IT DON'T COME EASY...
Ringo Starr sang back in the day, "I don't ask for much, I only want trust, and you know it don't come easy." I'm a big college basketball fan, and I read with a tinge of sadness about the passing of Rick Majerus. Majerus won 517 games during his coaching career, and died of heart failure at the age of 64. One of the many tributes to his life talked about his upbringing in Wisconsin. His parents were blue collar folks and lifelong Democrats. Dana O'Neill of ESPN included this paragraph in her tribute to Majerus:
"Here was a man whose parents challenged him to think at every turn, taking him to civil rights
marches and union rallies. He was reared to understand that for most people, life didn't come
easy -- for his own family included. His father was a union labor leader, his mother a housewife
and part-time factory worker in blue-collar Milwaukee."
That paragraph got me to thinking that this is the story of every American, whatever side of the political aisle you may find yourself. Life is not easy. We are all trying to make our way. We are all trying to put food on the table, clothes on our backs, and a roof over our heads. For all the talk of rich Republicans born with a silver spoon in their mouths, there are just as many Democrats in the entertainment industry who have way more than they know what to do with. That's the irony of it all: there are just as many with more than enough on either side of the aisle. Yet few were born that way. They had to work and persevere and take risks. They refused to quit when the going got rough.
Some worked hard all of their lives and ended up in gated communities. Some worked hard all their lives and ended up in a two bedroom, two bath house and made it a home. It is the story of America. So today, I just want to honor those Americans who refused to quit. You did what it took to take care of your family. You worked extra hours, sometimes even extra jobs, because you are the kind of people who take care of your business. You don't ask for much, and you have earned that trust that Ringo sang about back in the day. It doesn't matter what side of the aisle you find yourself today. We are Americans. We get it done. That's what we do, because it don't come easy.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Anyone With A Brain...
How would you finish that sentence? For those who believe in traditional values in America, that sentence has long been finished with the words, "...would see things the way we do." That seems to be the approach that the Republican Party took in the 2012 presidential campaign. Surely anyone with a brain would see that our ideas are best for America, right? Not so much. The campaign that so many assumed would be a resounding defeat for liberal ideology turned into a stunning defeat for the other side. Now Republicans shake their heads, scratch their heads, hold their heads in their hands, and wonder how this could have happened.
Conservatives have assumed that Americans understand where they are coming from. Post election conservative talk radio has been an exercise in what I would term, "railing against the darkness." Like before the election, the talk has been about how bad liberal policies are and how the President is doubling down on those policies in his second term. Conservatives seem to be dumbfounded about how this could have happened. After all, don't most Americans think like we do?
I would propose that a change is needed. Long ago I learned a little adage that has stood the test of time. It says, "Methods are many, principles are few; methods will change, but principles never do." I believe that traditional values are best for every American, so those principles are not up for debate. However, the methods of communicating those principles must change, and they must change now. Conservatives can no longer assume that the majority of Americans think like they do. The 2012 election is clear evidence of that truth.
If you were going into a country that had never heard of traditional American values, how would you communicate those values? How would you start from square one? How would you teach every person the values which you hold so dear? This is the approach that is needed in America today. If you believe that traditional values are the best approach for every American, then go to every American. No one is excluded, especially not the groups that have traditionally voted for the other side. Start from the beginning and demonstrate to them how traditional values make life better for them. Show someone living on food stamps and social security that the limitations of that subsistance lifestyle could be broken with hard work and big dreams and determination. You don't want to take away their food stamps; you want them to enjoy the kind of lifestyle so that they will never need food stamps again as long as they live. So many don't even believe that is a possibility. Show them that it is. Show an immigrant how the yearning for freedom that you so believe in is what drove them to leave their homeland to come here in hopes of a better life.Those are Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, traditional American values. All of a sudden, that voting block that seemed unreachable is not so unreachable. Don't tell them that your way is better. Start from scratch and show them. If you can't do that, then what you believe doesn't really matter, does it?
