It seems all we do anymore is point to the negative or look for problems. We jump from one political party to the other looking for party affiliation to make our life better instead of how we actually live it. We talk about the President like some douchebag at the office, a lack of respect that is appalling even to me. As a Democrat, and one who voted for Bill Clinton twice and his wife once, I am saddened to attribute our current disrespect for the Presidency to his Oval Office antics. I think the larger role the media has in covering the White House and the politicians within also contributes, but there’s nothing like a hummer in the club house to sleaze things up.
Even so, we’re missing a lot. Are we really so much worse than we used to be? Sure, people were more polite, they wore hats in public, dressed more formally and litter didn’t seem to be as much of a problem, but behind those pleasantries there were some serious things wrong. Racism was rampant; sexism was openly practiced; and the media was complicit in covering up the misdeeds of the Presidency. Today’s society has come a long way and it may not be as pretty as the suburban neighborhoods portrayed in the TV sitcoms of old, but we have real change. So yes, we swear a lot, even at the office; people wear shorts and flip flops to church, no one borrows a cup of sugar from the neighbor, but what we do have is a thinking nation. The problem, is that when you have a 360 degree view of something, you're bound to see the flaws as well as the accomplishments.
We care about issues and rather than blindly follow a leader, we question things, we pay attention and we demand accountability. We educate ourselves (though I would argue that the “education” you get from Fox News ain’t all that educational, anywho . . .) and take time to discuss and organize meetings and rallys. Progress is ugly, that’s just the way it is. The civil rights movement was ugly. Suffrage was ugly. The fight for gay and transgender rights are ugly.
These are necessary and inevitable changes, but how they came to pass and the resulting struggle were not pretty and they did not please all the people. We need to stop calling names and pointing fingers and at least respect that we all want something better. You may disagree with how we get there, but no one is trying to make things worse. Would it kill us to show a little respect if we cannot muster support? The packaging may not be to our liking, but I think things actually get better every year, not worse.
re;DEATH THREATS, the people who have made such threats are morons and will hopefully be caught and sentenced in a court of law sooner as opposed to later. they are incapable of stating their beliefs without maintaining control of their medulla oblongata. they are like sharks or dogs in how because they lack hands have to use their mouth to explore.
ReplyDelete...about the President; i voted for bill once and hillary too. if she had won the primary i would've voted for her again given the alternative.
"hummer in the club house" lmao
"the media was complicit in covering up the misdeeds of the Presidency." are you kidding? only now have we gotten any negative stories from the main stream press about president obama's policies and they're still few and far between. he got a free pass all through the election.
"the TV sitcoms of old"- you caught me. i still have crushes on donna reed and elizabeth montgomery (especially in that black wig as sabrina, groovy baby!), not to mention ginger rogers, grace kelly, jean simmons, audrey hepburn, rita hayworth, eartha kitt, ruby dee, and we can't forget doris day! hell, i've had a crush on janet jackson ever since she was on "good times".
Fox News- if you tvo all the news one night and go back and watch them, you'll see that they just follow each other around covering the same stories. if fox is biased, and i don't think they really are that bad not that i watch any of them anymore, then its only to balance out the one-sided coverage by the other side.
"Are we really so much worse than we used to be? ...You may disagree with how we get there, but no one is trying to make things worse." i don't think pres. obama or anyone else is trying to make things worse. i disagree with them on what good is. equal rights for minorities, women, and gays are awesome and based on the concepts that this country is founded upon. but 'special' rights? for instance, affirmative action was needed when it was first enacted but today those matters can be taken to court with the expectation of a fair and impartial hearing. in 20 years racism will hopefully be so uncommon that incidents will make the news just on shock value. right now there are more females in uni than males! the next generation is going to see things a lot differently than we do and yes that is good progress.
as for the ends justifying the means, let me share something i wrote last night.
"the left of middle opinion seems to be concern for all these people trod down by faceless corporations. and the right of middle opinion seems to be 'well we don't want to pay for it'. the truth is that the left of middle isn't opposed to accomplishing this goal while keeping a firm hand on the reins of the financial side, and the right of center isn't opposed to people who actually need help and giving them a hand up.
ReplyDeletefrom the middle, i see the main problem this way. when you want to build something right and in this case righteous, and that it will be beautiful and solid and last a long time, you start with the foundation. you build on the proverbial rock, and then and only then you select quality building materials and go piece by piece, you place each individual brick just so, and you make sure the mortar is mixed correctly and laid thick enough, because as ann can tell you, the purpose of mortar is to evenly distribute the weight from above and if the bricks or stone actually touch each other then it causes cracks from too much weight being on an individual brick.
from the middle, it sure does seem like this bill was put together in a hurry. they didn't select a rock for a foundation i.e. a strong economy, they didn't select quality building materials or cut the stones to size, or make sure the mortar was right i.e. just a bunch of "this has never been tried before and we really have no idea how it will work but lets throw it in anyway". they just kind of dumped everything into a bag, shook it up, and poured it out onto sand. in this pile though it have the correct amount of everything there is no balance. stones and bricks will be crushed under the incorrectly distributed weight.
so tell me those of you whom are left of center. if you have a house built, will you be content if the walls have to be torn down and rebuilt correctly? instead of a good bill, that will be worth something and functioning in a year, haven't you settled for a poorly built 'house' that will have to be rebuilt and you may not be allowed to move in for 2 years at least? knowing that building this bill wasn't done correctly makes the right of center want to pull their hair out. that the cart was put before the horse i.e. the economy isn't in shape for this yet and it will cause the economy more harm, gives the right of center apoplexy. by building on sand instead of a rock we will have to build up a foundation underneath a pile of rubble. only then will the repairs to the walls even be feasible. by being in such a hurry, a 1 or 2 year project with tweaks thereafter i.e. shingles etc, will take 5 or 10 just to get off the ground and rolling. what a colossal waste of time, energy, and tax dollars."
and yet more waste of lives as people in need have to wait for a good system to form.
BJ