behavior was both accepted and forgiven by democrats far and wide. Think for a minute if you will, if this same behavior had happened to either of the Bush's or Reagan. They would have been tarred and feathered out of the White House and the democrats would have shown no mercy. You know I am right. 

Bush Jr. What can we say about him? I sincerely believe he came into office with one goal....to finish what his daddy started. Putting aside all the conspiracy theories.....9/11 gave him what he wanted. Should we have gone to war after 9/11? Yes. Plain and simple because based on the information he had and the American people had, we were full on attacked and when you are attacked, you fight back. You have to show a strong front to your enemies and make them aware that some things are worth fighting for.......like freedom. I think though, after the initial call to war, we became lost in a never ending battle that should have taken much less time and should have been much more effective. Bush will not go down in the history books as our finest presidential hour.....especially after 8 years. 

Then came Barrack Obama. This man was nearly as charming as Bill Clinton and many voted for him not because of his credentials but because of his skin color. It was time for a black president! Yes, maybe it was, but not him. The whole rationale of choosing skin color over credentials was racist in itself. It set the stage for many things to come.

I won't even go into the damage he has done to us financially as a country (bye bye A+ rating), nor what he has done to healthcare. And I won't touch upon the fact that he still takes regular bows for work Navy Seals did. And just to keep it real.....I won't even mention Benghazi. What I will talk about is what he has done to the American people. He has single handedly put American race relations back generations. He has caused a divide among the American people that will take decades to fix. He has race baited and if not caused, then supported unrest between blacks and whites and blacks and police. Instead of using his position to unite, he has actively used it to divide and has taken us back to a very dark place in history where Americans are on the verge of both civil and race wars. Not only this, but he has also very methodically worked to make Americans government dependent all while growing governments reach and position. No longer is it about standing on our own two feet, taking care of ourselves and our families and working for what we have. Now it is about government handouts, government freebies and scariest of all.......the government protecting us. We are now taking uncomfortable chapters of history out of our history books, rewriting the past and focusing on it instead of moving forward as a united people.

Gone are the days when free enterprise, inguenuity and hardwork were deemed good things. We have become a glutonous country with a population that doesn't want to work and wants to take from those who do and our president perpetuates this mentality. We feel owed everthing and we have a generation of kids who feel that the government will protect them and take care of them and they can just stare at their phones all day and do as they like. We have a people that will kill over the color of skin, demand their lives be respected and matter, and yet will disrespect the lives of others. We have people that will destroy and loot their own neighborhoods because they don't like a legal judgment and then turn around and expect others tax dollars to fix the damage. Does Obama speak out against this behavior? No...he apologizes to them and sides with their bad behavior....much like he apologizes to our enemies over things the American people should not be apologizing for. He weakens us on every level.....all while promising to protect us. No one else finds this bad and even dangerous form for the president?????

Obama has opened our country up to illegal immigrants and rather than work to became Americans, they take jobs at lower pay, live off the government, get free healthcare and educations and then feel persecuted when legal Americans take offense. I have no problem with anyone coming to this country with a full desire to become an American and work hard and make their own American dream. It is what our country is founded on. My family were immigrants and when they came over to this country, while becoming American citizens they were treated as immigrant scum. They worked as slave labor, were treated as property and NO.....Irish immigrant lives did NOT matter. We did it the right way though. We worked hard and the American dream became our dream....legally. What's more, I am pretty sure we have put the past in the past and I don't blame today's protestant American's for treating my Irish Catholic ancestors like property or a subhuman species. Oops....sorry about the Irish immigrant tangent. 

Ultimately though, by opening our country up to illegals we are messing with jobs, wages, government funds and yes, our safety. Obama seems to be okay with this. I however....am not.

Now we are faced with an election year. The three front runners were Bernie Sanders a socialist running for the democratic party, Hillary Clinton a democrat who up until yesterday was under FBI investigation and Donald Trump, a republican who has no political back ground. Sounds like the bottom of the barrel politicaly and as if the American people had the worst of the worst to pick from.

What I found scary was that the Democratic party split right down the middle when during the primaries, people jumped on the Bernie bandwagon more than happy to sell this country out to socialism. I heard remarks and justifications such as...."we have been a socialist country for years", "Bernie will even things out," (I assume this meant that Bernie will make us all poor and get rid of the American dream unless of course your American dream is to work hard and give it all away), and of course the young people were on board becasue in most cases their extent of political understanding comes from CNN and Facebook. I have a feeling our founding fathers were rolling in their graves which could explain a lot of those earthquakes and global warming we have been dealing with. The interesting thing, a lot of people who had previously shouted Hillary's name to the roof tops suddenly wanted nothing to do with her. She was evil and not good presidential material. No one really wanted to admit they ever even supported Hillary.

