Month: August 2022

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30 Years

I’ve been a little blue the past few days. I’m not sure why that is.

On the other hand God knows there’s a lot that I could be blue about. Almost all the news is bad. I find myself waiting for the next new atrocity to come out of some country or our own government.

Yesterday was particularly tough. I wasn’t sure why, but the day seemed just harder than usual. To be fair, the day started out with a glorious sunrise. The smell of fresh brewed coffee wafted from the kitchen. The dog sniffing my face asking, “Are you awake yet?”

I scanned the headlines, pausing to read one of the many articles about the new preponderance of IRS agents. I smiled thinking about my Dad he’d be having a shit fit about it.

Dad really didn’t like the IRS, and apparently the feeling was mutual.

Then it hit me. It was the 30th anniversary of my Dad’s death.

Whoa! I thought I was doing the math wrong. I wasn’t.

I hadn’t really been paying attention to the number of years that had passed, but I wonder if some part of me was acknowledging the anniversary without bringing it to my conscious mind.

30 years ago, by this date it had been a rough couple of months. Little did I know at the time, but things were going to get a lot rougher before some semblance of “normal” would return.

In that moment 30 years ago, I had only what was immediately in front of me. A family that I barely knew telling me how they thought I should do things.

My younger Brother, (who was old enough to carry a gun in the DMZ in Korea and later Desert Storm, but couldn’t buy a beer,) who I was trying to protect at least from the most egregious of the “Helpful” suggestions? Commands? Demands?

My Dad had been through some rough times in the last few years of his life, he was trying to stand up a business doing something that he seemed to love. He’d left the state he grew up in, and moved in with his mother in her home state. I think his plan was to jump start the business and then purchase his own home in a, sort of charming, small town in The South.

I don’t know. He never shared his plans with me. I can say that Dad had reduced his possessions considerably and become a minimalist. Whether that was due to financial need or life choice I also don’t know.

Somewhere along the line, he’d discovered he had cancer and it was too far along for any effective treatment. Perhaps that was part of the drive toward minimalism on his part.

When he died, as the eldest Son, the responsibility for all the “after life” decisions fell to me.

My Brother had been raised by my Dad more so than I. It only seemed right that he should be calling the shots so I gave my Brother as much control as he wanted. I took on the things that were “too much,” given the circumstances, and the role of running interference with the family.

I’d like to think that Dad would have appreciated the arrangement. Especially when he understood my reasoning.

All of this flooded back crashing into my brain. Suddenly, I was reliving it in a way.

I felt terribly alone.

Many times over the past 30 years I’ve wished Dad was around. I’ve wished that I could chat with him, discuss politics, have a drink, go shooting, or get his take on trouble spots in my life. I’d have appreciated his wisdom even if I went my own way. While I wouldn’t have appreciated his knowing grin when going my own way blew up in my face, I’d like to have had the experience.

I suppose I could use a bit of a pep talk from Dad. Over the past 5 years or so, I’ve felt like I’m being kicked and beaten, then kicked again while I’m already on the ground. I’m having a very hard time getting up and wonder, “why bother” often enough that it worries me.

I’m losing the game, and have no more plays. I’m out of clever tricks. Why not just take my ball and go home?

I could really stand to hear, “Son, you’re alright. Rub some dirt on it, walk it off! Get up off your ass, FIGHT! Tear the fucker’s throat out. I’ve got your back.”

Encouragement like that would be welcome right about now, just as it was when I was a boy.

Yeah, I’m 60+ but my Dad is still my Dad, and I’m still his Son.

Hmmm… Okay Old Man… Message received. I’m getting up off my ass, give me a minute.

I miss you Dad…

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Sigh… Writing and blogging misfires!

It’s been one of those time in my life where I’ll start to write something and then it all just goes to hell.

I’ll write a paragraph, get to the end and think, “Where was I going with this?”

Oh I’ll push on hoping that everything resolves itself in the end, but it doesn’t.

Things just get worse. Then I’ll go back an re-read what I’ve written and think, “This is really not worthy of me.”

The blessed [DELETE] key is pressed and my computer dutifully asks me if I’m sure.

“Of Course I’m sure! Have you read this drivel?” I say outloud to the computer.

The computer responds, “Not my Table!”

The offending document is hurled into the bit-bucket and I try again.

I suppose all writers have times like these.

I’m just tired of feeling like somehow I’ve dropped 50 points on the IQ scale.

On the plus side, if my IQ is dropping maybe soon it will drop to a point where I don’t know how stupid I am?

I don’t know if ignorance is bliss, but the way things are going I may soon find out.

I moved on from being unable to write. To reading something from a gentleman whose writing I always find informative and educational.

The piece is called:

My Gratitude For the Apologies and Sincere Expressions of Regret

As most of you know, I love a good bit of sarcasm

The author is Thomas Harrington. Here is his short Bio

Thomas Harrington, Senior Scholar at the Brownstone Institute, is an essayist and Professor Emeritus of Hispanic Studies at Trinity College in Hartford (USA) where he taught for 24 years. He specializes in Iberian movements of national identity Contemporary Catalan culture. His writings are at Thomassharrington.com.

Professor Harrington’s piece might not make sense to you if you are unaware of the CDC’s recent reversal of position on COVID.

