Yesterday, as by regimen, I headed to my local gym. Swimming is my heart-tonic these days, typically I push for a mile or so of free-style. I’ve been doing this for 6 months now and it’s been a long, hard push to get to the plateau I find myself at. I’m no pro but I have excelled in my own little sphere of experience.
My little chlorinated ocean-body has taught me lessons. The car-accident victims, using the pool as a recovery vehicle, pushed my daily nuisance to not even nuance. Things seem trivial in my own little corner after a converse with an elderly man – a World War II veteran. He uses the pool to stay in shape he tells me. Trouble is, he can’t be as active as he wishes – being that he only has one leg. I gather that he lost his limb many years ago……nuisances, nuances, fade with perspective of such.
And I chat with another fellow from time to time. We’ll call him ‘Bob’ for anonymity’s sake. We talk of many topics – the weather, running, investing, life in general. For the first time the topic of politics comes the corner. I tread lightly, but make my displeasure with our current regime obvious – ‘I’m young enough to know better and old enough to want better,’ I say. Or is it the other way around? Either way will do it seems.
Bob perks up a bit. “I’m no Republican, mind you”, he says. “But I am deathly afraid of what I see happening in our country, the socialism.” I remind him that there was no such mandate given by the electorate to change the very nature of our society. He agrees and turns to a conversation that he had with an older friend. His friend was also a member of the Greatest Generation conflict, as was the man in the pool with such great spirit. Politically astute, tempered with history of the conflict from the 40’s, this man had a different take on the nature of our government-change in the last six months. Watching our current events reminded him of many leaders of past that used a nation’s crisis and mania for great power.
His story strikes a point with me. Today’s push for power is just that – a push for power. Nothing today stands to the basic Eisenhower test ‘Is is good for America?’
The velocity and ferocity of the State ascension in the United State to crush the individual aspirative struggle is not without hope. People are waking up, albeit slowly. It is up to those with a strong voice to do the heavy lifting. Connecting to the blogosphere has given me the ability to do just that – to discourse with a wide-range of colorful personalities that are furthering the same goal. Halting the march of the State in the States.
Case in point, this email to the Left Coast Rebel from KOOK at KOOK’s Manifesto –
” The goal here is to spread the word. We all know the truth of things, we all are in 90% agreement with what is wrong and what needs done. Small issues are small issues. The big picture is what is important. LIFE, LIBERTY, PROPERTY. That is the big picture. They are able to take our Property, They are planning ways to finish being able to take our lives (literally) and that will 
lead to the loss of all Liberty. My goal as stated in the first post I posted was to get people to wake up and THINK. To quit emoting, to think more than one level deep. It has been my motto and I don’t say it enough. Read. Learn. Question. THINK. Our society has lost the ability by and large for critical thinking. If you have read the writings of our forefathers, most of whom were self educated, writing with a quill, reading by candlelight; they sound about 200% more intelligent than anything anyone says today.”
Or these comments from Ramblings of a Young American at I am Always Right, I visited his site, this young man is only 17! At 17 I barely had a political identity…he starts off with a quote….
“The man who builds himself a factory, builds a temple: the man who works there worships there.”
“There’s many people who feel the way as you do, and not just in the Mid-West. In California as well. That frustration, it’s here – it’s there – hell, it’s everywhere.”
“Where’s my Uncle Sam? My Uncle Sam, I rush to say, is not the Uncle Sam I recognize today. Instead of vibrant, steady, confident and assured; telling the American people that they are not free from responsibility but for more responsibility – he is now a baby-sitter. A weak, castrated and emancipated figure handing out increasingly worthless pacifiers to the electorate as they trundle off to dully elect another round of the same old song and dance.”
(On people speaking out)
“Such thinking is heresy; the Christian spiritualism of God and heaven has been replaced by the secular spiritualism of “hope” and “change-” the omniscient and omnipotence of the state to come together with imperfect minds to make perfect plans. To say for one second that you, one man, has the right to apply justice to the law – is not, and has not, been a possibility for some time.”
Flickers of hope…
6.17.2009
Flickers of Hope – Main Street to Blogosphere
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30 comments:
First comment! *Dances*
Calvin Coolidge is the man most attributed with that quote; he's the dour man who always has a slightly pinched expression for photos.