Bernie bombed. Guess what? Hillary is the greatest thing since sliced bread again! I am sure some of you would like me to forget I saw you flip flop on Hillary, but I can't. In my opinion after the way Hillary has conducted herself even before Washington, as the first lady and Bill's spouse and in these last few years I find her a liar who will say and/or do anything to protect her own hide (yep she is Bill's wife). She is as anti-woman as it comes as she talks a good game about women all the while knowing how Bill has treated women. She hereself has demonized those women so I don't see her as a great proponent for women. She has allowed soldiers and diplomats to die while comforting their families with the calous words, "What difference does it make?" Yes, there was more to what she said, but those were words that she never should have said. So this woman, with all the finese of an ogre and all the character of a snake, that lies as easily as she breathes, obviously puts her greed for power above what is right and best for this country and SHE is running for the highest office in this country and WE are good with that?

Then there is Donald Trump. I see a lot of never Trump! things posted. Why? Before his run for office, Trump was fairly well respected in the business world. If people didn't particularly like him, they did respect his business accumen. Yes, he had successful businesses and some not so successful businesses. All really financially successful people usually do. I find it funny that some of the people who now speak out against him were some of those who were fighting to be in his presence and be connected with his name and bask in his social circle when he was merely a businessman. I agree that Trump is brash and that he has rough political edges. However, he came into this campaign I believe trying to be as unpolitically correct as possible. I think he knew that the American people were sick and tired of being "correct" when all it has done is get us into this cluster of 2016. He grew supporters by openly saying some things that maybe needed to be said. Things many of us had thought all along, but couldn't because we would be branded a racist for going against not a man, but a black man....regardless of whether what he said or did was right or not.

We have had decades of politicians and all they have done is wreck our economy, circumvent our constitution and further their own powerful political agenda's. It has been a long time since we had a politician in office whose heart beat for this country and not for their own grab at power. Now we have a businessman whom I am sure has his own grab at power in sight, but also I honestly think he loves this country. This country has been good to him. Free enterprise has been good to him. He wants a chance at the American dream....and part of that is running for the White House. Does he not deserve the same right as any other American?

I find it interesting that some of the things that many have degraded Trump for, they have found acceptable in other presidents and presidential candidates. Trumps love of women is not acceptable, but Bills was. Trump makes "presumed" racist remarks and that is not acceptable, but Obama's out right racist attitude and willingness to divide this country are perfectly fine.

So why does Trump scare us so? Why never Trump? Is it because he is not a career politician? Perhaps it is because he has a rogue mouth and attitude. Maybe it is because regardless of his enemies, he is still pushing forward and he is a viable possibility as our next president?!

Quite frankly this election scares me to death. Yes, the candidates give me pause, but more over.....it is the people that scare me. There is an underlying willingness for the American people to turn on each other at the drop of a hat. They will pull faux information out of thin air and claim it as fact going after anyone.... friend or otherwise to have their facts viewed as  "right." People are tearing into each other and acting like rabid animals. Individuals who I know are educated suddenly are becoming politically ignorant listening to what they want to hear and only hearing "the truth" if they want it to be the truth. There is no longer a respect for those with differening opinions or political views and I fear for this country and the people......regardless of how this election turns out.

I love this country. I love my freedom and quite frankly......not voting is not an option. I will vote but before that, I will continue to watch the candidates, listen to what they say and research not only their political/business backgrounds but also their characters. I will do my own research and not rely on Facebook, main stream media or anyone elses opinion. When I do cast my ballot, I will know in my heart that while participating in this great right and responsibility, that I am voting my conscience and that it will be a decision..... that I can live with for the next four years. 

Good Men

    

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." (Edmund Burke) This was stated in the late 1700's and to this day, it still stands true. Apathy will surely be our undoing. 

A few years ago, when my mind and interests were heavily into politics, I was a news junkie, closely following every major media outlet along with both local and obscure broadcasts and publications. I read myself into bifocals and would sit up bleary eyed at two in the morning flipping from CNN to FOX to MSNBC watching the headlines and hearing the multitude of takes on all the same stories. Emotionally it took a huge toll on me as there was seldom good news and depending on which channel I was on, the news went from bad to worse to catastrophic. I don't think that it is any great mystery as to why at this point in time that I was also suffering from stress blood pressure. Along with being completely immersed in all things news worthy, I was also blogging a great deal about politics and current events and speaking my mind quite prolifically on social media throwing out my opinions and debating others over theirs. It was pretty safe to say that with all of the other stuff going on in Lisaland, adding in all of this headline making stress, caused me to physically and emotionally idol in a constant state of stress. 