For your convenience, here is another piece from Brownstone Institute. Within the piece is a link to the actual CDC report. The article itself does a good job distilling the salient points.

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The Democrat Party has shit the bed!

After the Mar a Largo raid, (discounting all the Democrat mouthpieces,) it looks like even moderate Democrats are rethinking their party affiliation.

There have been articles scattered around the media talking about Democrats bailing to the Republican side of the party divide for months. On Tuesday, I read one from Philadelphia where a life long Democrat said she could no longer support the party.

Her comment was telling, “The Party left me…”

I felt the same way about the Republican Party several years ago. I truly understand what she’s feeling and how strangely disconnected she feels.

For me leaving the Republican Party, the party of my Father, was difficult. The Democrat Party was equally unappealing. They claimed to be two sides of the coin but as I read and observed their stated positions versus their behavior they weren’t at the time all that different from each other.

So I found a party that at least on the surface appeared to hold beliefs in common with my own. Registering with them ensured that I’d be voting in primaries.

For better or worse, I stand by that decision.

I mentioned to my brother the other day that for the first time in my life I really feared for our Republic…

Yes, boys and girls… We live in a Constitutional Republic.

In this age of almost total functional illiteracy the difference is almost always lost or obfuscated. When politicians are screaming about a threat to our Democracy, they’re talking through their hat. We don’t actually live in a Democracy so there’s nothing to fear losing.

Politicians saying that we have to protect our Democracy are either lying or incompetent. Either way they don’t deserve to be in office.

DEMOCRACY REPUBLIC
Ruled by a majority that enjoys unlimited power. Minority groups have no protection. Follows a written Constitution that protects the rights of the minority from being infringed upon by the majority.
Individuals can make their own decisions except in those situations that the majority has limited. Generally, individuals can make their own decisions, especially in situations where the Constitution protects their “unalienable rights.”
While all citizens supposedly have a say in government and are to be treated as equals, the majority often ends up tyrannically ruling the minority. Generally, all citizens are supposed to have an equal say and be treated equally, especially as protected under the Constitution.
The United States is commonly confused for a democracy. However, the will of the people should not, and does not, change the rules that limit the government’s power. Article 4, Section 4 defines the United States as a Republic.
Freedom of religion is permitted to the extent that the majority does not limit religious freedom for the minority. Generally, religious freedom is permitted, especially as protected under the Constitution
Private property is permitted, though the majority may place limits on the property rights of the minority. Generally, private property is permitted, especially as protected under the Constitution.
Great Thanks to Legaldictionary.net

I’m an ignorant Redneck with a diploma from a fly-over state. But, I can read! I also know that any words I don’t understand are defined in a dictionary somewhere and how to look up those words.

…My Brother agreed. He’s more of the history buff in the family and is much better versed in law as a former LEO.

He was raised in a different household than I, and attended school in a completely different State. However, he wasn’t surprised that I knew the difference between a Constitutional Republic and a straight Democracy.

Reading in our family is very important.

His reply was people demanding “Democracy” wouldn’t be happy if they got it. The table above from legaldictionary.net provides insight into why that would be.

In fact the whole article linked above is a short but interesting read. I recommend it.

The behavior of the Current Administration and their minions in Congress have frankly scared the hell out of me. Apparently this is true of a lot of other Americans.

Now that moderate Democrats are also waking up to the threat, the question is what will be done about it.

We’ve seen multiple examples of Two Tiered Justice. Examples of actions that look a lot more like a police state than a country governed by laws equally applied to everyone. We’ve seen what ungoverned “Majority Rule” looks like when mobs of people don’t like something.

And all the while we’ve heard Politicians and Media making excuses about why this ungoverned majority should get a pass and the other ungoverned majority shouldn’t.

It’s possible large swaths of the American people are functionally illiterate and perhaps didn’t attend civics or government classes. That does not mean that they can’t see where unequal justice is leading.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist.

At the most absurd of extremities Democracy without constitutional limitations evolves into tyranny & tribalism. If the majority in one area chooses to ostracize minority members of that area. Then the minority members will leave the area in search of others where they will be a majority.

The likely outcome is city-states, potentially governed by tyrannical leaders.

What happens then, we can observe through the lens of historical fact. Or just through the lens of our Televisions because it’s happening today in various places around the world.

Divisions over race, religion and politics, leading to conflict and suffering. My description is simplistic and does not address all the nuance but Israel & Palestine? Russia & Ukraine? South Africa? Massacres of Christians in Muslim countries? Massacres of Muslims in Buddhist countries? No-Go Zones in Sweden or Paris?

Ringing any bells?

Absolutely no American should be willing to give up our Constitutional Republic in favor of simple Democracy.

Every American should be screaming at the top of their lungs at Congress to return to the fundamentals of our Constitution and the protection against tyranny it insures.

Simply put. If one group is treated differently, then no group is safe.

The first step is to dismiss from their post, anyone in Congress who refers to our Government as a Democracy. Those calling the United States a Democracy clearly don’t get it.

Or maybe they do get it, and hope you won’t.

Regardless, the Democratic Party has shit the bed.

They’ve made a lot more people ask WTF? That may lead to Democratic voters voting against their party candidates in November even if the voters don’t change Party.