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Workingclasshero, you lost me with the second sentence. Could not read anything after that. I read the first sentence and then gave you the benefit of the doubt and read the second sentence. After that all I saw was blah, blah, blah.
Every conservative Republican or Libertarian can describe a similar encounter with a less-than-intelligent liberal Democrat. There are extremely intelligent people with political views at all points on the political belief spectrum.
Most people think the truly disadvantaged in society should be taken care of, the country should be defended from foreign invaders, and that people have a responsibility not to hurt others. What we don't agree on is whether a large government accomplishes those goals without suffocating the economy in taxes and creating a culture of corruption, lowering quality of life for everyone. How many irresponsible and lazy people must the taxpayer support, in addition to the truly needy? And does America really need a military bigger than all the others in the world put together, particularly when politicians are addicted to sending troops into an endless series of unwinnable wars that accomplish nothing?
Like most Libertarians, I had a much kinder view of government when I was just out of the liberal education system. I had not yet worked for government and encountered corruption and graft that was worse than any fictional book I had read. I had not yet found that being responsible and having a work ethic meant that I was forever on the side of "cash cow" and absolutely precluded from ever recovering a penny of the million or so dollars I will provide the various levels of government in my lifetime. I had not yet seen my pension-less father spend his elderly years being denied any government help because he had managed to save a tiny nest egg (about $50,000), which was the only thing that allowed him to pay the local taxes on his paid-off home--after he had worked his whole life and refused to take any tax deductions because he believed government was benevolent.
My family continues to send a fortune each year to both our local government and the Federal government, since we are working professionals in our peak earning years. It seems unlikely we can ever save enough to retire, since cost of living (COL) and taxes take virtually everything and we have no luxuries to cut out of the COL. I have no idea how the Town of Exeter manages to burn through the huge amount of money they demand, since it provides virtually no town services (although of course the school system is a black hole for money). As to the Federal Government, I think it could defend our nation and provide the services it should restrict itself to for about 1/1,000,000,000th of the current cost. The bloated monstrosity we have today is simply a means by which to concentrate wealth so it can be siphoned off by an army of corrupt individuals. It makes decisions solely to increase its own power, and by doing so hurts Americans directly.
I have to support Republicans because at least some of them give lip service to reining in government size and spending. Democrats never will. And I cannot escape the conclusion that the continuing rise of Big Government corresponded with the decline of America's Middle Class and the economy as a whole.
Every conservative Republican or Libertarian can describe a similar encounter with a less-than-intelligent liberal Democrat. There are extremely intelligent people with political views at all points on the political belief spectrum.
Most people think the truly disadvantaged in society should be taken care of, the country should be defended from foreign invaders, and that people have a responsibility not to hurt others. What we don't agree on is whether a large government accomplishes those goals without suffocating the economy in taxes and creating a culture of corruption, lowering quality of life for everyone. How many irresponsible and lazy people must the taxpayer support, in addition to the truly needy? And does America really need a military bigger than all the others in the world put together, particularly when politicians are addicted to sending troops into an endless series of unwinnable wars that accomplish nothing?
Like most Libertarians, I had a much kinder view of government when I was just out of the liberal education system. I had not yet worked for government and encountered corruption and graft that was worse than any fictional book I had read. I had not yet found that being responsible and having a work ethic meant that I was forever on the side of "cash cow" and absolutely precluded from ever recovering a penny of the million or so dollars I will provide the various levels of government in my lifetime. I had not yet seen my pension-less father spend his elderly years being denied any government help because he had managed to save a tiny nest egg (about $50,000), which was the only thing that allowed him to pay the local taxes on his paid-off home--after he had worked his whole life and refused to take any tax deductions because he believed government was benevolent.
My family continues to send a fortune each year to both our local government and the Federal government, since we are working professionals in our peak earning years. It seems unlikely we can ever save enough to retire, since cost of living (COL) and taxes take virtually everything and we have no luxuries to cut out of the COL. I have no idea how the Town of Exeter manages to burn through the huge amount of money they demand, since it provides virtually no town services (although of course the school system is a black hole for money). As to the Federal Government, I think it could defend our nation and provide the services it should restrict itself to for about 1/1,000,000,000th of the current cost. The bloated monstrosity we have today is simply a means by which to concentrate wealth so it can be siphoned off by an army of corrupt individuals. It makes decisions solely to increase its own power, and by doing so hurts Americans directly.
