Great People of America, Lend Me Your Pickles!

Political discourse has eroded into name calling, labeling, and just plain animosity.  Many find this trend disturbing and seek clean conversation with "the other side." There is nothing wrong with disagreement, but we are better than this!  We have a rule, like many families, in our home to prevent foul language and name calling.  And, trust me, it works!  So, let's just try it in political discourse.

Is there any better way to get an argument calmed down than humor?  Yes, this is childish, but so is calling someone Libtard or Republitard.  Instead, insert your favorite snack.  In my house, we insert pickle as the substitute.  There is nothing better than yelling at your son, for poor behavior, and throwing in pickle at the end.  Let me demonstrate from experience, "Will, stop hitting your sister; you are acting like such a pickle!"  And, this causes three reactions.

Don't PC me!

I have always disliked the term "Politically Correct."  I don't think this term has a true assigned meaning any more.  After all, politicians tend to be liars and rarely correct.  In debate, politically correct takes on multiple meanings; to be correct, would imply a right answer in a discussion regarding opinion.  Debate also requires proper use of language in terms of being politically correct; I certainly would not use the N-word in a political debate! (Or, at all, for that matter!)  Our language has also been distorted by being "PC". English is commonly misused in an attempt to be PC that most no longer know the true meanings of words.  Even our sense of humor has been destroyed by PC terms and uses. How is this really a country for Freedom of Speech, if our speech has become so filtered that discussion becomes lost in a sea of half truths?

I am a Left Libertarian….what is that?

I don't know why, but I have this insatiable thirst to understand myself.  It sounds a little odd, as I read that back...but, whatever!   In the political sphere, I suppose we all need reassurance from time to time as to where we fall and why.  After getting no sleep last night, I was sitting here this morning contemplating what to write about.  I must have gotten bored surfing the internet and found myself on openpolitics.ca.  I decided to take their test and find out where I am on the spectrum, from their opinion.  So, I answered all 60 questions in trying to figure out where my ever "evolving" point of view now lies on the political spectrum.  

To my sheer terror, my result came up that I am an Independence Democrat!  What??? I am SO far off from a Democrat.  Just seeing that word appear sent a shiver up my spine; had I been Chris Wallace, it would have been up my leg... I about fell out of my chair.  I also contemplated throwing my computer out the window, but I like my Mac so I decided against it.  I was just about to close out the browser when the thought occurred to me; maybe I should read all the other crap, and not just the label given.  After all, in today's world, we have a LOT of political terms misused; God knows, I misuse them in the traditional sense.  Hmmm, another idea to write about....but, I digress.  As I began to read about being an Independence Democrat, I realized that it was pretty close to what I thought of myself.

Looking Forward to 2016 with Purpose

2016 Candidate Poll

Yes, it is early, but there is a reason to my madness.  I want to get the informed crowd's opinion on whom we should back, together.  I am working on a statistical study that requires your input and I would greatly appreciate your anonymous input on this.  Please select the candidate that best reflects your political viewpoint.  We need to bring together all Conservatives and Libertarians behind one candidate if we are going to fix this country.

Splash...There is Some Lemonade in Your Face!

Sometimes, life throws lemons at us and other times, it throws lemonade at us.... Yes, life can get a bit sticky!  My mom always taught me never to discuss politics, religion, or race.  But, I have found that not discussing these topics with friends and strangers leads to a pretty dull life. Sometimes, it is more fun to live outside the cultural "norms".  Yes, one has to be careful on what they state, to a certain extent.

Today, I was, once again, pleasantly surprised in a conversation with a friend of mine.  I have known him and his wife for about 2 years now, but we have never really gotten into politics before.  Our sons are inseparable, playing together every moment that they can.  Yet, in all that time, we have never really discussed politics.  I am not really sure why?  They know I write, wear my opinions on my sleeves and am not afraid to speak my opinion to anyone.  Since they had never made a comment on Facebook, Twitter, Google, or any other social media, I just assumed they had no interest in politics.

Politics and Racism

I am often disturbed by the common used argument by Liberals these days; they don't like Obama because they are racist.  This all too common statement undermines the very fabric of political debate.  It demeans the person making the argument to a point where no validity is reached in discourse.  Those on the opposing side automatically tune out anything that the accused has to say, because, who would listen to a racist, after all?  This argument is not only used here on the internet in personal and group debates, but also in the public sphere where talking heads constantly point to racism as the motivation for opposition to Obama.

Let's step back for a moment, and recap some history regarding racism in general terms. First of all, racism exists, and few deny this.  Racism exists on both sides of the political spectrum as well as across all nationalities, sex, creed, religion, etc.  In other words, picking out racism is not a one-sided conversation; to suggest otherwise would be ignorant in and of itself.  Second, the election of Obama was a great moment in American history from the standpoint that we had our first black President.  It took more than 50% of the voting public to elect him (this is important to keep in mind later in this post).  Third, we have an ugly history when it comes to racism; from slavery to voting rights and even after that point.  Few Americans are proud of this deplorable history we share, and many work to overcome this and to heal the nation.