Thanks for the cite, and thank you for taking the time to read and appreciate what I have to say. I can't vote, that's true, but I do want to change the world 'n' I'm happy you do too.
Ramblings – With a voice as strong as yours at 17, the sky is the limit, keep up the great work…
No Doubt, keep up the good work.
LCR, many thanks for the shout out. I appreciate it.
I too see a glimmer of hope. It may just be my short time blogging, but it seems there are more and more and more of us.
People I talk to everyday, I do the same types of probing comments and usually get the same types of results.
I have not come into personal contact with the Obama love fest that is on TV every evening.
KOOK – I haven't either, where are these people? I live in SO CA and see the bumper stickers but I don't cross paths with them….
Hope…GOOD! Change…BAD!
People like Young American are the Limbaugh babies coming home to roost. "Not God d*** America, God BLESS America!" You got it wrong, Jeremiah (Wright). Now sit down and shut up while the next generation speaks.
Young, please don't falter on your path in this life. It is youth like you that will carry on our message when we are but dust. Pay attention to the mistakes that are being made now and learn from them. Vow never to let this country repeat them. God Bless You, hon!
Ramblings, great to hear about you. I will have to check out your blog. My second child is now 18, my oldest boy. He is also starting to see the wisdom in conservatism. It is heartening to see the younger generation begin to think about what is right for our country and our people.
LCR, another home run post. Keep it up, man. Your hard work shows.
Opus – Thank you! I hope that I am becoming a better writer and with that, a better voice to spread the message, I appreciated your support here too.
Great post LCR. Keep up the hard work. The flickers of hope will give way to a conflagration if we keep fighting.
RK – Thanks, same to you as well!
I'm glad the rest of the righties don't write as well as you and Carl Wicklander LCR.
Continued success with your blog.
As long as there are sites like this one and these others you share, we will find each other and grow in numbers, knowledge and spirit. Keep it up all of you! Thanks LCR for sharing.
Truth – Thanks for the kind words…
Ananda – Thank you too for your support, today's post was funny, I had nearly a dozen disturbing stories on the que and decided to just tell a story that fits the theme of what is troubling me instead. Sometimes I may do that! The minutiae of each day today – the moving parts of all of the socialistic programs that they are pushing wears me down. Even I have a hard time keeping track….
Programs…get your programs…can't keep the government programs straight without a PROGRAM…
This administration is giving us more ammunition than the Clinton era.
Btw…LCR…post at my site. Jindal said stop.
We are witnessing the greatest power/money grab in the history of the planet. That should frighten everyone regardless of their political affiliation.
Cube – It is frightening and overwhelming. There are literally 10 stories a day that are an infringement of our liberties…
Sometimes the "greatest generation" can be tough to read. I can look at my own parents and their peers during my youth, as examples.
My mother was easier to understand in that she was raised by a union thug. All I heard from her as a kid was, "those sons-of-bitchin' Republicans!" Why? According to both my folks, Democrats are for the working man; and being a blue collar workers, that is where their idenity flourished, as did most people I knew. I didn't know a Republican till my sister married one. My ex brother in law is possibly the reason why I am a libertarian/conservative, what with his incessant talks about the Bill of Rights, Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and support for Senator Goldwater's bid for presidency back in 1964. I was 10 years of age then.
But back to the "greatest generation," my father was and still is (yes, he is 86 now) more difficult to understand. To sit down and talk with him, often he would sound like what is known as an objectivist, straight out of the Ayn Rand mold. Personal responsibility was paramount to my father, and he wanted to start his own business if it were not for my the scaremongering from my mom. Dad was a Marine scout-sniper on Guadalcanal, during WW2, and could never understand the cowardice from the left, while we were engaged in war with communists in Viet Nam. Hippies (fucking god damned hippes, mostly) was the language he used; never left or leftists. Both my folks in fact were fervent anti-communists, yet the one thing they and so many people from their generation subscribed to, was the "absolute virtue" of Franklin D. Roosevelt. They honestly believed that FDR was a saviour of our nation. My mother died as a frothing at the mouth Democrat, and to this day, my father is still a Democrat, even though his new wife is Republican. The disparity in rhetoric from many of this generation has been one of the most baffling experiences of my life.
