Today was a beautiful spring day in DC. It was warm and sunny, just the way I like it. I was sitting outside on the deck watching some of the neighborhood kids play with one another. They are generally good kids who play well together. They also don't wander, they know where they are allowed to play and stay between three yards, all of which can seen from each other. Today they were having some difficulties and there was some bullying going on. I was sitting there thinking maybe I should let them work it for themselves. It did not end up working out that way. They quickly got to name calling that then escalated to pushing and not wanting anyone to get hurt, an adult needed to step in.
I got to thinking about how this reflects the society that we live in. It is no wonder that kids bully each other, they just watch how adults behave and do the same. I have been very disappointed by the reaction to the death of Usama bin Laden. The name calling and finger-pointing started on my Facebook and twitter feeds within minutes of the news breaking. It seems we have a new class of people; the deathers. People who refuse to believe that Usama is really dead. The main reason they feel that way is because Obama happened to be in office when it happened.
The conspiracy theories are running wild and if you dare question these people on their own particular point of view you in return are called names and asked the question 'what type of conservative are you'. Last night while I was down at The White House I was told by some young kids that I was Anti-American because I didn't want my pictures taken with them in their ridiculous outfits that they were wearing.
It makes me wonder if this country will ever be able to turn things around. We are so polarized that we can't even bring ourselves to agree what a wonderful thing that Usama is dead. While of course I never expected the code pinker and truthers of the world to come around, but I had hope that the rest of us could. Sadly, I was wrong.
I am beginning to think that America is just doomed at this point as we really can't just agree on anything anymore. We have very serious problems in this country and the only way we are going to solve them is with mutual acceptance and teamwork. We, as a society, are in this together. I always had the belief that the things that bring us together are far greater than the things that divide us. I have been seriously questioning that of late.
This may be my last post for a while. I am so sick of the whole thing and just need a break. Of course my little run down to The White House early this morning has left me very tired and I may feel differently tomorrow, but maybe not.
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In The Mailbox: 11.21.24 (Evening Edition)
3 hours ago
12 comments:
History helps to put this all into perspective for me.
I was surprised to learn how badly Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton got along. George Washington had a big problem on his hands dealing with those two and their radically different views of politics and finance/economy.
We continue to fight those battles today. Yes we disagree. But hopefully we can sway and have swayed already to a point the great center of this nation to a greater adherence to the Constitution. That there was a huge swing toward conservatism in 2010 is hopeful.
Another thing, the DC crowd was rumored to be astroturfed, at least to a point. They showed up a little too fast, all those kids. So it might have been weighted a bit differently than the usual Tea Party group you are used to.
Don't let the turkeys get you down, OK? ((((hugs))))
You can't give up now. Like Opie said, there has always been these differences throughout our history and I believe there always will be. We are never going to all "just get along". That is not human nature.
Politicizing OBL's death was inevitable. (I think Obama's speech had a lot to do with that.)
Don't let those kids who called you "anti-American" get you down...they probably all voted for Obama.
Keep the faith...we are winning. Nothing is easy, but I say don't give up.
We all have days when we feel like this. Hopefully you will feel better tomorrow. I'm not giving up yet.
Debbie
Right Truth
http://www.righttruth.typepad.com
Opus:
I was there, that crowd was no more astro-turfed than the tea parties. That is part of what I am talking about. It couldn't be that people were just celebrating according to the right. The vast majority of the people there were college students. One of the schools is less than a 15 minute walk away. The others are a very short drive. DC is a small city. They have flash pillow and snow ball fights that get crowds the same size just as quickly.
We have lost all civility in this country.
The internet has allowed people to hide behind a screen and make up ridiculous things that gullible people just follow without using the brain God gave them.
It sure seems to me the country has gotten a lot more Juvenile in the last 10 years. But now that I say that for the elleventieth time, I wonder if it wasn't always this way, and our ability to see it has just improved immensely. Internet. Tweets. Reality shows. et al.
But I still believe the country has gotten way more juvenile. The libs think everything and anything is good when their man is in the House, and vice-versa.
Not to depress you further, but if we don't get someone in power who will start canceling out the liberal control over everything from education to energy policy we're not accomplishing anything. Gag me with 'spending cuts' and 'fiscal responsibility'. Eventually the dems will be back in power and will simply pick up where they left off. Which is what has been happening since LBJ and has gotten us to this point with small intermissions and some successes along the way (like Reagan) but no turn back on the commie agenda.
PS - Humbly I say, do what you need to do. After all it is what you need to do.
"Mutual acceptance" means accepting that people don't share all of your views. Right? Why not just let people think and say what they want? If you don't like it . . . well, with all due respect, so what? Accepting differences of opinion goes a long way to limiting frustration over things you can't control.
You can't fix stupid, which is pretty sad. This country has failed to grow up from the 60s on and it isn't likely to change any time soon. There are a lot of good hard working people out there, but they are unimportant to the people in the media or government. Our values are no longer represented in Congress or in the media. If we have any chance of turning things around, we must continue to get the message out any way we can and hope that there are still some adults that are willing to do the right thing for this country. I have seen in Iraq and on some websites, but the truth is that as long as Trump is anything but a joke then we aren't going to see any real change in 2012. We needed a strong leader with a clear message of severe spending cuts and smaller government because the message is going to have to fight the seniors and the welfare state all at once. No such leader has appeared, so we will get more smoke and mirrors from Congress until one arrives. 2016 is a long time to wait and how much more damage is the Joker going to do before than. I pray daily for a hero, but none has come.
Just checking on you, JACG.
Don't expect too much maturity from college students.
And don't judge our country by their crassness.
I prefer to judge our country by the great middle-aged bloggers I run into. Thinkers, citizen journalists, activists in our own quiet way. Just knowing people like you, Kid, Teresa, TCL, Fuzzy, Debbie and everybody else gives me hope every day for our nation.
And oddly enough, the news media is quick to pick up our memes.
"...we really can't just agree on anything anymore..."
There are some fundamental problems with the American population that are responsible for this. Perhaps most importantly is the fact that we've become multicultural. By it's very nature, a multicultural society isn't going to agree on anything.
But right now, at this moment, our biggest problem is probably our leadership. Obama was very ungracious from the first moment of his presidency. He abused GWB at the inauguration and never looked back. The "I won" attitude has defined this presidency.
Obama looks at his opponents as enemies. I don't think any other president has done that during my lifetime. Clinton did a lot of damage, but I don't think he had the antipathy for mainstream America that Obama does. And as divisive as GWB apparently was, he certainly didn't carry that antipathy.
Obama vs bitter clingers, Obama vs the GOP, Obama vs Limbaugh, Obama vs SCOTUS, Obama vs Trump, Obama vs the VRWC... Obama treats a vast swath of America as his enemy.
I can't think of any big Democrat who would be antagonizing America as doggedly as Obama.
I wish Hillary had beaten BHO.
It is so very sad that I feel the same way about Hillary. She would have stayed closer to the middle to ensure a second term. We need a hero, but right now there is no one on a white horse on the horizon.
As father as son. SO:
As Ben-Laden as G W Bush = Both are criminals. There place is at prison!
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