Wondering

I wonder if the general poster on internet political message boards represents the thinking of the general majority of the people politically associated with that poster.

I used to spend an inordinate amount of time on political message boards. These days, not so much.  Oh, I go look at them, as a guest, not logged in, but I watch the tunnel visioned mud-slinging without participating anymore.  Two good reasons for that, really.  One, it takes a lot less time out of an already busy day.  Two, I'm tired of wondering when some admin is going to make something up out of thin air, or going to grossly twist and misconstrue something I said, and play stupid "I have power over you nyah nyah nyah" games, like the turtle named admin did on one board a while back.

Still, I do wonder.  Do these who write on these message boards stand for hundreds, thousands, even millions, who share their thoughts?  I hope not.  I have seen some of the weakest reasoning (if it can be called reasoning at all) on these boards.  People who will use the flimsiest references, sites with no reputation, no established credibility outside one narrow socio-political spectrum, and then jump all over someone who doesn't act as though itellitmyway.com is equivalent to the Library of Congress.

One scout claims to be independent, but he rails against everything conservative, and if he doesn't like something from the Democrat side of the house, he condemns it by describing it as though it were on the conservative side of the house.  Independent?  Hardly.

Then there's the pilgrim that knows everything, and everything is that all that is conservative is bad, much that is Democrat is bad, corporations are bad, rich people are bad...  Remember the movies from the 60s where the "beatniks" were portrayed as idealistic kids rambling on and on about the evils of everything they could think of to ramble on about, but you kind of knew that once they entered the real world, they'd figure out reality?  Seems this fellow never left beatnikville.

It gets a little tiring, the gross double standard of "believe me because of my political persuasion" yet "no one should believe you because of your political persuasion."  Sounds kind of silly when it's reduced to it's basic fact, doesn't it, yet that is the root of all their silliness, in the end.

The whites in Mississippi in 1955 took that stand, "I'm right because I say so, and (wink, wink) you know I am, right?  Sure you do."  These self proclaimed saviours of the world would be livid if they realized that they are taking the exact same stand, simply on a different subject.

More later, perhaps.  I just thought I'd mention this junk, in the hope that posters on these politically agendized boards and blogs represent no one but a tiny splinter minority of America.  I sure hope so.  If not, we are in HUGE trouble; not from wrong political leadership, but from a population that cannot or will not recognize leadership.

I'm a little worried, to tell you the truth.

Well, we are closer...

Sorry, not in much of a good mood. I knew the health care bill was going to pass, and for the people who will get medical treatment that would not have had medical treatment if it hadn't passed, well, I'm glad for them because of that. I just wish there had been another way, other than establishing yet another way that the government will do for citizens what the citizens of a generation behind us routinely expected to do for themselves, because it was called "standing on your own two feet."


I know, of course, that there are some who cannot do that, for reasons outside their control, and I have no issue with them getting help. My issue is with the fact that being only 54, I can remember a time when a youngster grew up to leave home and make his/her own way in the world. Now, we are one significant step closer to the place where "growing up to leave home" means switching who takes care of you, from Daddy to Government.

We're not there yet, and opponents of my position will be quick to point out that the bill is now signed and the world didn't stop.

Noted.

No, the world didn't stop, but America got one step closer to laughing at the memory of individual liberty for two reasons: one, the fact that passage of this bill institutionalizes the concept that someone belongs between the citizen and the person providing health care to that citizen and two, the acceptance of the idea that it's a good thing for Government to replace Daddy.

Now, about all that's left is to chink at the armor of liberty long enough to make it ok to admit that in so many words.

If you leave a comment, don't go the "you don't want people to have health care" route.  It's an argument full of baloney.  If opposing this political effort absolutely equals not wanting people to have health care, then the only way it can be equal is if the government is the only place that health care can be provided.

It is not a good day. I look at my USN Chief Petty Officer uniform, hanging in my closet, and I've begun to wonder why I wasted my time.

Simple and True

Happened to hear this on TV yesterday, and modified it a bit to suit my sense of detail:

Politicians are like bananas.  While they are green, they're not much use.  Once they are not green anymore, they are yellow, hang in bunches, and they're all crooked, not a straight one among them.

Well said, whoever you were writing that email to the CNN show.