One day I woke up and realized that life was too short for all of this self imposed stress. My opinions, though respectfully expressed, no really......when it comes to politics and opinions of such, I honestly strive to never belittle or degrade someone for a difference of political opinion or party, however, my respectful opinions and views, were only in-sighting those who believed differently to various stages of anger. Full on wars were breaking out both in the comments of my blogs and in the pages of social media. I learned rather quickly that in this self serving, instant gratification world we currently live in, that the First Amendment just pisses people off. There is little room for anyone else's beliefs if they don't coincide with our own. I found myself unfriended and even black balled to a degree by a few, right here in my own little small town utopia. While I like to think of myself as tough as nails, it truly is a facade. It was becoming very personal for some and my opinions, respectful though they were, were fueling a rather dangerous fire. At this point, I had to ask myself two questions....1) Were my blogs and my opinions changing anything? If not then....2) Was expressing myself worth the added stress it was causing me? Sadly I hung my my head, turned off the tv and jumped to the other end of the spectrum and became a media hermit. Apparently I wasn't the only one, because along about the same time, I started seeing others doing the same. Once again social media was full of family pictures, detailed statuses about what we ate for lunch and cute pet memes. The stress was over but just because we were not acknowledging the crumbling of the world, didn't mean it still wasn't happening. 

In more recent times, my blogs have been less and less political with only the occasional soap box editorial slipping through. I post nothing political on social media and although I would much prefer to live in a media blackout world where the worst thing that happens in my life is personal and non-newsworthy,  I do turn on a computer daily and I channel surf on occasion, so I see the headlines from time to time. I am not oblivious to the state of our country or the state of the world. I do still post political from time to time, but I have gone underground to do so. This has come with mixed reviews from those who call themselves my friends on social media and those who read my blogs. My SM friends comments range from "I like your Facebook posts so much better now that your feed is all about (insert whatever fluffy piece of BS you choose)," to "What happened......did you quit caring about this country? Don't you care what our kids are going to have to face after we are gone?" My blog comments and messages are along the same lines. I get a lot of "We like it when your blogs are light and airy and really say nothing," (of course I am paraphrasing here) to, "When are you going to start giving us some real blogs again? I miss your political blogs where you really stand for something." Bottom line, there is just no pleasing a majority of the world. 

So of late I have been paying a bit more attention to the news. The world is in grave danger and our country is no exception. We are no longer viewed as a super power and therefore, we hold little clout in the eyes of our enemies. What was once hate, tempered with both fear and respect from our enemies is now little more than disdain as we have consistently shown the chinks in our armor and made ourselves fair game to those who would like to damage and even kill us. What is worse is that we have shown the world that as a country we choose to fight among ourselves using words like racism and discrimination causing huge divides within our own ranks. A divided country is a weak country and we are the weakest we have ever been since this country was formed. We are also desensitized to the world around us. When the beheading of an American journalist by terrorist is superseded in the news by the death of an 81 year old comedienne, we have lost our compass. No offense to Joan Rivers, I found her bawdy, funny and in some cases dead on with her no holes barred opinions, but......news of her death should not have been headlines on every major media outlet while Steven Sotloff's murder at the hand of our enemies was merely a minor headline rolling past at the bottom of the page. 

Perhaps as a people we are tired. Like me, speaking out, debating and trying to make people think and having it all fall on angry deaf ears, becomes exhausting, so we/me stop. I retreated to a comfortable though fictitious place, where regardless of what was going on in the world, my ears too were deaf, but to what avail? Am I now one of those "good men" that Burke spoke of over two centuries ago? Have we spent so much time arguing among ourselves, finger pointing and denying the facts about what is really going on in the world, that we have lost sight of the obvious realities and are emotionally and psychologically immune to learning that our enemies want us dead and are daily making great strides to that end? Are we just simply sitting back and letting it all happen? 

If the worst does happen.....then what? Who do we blame? Will it be the Republicans? The Democrats? The conservatives? The Liberals? Or will the real blame lie with the good men and women who stood back and did nothing, said nothing and made no waves, thus allowing evil to triumph. I think the answers are pretty clear, if we are paying attention. We are not just letting our country down nor our children and future generations. No, we are letting down everyone who ever fought for this country, suffered for this country and died for this country. Because of us, the men, women and children they gave so much to defend, and because of our apathy and denial, we are coming close to losing it all. So is this how it ends? Do we give up and give in.....laying out the welcome mat and arming our enemies thus bringing on our own demise? Or, do we once again take a stand, unite and take back what is our ours?  In the end, the choice lies......with good men. 