I have to support Republicans because at least some of them give lip service to reining in government size and spending. Democrats never will. And I cannot escape the conclusion that the continuing rise of Big Government corresponded with the decline of America's Middle Class and the economy as a whole.
Well that was written. I read everything because I did not see Marxist, socialist or any of those other buzzwords.. Kudos you make a good argument. The professional working class does take the biggest hit.
"No one should suffer because they lack {fill in the blank}" should be prefaced with "No one should be compelled to labor for the benefit of another, so that..." because slavery is not an acceptable solution to the ills of mankind.
Slavery (involuntary servitude) is the reason to FEAR socialism and its proponents.
Voluntary charity is a blessing.
Compulsory charity is a curse.
As long as government is used to compel socialist "charity", it is an abomination. And as long as the recipient class can outvote the donor class, the abuse will grow.
When the "fleas" outvote the "dog", the "dog" is doomed.
"Socialism," the new buzzword of the ignorant.
...
how many other names do you post here under ?
you really need to pick one and stick with it, this broken record thingy you have going is getting tiresome
LOL< my god, you people are so obsessed with using these terms.
IF OBAMA WERE A FASCIST....
would you have the FREEDOMS to post your hatefulness against a public official online. NO!!!! My god, do you people see how stupid this is? You want to call the pres a Fascist but if he truly were a fascist you would have NONE of the liberties to get online and say the cra* you do!!!
Do you see the irony? Do you really want a fascist regime? Because if we TRULY lived in one you would have been arrested by now.
Clearly someone needs to buy you a dictionary so you can lookup the word fascism..
dictatorial movement: any movement, ideology, or attitude that favors dictatorial government, centralized control of private enterprise, repression of all opposition, and extreme nationalism
That doesnt mean you have no freedoms..
Does Obama favor dictorial government? Yes (healthcare, financial reform, where he dictates you must have healthcare)
Does Obama support centralized control of private enterprise? Yes.. (financial reform, healthcare for example, turning legislation over to the federal government instead of states where it belongs)
Does obama support suppression of the opposition? Yes, (remember his discussion over Fox News, and his hate for the right?)
Doesnt bother me in the least, I just wanted to point out the
"Pot meet kettle"..
hahahahahaha hardly.
So you are comparing my personal direct hard work and participation in state legislation, *gasp* <Oh the Democracy!>
as the same as some catatonic couch potato drugged up on Fox News et. al. spewing tourrets- like 'buzzwords"?
I had a surrealistic 'discussion' (she did most of the talking) with a woman who considered herself a dyed-in-the-wool "patriot," (another buzzword of the ignorant). She didn't like public libraries, she didn't like paying taxes, she didn't like anything, including bicyclists - which is why she targeted me, I ride to work every day and she thinks that's "socialistic." In her mind, if you're not driving a car, watching mindless Hollywood videos ("Who goes to libraries anymore?" she said), talking drivel on "smart phones" and generally living a lifestyle of vapid conspicuous consumption, you are a "socialist." As she ranted, I would occasionally get a word in edge-wise generally insulting her so subtly that she didn't know she was being insulted, much to the mirth of some of my sharper coworkers. And her favorite word? You guessed it, "socialism." I guess Rush and the other mega millionaire fascist mouthpieces have been instructed to saturate the airwaves with that word, so that their mindless minions will parrot it. Must be working, all the right-wing ignoramuses are using it these days. At one point, I asked her to define "socialism" and she just ignored me, and I'm sure she had no idea what it meant. As the woman wound down her rant, I said I wondered what Benjamin Franklin would say about her arguments, and she said he would "probably turn over in his grave" over the way things are today. I then said, "yeah, especially over public libraries" and she said something like "you betcha." I didn't have the heart to tell her that Franklin invented the public library. This woman was pushing 50 years of age and didn't seem to even know the basics of history or, well, anything for that matter except her own stupid existence. But people like her seem increasingly in the majority in this country. She liked to use the term "freedom" a lot too I noticed. In retrospect, I wished I'd asked her to define that word. Would have been good for a hoot I'm sure. The words "socialism," "patriot" and "freedom" are now just another name for "stupid" I'm afraid. Such words have been cheapened by overuse in contexts that have nothing to do with the concepts, but such buzzwords are the stock in trade of Rush and his ilk - just get the masses riled up and give them some loaded words to sputter and, Voila! you get the idiocracy we have today. My theory is such folks have felt intellectually inferior most of their lives and this is their chance to use big multi-syllabic adult-sounding words. Empty words from empty minds. Their phones are smarter than they are.