If you believe that traditional American values are what this country needs, then the time is now to start from square one and teach those values to every American. We have four years to get it right. Anyone with a brain can see that.
Conservatives have assumed that Americans understand where they are coming from. Post election conservative talk radio has been an exercise in what I would term, "railing against the darkness." Like before the election, the talk has been about how bad liberal policies are and how the President is doubling down on those policies in his second term. Conservatives seem to be dumbfounded about how this could have happened. After all, don't most Americans think like we do?
I would propose that a change is needed. Long ago I learned a little adage that has stood the test of time. It says, "Methods are many, principles are few; methods will change, but principles never do." I believe that traditional values are best for every American, so those principles are not up for debate. However, the methods of communicating those principles must change, and they must change now. Conservatives can no longer assume that the majority of Americans think like they do. The 2012 election is clear evidence of that truth.
If you were going into a country that had never heard of traditional American values, how would you communicate those values? How would you start from square one? How would you teach every person the values which you hold so dear? This is the approach that is needed in America today. If you believe that traditional values are the best approach for every American, then go to every American. No one is excluded, especially not the groups that have traditionally voted for the other side. Start from the beginning and demonstrate to them how traditional values make life better for them. Show someone living on food stamps and social security that the limitations of that subsistance lifestyle could be broken with hard work and big dreams and determination. You don't want to take away their food stamps; you want them to enjoy the kind of lifestyle so that they will never need food stamps again as long as they live. So many don't even believe that is a possibility. Show them that it is. Show an immigrant how the yearning for freedom that you so believe in is what drove them to leave their homeland to come here in hopes of a better life.Those are Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, traditional American values. All of a sudden, that voting block that seemed unreachable is not so unreachable. Don't tell them that your way is better. Start from scratch and show them. If you can't do that, then what you believe doesn't really matter, does it?
If you believe that traditional American values are what this country needs, then the time is now to start from square one and teach those values to every American. We have four years to get it right. Anyone with a brain can see that.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
One Word: Freedom
I consider myself a normal guy. I have three daughters and a great wife of 29 years. I live in the greatest country ever known. How can I say that in a climate such as we have today in America? One word: freedom. The Declaration Of Independence says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
I happen to believe that every American is included in that guarantee. We seem to be going through a period of time in America in which people feel that those rights spelled out in the Declaration Of Independence are not for them. The move toward socialism among many in our country is an effort to somehow guarantee that everyone be provided for. The problem is that you give up freedom in order for socialism to work. I use the term "work" loosely there, because socialism has never worked. There is not a country on the face of the earth that has tried socialism that looks back with gratitude at those who were wise enough to take away individual freedoms and limit the pursuit of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" among its residents. That is why America is unique. It is the one place on earth where there are no limits other than the laws of the land and the morals and ethics instilled in us by family and faith.
I believe that every American should enjoy the privelege of living in a country such as this. People are still coming from around the world to live here. America has always been the great melting pot of the world. Why? One word: freedom. Freedom has made this country great, and will continue to do so.
I happen to believe that every American is included in that guarantee. We seem to be going through a period of time in America in which people feel that those rights spelled out in the Declaration Of Independence are not for them. The move toward socialism among many in our country is an effort to somehow guarantee that everyone be provided for. The problem is that you give up freedom in order for socialism to work. I use the term "work" loosely there, because socialism has never worked. There is not a country on the face of the earth that has tried socialism that looks back with gratitude at those who were wise enough to take away individual freedoms and limit the pursuit of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" among its residents. That is why America is unique. It is the one place on earth where there are no limits other than the laws of the land and the morals and ethics instilled in us by family and faith.
I believe that every American should enjoy the privelege of living in a country such as this. People are still coming from around the world to live here. America has always been the great melting pot of the world. Why? One word: freedom. Freedom has made this country great, and will continue to do so.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)