Poor, Poor Political Me

I am NOT political. I have stated it before and I will probably go to my grave screeching those words. I do in fact though....know when I became piqued by the idea of politics. It was about the same time I discovered message boards. I had joined one that my then favorite radio disc jockey had started. It was local and it was a lot of fun. I was enchanted and many an evening I would stay up past my bed time laughing and joking with my new friends from the message board. Sadly though, my favorite disc jockey was to move onto greener pastures and a much larger market, so my new found friends and I disbanded....until one day when I received an email from the creator of the old radio message board. He invited me to another board which he ran. This one was a politically conservative board (which at the time I suspicioned that I was politically conservative)...so I tried it out. At first...it just wasn't a good fit at all. I realized then and there....I was politically illiterate. I could no more carry on an intelligent conversation with these people than the man in the moon. And what was worse was....these were not "think tank" or political analyst type people. These were average citizens: housewives, blue collar workers, with maybe a lawyer or engineer thrown in the mix just to keep it interesting.
These people knew their politics. They read the paper, watched the news, and were not just up-to-date, but up-to-the-minute on what was going on both domestically and abroad. I was astonished. This was a world that I didn't even know existed.
While my first instinct was to turn and run...because I knew that I was never going to post a word and make myself look a fool with these people...instead I stayed. I became interested in how another housewife might see the world around her or how the blue collar worker viewed the president as opposed to say the lawyer or engineer. So I started reading...and as they posted links...I read different articles about what was going on in the world of politics. Before I knew it....I was actually learning. Still though....I knew so little and I was so afraid that my words on any political subject were so unintelligent....that I still refrained from posting....until one day. I was reading through the different topics and the responses....when I came upon one about abortion. Now abortion I do know something about, but in my naive little mind....I never connected it with politics. For once I was not afraid to post and I did. It opened the door to literally thousands of more posts and more political education than I could ever imagine.
Soon....I not only became intelligent enough to carry on a political conversation....but I also became intelligent enough to defend myself even when up against the staunchest liberal attack. Best of all....I knew what was going on in the world and could carry on a conversation about politics that even surprised me at times.
Soon I was even infiltrating liberal websites defending conservative thoughts, beliefs, and values. Several times I was kicked to the curb before I even opened my mouth (after they found out I was conservative), but other times I was allowed to stay so that I could be made an example of . It turned out though....I was not an example they wanted the rest of the world to see, so often my posts were either deleted or removed so others could not see them. However....I actually made some liberal friends along the way. There were a few who I never actually turned into conservatives....but they did respect my views and at the end of the day....we were able to agree to disagree. (Believe me....you don't find that with many liberals).
One day though, I woke up and I could no longer fight the good fight, or argue politics any further. While a learning experience full of new and interesting people, it was also a daunting task. You learn as you go to ignore unintelligent name calling, or child like abuse and behavior....and you never take it personally because most of us all want the same things. The problem however is often how differently we feel those things should be obtained. I just couldn't fight the same old pat liberal arguments and the same talking points over and over again. So I just left the message board.
It felt so good to not feel the need to defend myself, my beliefs, or my rights....especially since I was not a political person to begin with. For a while (a year or so....to be precise) I happily avoided the news, I turned the channel when anything heavier than The Big Bang Theory came on.....and I was in a state of bliss.
Then the world changed. What was promised was distorted or not carried through with at all. We were dealing with bailouts, a country on the verge of bankruptcy, forced health care insurance, and a president who saw nothing wrong with mocking the American people who disagreed with him. I was shocked and ashamed that I wasn't paying more attention. I had friends out there physically standing up for what they believed in and trying to save our Constitution and the rights of all of us, while I was hiding in a blissful....but very unrealistic state.
So I did the only thing a non-political woman like myself could do. I started writing. I started speaking out through my computer. Slowly I am working my way back to the message board and on the way....I am letting those who care to read what I have to say...just how I feel about the country I live in.
Why am I doing this you might ask? Especially when those who know me know that my plate is full to overflowing as it is. Because I have kids. What happens today, right now....is going to affect them tomorrow. Decisions that are being made locally, at a state level, and at a federal level are going to be my kids future and I owe it to them to make sure that future is a good one. I don't want my kids suffering the unnecessary debt of ridiculous bailouts, nor do I want them forced into health care insurance that will end up costing them more than their parents ever dreamed of paying. I want them to have the same American dream that generations before them have had and I want everyone of their Constitutional rights in tact.
Does all of this make me political? I don't know. I have had some, more educated than I say... yes. I still want to say NO! All I know is that as long as the change does not appear to be working.....I will have to speak up and speak out. Oh poor, poor political me!