The whole experience has led me to feel that ignorance, not "socialism" is the problem these days, the ignorance of the common masses. People easily duped by those who cater to ignorance, who make millions telling dumb people what they want to hear, despite evidence to the contrary. A chain's only as strong as the weakest link, and the weakest link of the American chain has become the public. They are like children, raised on junk food and junk culture, they can't think anymore. They vote against their own interests - in fact, they don't even know what their interests are. Indeed, these people don't use libraries, they get their marching orders from cable tv and right-wing talk radio, they like corporate sports and are company men (and women) through and through. Until of course their jobs are shipped to India by their fatcat bosses, and they get to use those "socialist" unemployment benefits, or when they retire and get their "socialist security" checks - try to take those away and hear how loud they scream then. It will be fun to point out the irony of their situations when, not if, that occurs - but of course it will all be lost on them; irony is not their strong suit. History will look back and laugh at the stupid Americans who let their country slip through their fingers.
Rant over. Let the minions chime in. Bonus points for the first one who tells me to "move to [fill-in-the-blank country] since I hate America so much."
Interesting OP... Sounds like the problem you have is with stereotyping.. And I agree that some people couldn't think their way out of a paper bag. I've been judged like that also, from both sides..
I like to ride a bike when I can, because I like riding my bike. I like the library because I like to read. I've got a gas guzzling pickup because I need to haul stuff, I have saws and a log splitter because I use wood (gasp) to heat my house. (Although we do try to use beetle killed wood to help clear the forest for fire prevention..) I like to hunt and fish, and I think that solar and wind power are great ideas worth exploring and using.
I eat meat, like to shoot firearms and bows, and watch football. Sometimes I raise livestock for food. My wife has more education than I do, and I like to cook dinner when I have the time. I also don't see a problem with gays marrying, and I don't care if people want to go to church. I try to raise my kids to have the ability to think before they speak. I can't stand it when people try to tell me what I should think and I do the best I can at my job. I smoke a cigarette from time to time and can enjoy a cold beer or a whisky when the need arises.
To some people I'm a heathen, a redneck, a "progressive" and whatever else they want to label me as. (Not that I really give a rip about what someone thinks..)
So you are comparing my personal direct hard work and participation in state legislation, *gasp* <Oh the Democracy!>
as the same as some catatonic couch potato drugged up on Fox News et. al. spewing tourrets- like 'buzzwords"?
'competition breeds winners' ?
hahahahahaaha
I'm comparing you calling it "hate".. I know.. its difficult for you to comprehend.. btw, I havent watched Fox News in 6 months, but continue to use the "Fox News" buzzword.. You are making my point..
progressive is a far left liberal..a socialist.. a marxist...a fascist
liberals (ie progressives) were the one here IN AMERICA that were supporting hitler in the 1930's
Progressives also believed that industrialization had led to social “disintegration” and materialistic decadence throughout America.
progressives looked favorably on the policies and ideals of Italian and German fascism in the 1920s and 1930s;
If thats what you think of Democrat ideology which comprises a sizable chunk of America's population instead of putting up with all this supposed nazi=fascist=socialist=marxist=progressiveness maybe you should think about emigrating to a more perfect country.
Oh yeah America is as good as it gets .
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