I used to ask my parents as a young kid, "if Roosevelt was so wonderful, why did the depression last as long as it did?" I never received a coherent answer from my mom, but at least dad acknowledged that it was WW2 that got us out of the stranglehold of economic downturn. Of course, it was good ol' Roosevelt who led the way. But in reality, it wasn't till after the war, and years after the death of FDR, when a need for economic growth and loosening up on regulation, that saw us enter an era of prosperity, and a comfort zone never seen by the populous before in all of world history.
I could go on all day and into the wee hours with stories of how my parents generation was on one hand, a group of collectivists, yet through their everyday actions, exuded an ethic on par with our founding fathers. But an important observation to add to the mix, was their everyday complaint of high taxes. The mixed message I got was that it was the fault of Republicans for the oppressive tax laws during the 50's 60's and into the 70's. (sound familar? Leftist projection, perhaps?) Yet neither would ever give credit to Ronald Reagan for cutting taxes and spurring the greatest economic growth in history. To them Reagan was just another "two-bit, second rate Hollywood actor" who only looked out for the rich man.
While my sisters and I became Republicans, they being more of a theocon variety, while I am more from the Goldwater/Buckley/Friedman/libertarian style, we see the ironies of a couple who seemed like conservatives, although they were agnostic, yet bought into the what we now know as the nightmare of progressivism which brought havoc on their lives as children.
I would love to hear from other folks whose politcs tend to the right, and grew up with similar parents. Oddly enough, I occasionally talk with folks in their twenties and thirties who were raised by hippie/progressive/new-age parents. The common narrative I hear is how could their folks fall into such nonsense, utopian ideals. Most of these younger people seem to have a craving for normality, but not mediocrity.
An outstanding and thought provoking post LCR-
I have tweeted a link to this post which also appears in my sidebar. Keep up the good fight!
I enjoyed this so much I didn't just put the link on my site, I put both the link and the words. I hope you don't mind, but people are looking to confirm their fears of Obama.
William – What can I say? I love your post, I mean comment here. The topic of intellectual inconsistency in the WW2 generation is something that I am painfully aware of as well. Could make for an interesting post!
Casey – I appreciate the support here! I'll keep my voice out there…
Glad to see you're playing Fallout 3. Very good game for the most part, but make sure you get the expansion to level past 20
Bill – Thank you so much,I appreciate your words.
Matthew – Fallout 3 is awesome, I have all 3 expansion packs and am looking forward to the ones this summer…
Thank you Left Coast Liberal, BlackandGold, KOOK and Opus #6; the words mean a lot to me. Even if it didn't take much to give them; to indicate I am not actually insane (as many of my leftist teachers believe) means more then you can imagine.
Ramblings – I can assure you that we all have your back in speaking out, keep up the courage, I know that it is tough sometimes….especially with a close-mincec bunch like teachers..
Hey LCR:
I think I finally figured out how to comment on your site. I don't know how to add that I follow you but will blogroll you tonight.Best Wishes.
Mahndisa – Thanks for visiting, how did you find the site?
Mahndisa – I remember, I met you over at Economic Swim, nice to see you here!
Thank you for following my Blog and commenting! I really appreciate it. I'm new in the Blog realm, and am really doing it as a journal for my kids. I believe we are living in especially historic times, and I like to write about things with just a bit of a twist in that I try to put some of the puzzle pieces together and make sense of them. So many people argue about the minute, and I try to find the proverbial forest.
Your Blog is terrific. I may steal a few widget ideas (debt clock) from you! And I'll look over your Blogroll, too.
Not to make this a long note back, but I spent 37 years of my life on the Left Coast – I lived in Orange County, CA. Then almost 8 years ago I moved to Texas and I LOVE it here. People are wide awake and fiercely independent. We have our share of drones, though, no doubt about it. But, as you said "flicker of hope" – people are waking up. And we'll keep waking them up! Historic times, indeed.
Conservative Mom – Thanks for reading, ask for any help that you may need, also feel free to put this post up with a link back.
LCR
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