I have two Facebook accounts.
The smaller one, has mostly friends and relatives who know me. Some disagree with me but practice restraint and courtesy. We have amicable discussions in which we learn additional information on the subjects we review and, through our disagreements, we learn aspects of both sides of many topics.
The larger account, aboomersthoughts.com, is related to this site. For that reason, I have opened it up to a much larger audience. The problem that comes with this decision is that I am often attacked by people who don’t know me and don’t agree with me. Some of these attacks come over posts I feel are lighthearted or even humorous.
While I feel I am just conservative, I fear I am viewed as “Far Right” mostly because our society is losing its’ middle. For the purpose of arguments, I feel, our country has started to place everyone into groups- Black, White, Rich, Underprivileged- not poor, Physically fit, Fat, Beautiful, Ugly, Far Right, Far Left, Pro-Gun, Anti-Gun, Pro-Life, Pro-Abortion/ Choice, and many more. I fear, hopefully my fear is unfounded, that this is being done with a plan in mind.
My fear is that the plan is based on the premise that it is easier to conquer and/or control a divided mass.
I would not have thought this many years ago. I would not have thought this even a few years ago. But I do think this now.
While I’m conservative I do not consider myself a Republican. I don’t believe either party serves “We the people” any longer. If the Republicans were doing what they claim they want to do, and were elected to do, we would not have a 35 trillion-dollar deficit!
Our forefathers gave us a form of government that has thrived for over 200 years! There is a story that when our country was still being formed a woman stopped Benjamin Franklin on the street and asked, “What form of government are you giving us?” and Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
Is it possible that, after 200 years, the greedy among us have found a way to destroy our government?
Franklin and all of the founders were concerned about how long the fledgling country they had risked their lives and fortunes to establish would survive. They divided the government into three branches, each with the responsibility of overseeing one of the others. They assured that its’ citizens would have the right to own and carry arms, not for hunting as many of our greedy politicians say today! Our founding fathers assured that we would retain our right to own and carry guns to protect the citizens from the government! Remember, they had just fought a bloody revolution!
Against all odds they had initiated a revolt against the most powerful government of the day. If they had failed, they were aware, they would have been hung as traitors. These men were among the smartest of their day and they worked, argued, compromised, argued, worked and compromised some more to make the first government “Of the people, by the people and for the people.”
In his 817-page book, WASHINGTON, A LIFE, Ron Chernow documents many interesting facts about our country’s early leaders and founders. Among the facts that I found most interesting were the revelation that Washington almost went bankrupt more than once because he spent so much time away from Mt. Vernon. I always thought of him as completely successful, no idea he might have had trouble paying his bills! The other idea I was surprised to see was that serving in the government was meant to be a “temporary service” to the country. There was extended discussion on that topic; these elites of their time were anxious to make, or grow, their fortunes, but had no intention of doing that off of tax money!
We have lost that completely (How many career politicians do you know of?). I believe, our country is being run by the many lobbyists who wine and dine our, mostly greedy, politicians. Government officials give millions, sometimes, billions of dollars’ worth of contracts to unions and private industries. These entities then “donate” large amounts back to the same government official(s). Do you see a problem with that? I DO!!!
The last bill President Biden signed, I believe, was for $1.3 trillion, is all of that money being tracked? The answer is no!
Dennis Hastert, a retired wrestling coach at a high school, in the small farming community of Yorkville, IL went on to become Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was scandalized in 2015 when it became known that he had paid a former student $3.5 million to keep quiet about alleged sexual misconduct he had committed while he was working at the high school. Maybe I’m naive, but I figure, with his high school pension, Hastert was making around $300,000.00 a year- yet he was offering $3.5 million as a bribe. Perhaps I’m cheap, but I am not bribing someone that much unless I have much more in the bank- How about you? I wonder how he got all that extra money?
Do you remember when Maxine Waters encouraged her supporters to harass Republicans in restaurants and on the streets? I wonder if that was the “official beginning” of the rampant disrespect we experience on social media sites and, sometimes, in our daily lives? If that was the end of “civil discussion” and the beginning of families being separated because of different political beliefs?
I posted: “NONE OF YOUR PROBLEMS ARE BECAUSE SOMEONE ELSE IS A BILLIONAIRE” on both my accounts. My smaller account was fine. But I got buried on the boomers account! Even after I explained that, per the IRS, the top 20% of income earners pay 84% of the taxes. I had people insisting that the “Rich” be punished for making so much. I, personally, don’t feel the thread would have gone that way if it was a face-to-face conversation. I believe social respect disintegrates, with many people, when there is a keyboard and screen involved.
In a last-ditch effort, I argued that taxes are not, and never were, designed to be a mechanism of social balancing! I was shouted down by the haters, and heavily supported by those who agreed with my view- maybe I was lucky it wasn’t a face-to-face discussion. There might have been a riot!!
Thank you for reading to the end. If you have any questions or comments please put them in the comment section.
Phil
I’m in the fat group – you DIDn’t HAVE A SKINNY GROUP!
Hastert probably inherited Paul Powell’s shoe boxes.
I was trying to be clever, I think I called the skinny group physically fit. It’s funny what you said about Hastert, but I think he filled his own shoe boxes- as most of them are doing