It’s time for my annual “consider yourselves told” blog post for southern conservatives. For years now, I have been patiently waiting for someone or some group on the right to ask how to do better in my community. My simply solutions would start with an overview of “The Art of War” because the first rule should be to study and learn the ways of the other side. Anyway, I have been writing the same points for years and should have gotten paid from my insight but that’s life. For the record, this discourse is the 2013 version of the same old same old.
Acknowledgement: America would be a better place if people would live the way conservatives wanted. A Bible based clean life would be perfect: no kids until three years into a marriage, zero cocktails, no sagging pants, do any legal employment to provide for self and family.
Problem: In a free society, people have the right to do as they please. It would be grand if all Americans follow their doctor’s recommendations on diet and exercise but that isn’t happening nor are people listening to sound life advice in other aspects of life.
Resulting Problem: So, a person is free to live anyway he or she chooses but if problems result from life choices, they gently fall in the governmental safety net. While that seems fair, we are finding more people who dive in the net from jump street and working people get the bill.
When Liberals are so wrong: Yea, a nation that ensures that all of her citizens have decent homes and decent meals sounds great. But, that would be socialism. In a democracy, the state creates a climate or situation where everyone has an opportunity to work hard, focus, plan and thrive. If your plan doesn’t work, you must keep trying while admitting that you made your lumpy bed.
Conservative Force vs. Moderate Compel: My conservative friends often see everyone else as child who must be told what to do. Say what? They make public policy decisions without general input and their source of knowledge comes from those in their inner circles. Some people have termed this the “donor class” because it’s the conservatives who donate to candidates and causes—in a bubble. They wanted to force their Solomon type decisions on the nation as a whole and regular folks simply laugh. (Remember, some of their approaches make perfect sense but their delivery techniques are appalling.)
On the other hand, moderates take the views of all sides into consideration before crafting logical policy. For example, the “lockem up” crime policies of the past produced macho campaign ads but the astronomical cost of the criminal justice system made even conservatives go back to the drawing board. Some of that money should have been used for education and training to put young people on the right path. Hell, I still think Newt Gingrich’s 1990s idea of giving clean living 21 year olds a $5,000 check was interesting because thug activities cost seven times that amount at least.
Bible Based: There must be a special hot pit in hell for those who twist the Bible to justify whatever provides them increase. I could list a zillion parts of the Bible that the Right uses and another zillion that the Left uses. But, I personally think Jesus of the Beatitudes speech wouldn’t want to see hungry people.
However, First Timothy 5: 8 says “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” Translation: A good dad would take that job flipping burgers.
Proverbs 12:11 He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain persons is void of understanding. Translation: Thank a farmer and a rancher in your dinner prayer tonight.
Second Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. Translation: The work requirement provisions of the Food Stamp selection of the Farm Bill weren’t written by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky but by Paul who use to be Saul of Tarsus.
Fat On Food Stamps: First, food stamps or temporary food assistance helps needy families and helps American farmers by providing additional markets. The “let them starve” mentality doesn’t seem as compassionate as President Reagan or the second President Bush. While starving, the health care cost would be billions and where were these folks when people were trying to fund programs that taught family planning and control. One conservative guy in Florida said that birth control was a grapefruit between the knees—keep those legs closed.
Conservatives don’t know that working Americans are also ticked off by the idea that their tax dollars are paying for someone to get fat on a futon while playing Madden all day or watching Maury Povich. Then, folks use the emergency room as a doctors’ office. My farm bill would provide temporary healthy food aid—no greasy foods . Healthcare reform should have provided a doctor for everyone and the doctor should state clear goals, objectives and consequences. “Sir, you are 100 pounds overweight and you have one year to get under 200 pounds. After that year, there will be no more free health assistance for chubby you. You will thank me in a few years or your family will be picking out hymns for your service.”
Nasty, Just Plain Old Nasty: In the above mention “donor class” of conservatives, you have people who love the vitriol of Fox News and talk radio. I should mention the young staffers and politicos who were sheltered as kids—home schooled, far Right Church, detest everyone and anyone not like them. Again, they are not very Jesus-like and they should stop demonizing folks who have fallen on hard times….there but for the grace of God…..
When the ugliest parts of the conservative movement say things design to fire up their ranks, reasonable conservatives shouldn’t remain quiet. Moderates aren’t quiet when that junk comes from the far Left or far Right.
Voter Suppression: The new nasty is a rehashing of the old nasty: let’s make voting hard. That’s not funny and shame on every conservative who supporters efforts to limit Americans from voting. The voter fraud junk is hogwash and they grin about it behind closed doors. If you can’t win an election fair and square, you shouldn’t resort to shady options. In June, I jumped though so many hoops to renew my driver’s license before I realized that the ultimate goal of conservatives in the state capitol was discouraging me to vote.
Joseph from the Bible: That guy Joseph was done dirty by his brothers but in Genesis 50, 20-21 it says “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.”
We are all southern brothers at the end of the day. I can’t understand voter suppression from the far Right nor can I understand the glamorization of thug living in my community. If anyone thinks the answer is governing the South without input from every section of the community, they have another thought coming. Some people voted for Obama while others voted against ugliness.
The struggle will continue after President Obama exits for Hawaii and candidate Clinton is my kind of tough lady. Yea, the voter turnout won’t be what it was in the past. I actually think it could be higher because people are getting hip to the dirty game.
Zimmerman: When Travon Martin was shot in Florida, George Zimmerman seemed surprised by all the heat coming down on him. He was right in being dumbfounded because he was functioning in a manner sanctioned by Florida state law. People across the country should be mad at themselves for not keeping at better eye on local, state and federal governments. Under the Stand Your Ground Laws, I could fire on a bald White kid running toward me in the parking lot at the store because I have a little concern about skinheads that I occasionally saw in D.C. But, that kid could just be someone with a cheap haircut (like mine) or an actual skinhead jogging to his car. I still don’t want to kill him.
The bottomline is that every American adult should try to vote so that the state legislature will be populated with officials who listen to everyone and who make well-thought out laws. Election results indicate that many Americans voted for President Obama then walked out of the polling booth. We must vote in every contest-from President to dog catcher in Ty, Ty, Georgia.
And we should vote smart. If the GOP is running your region, vote in the Republican primary for the candidate most like you. That action would be the cool move and it would make the far Right crazy mad.
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