I try to stay away from too much politics in this blog, but
I thought I would include a recent piece of mine that the Concord Monitor
published on Friday. The world seems to be going a little crazy lately and I
think we need to tamp down the anger a lot both in the U.S. and almost everywhere in the world.
Starting at home would be a good idea. The United States
should set an example for the rest of the world by electing a President who can
work with others and bring some logic and order to our actions both at home and
abroad. I hope the electorate will be smart enough to figure this out.
Glenn K. Currie
Conservative Choices
When I was in junior high school, I agreed to play on a
church basketball team. One night we played the top team, against which I had
scored nineteen points during our previous meeting. Apparently, that was frowned
upon because the first time I drove the basket, one of their players hit me in
the teeth with an elbow. There was no foul call and lots of trash talk.
I let my anger fester and finally exploded later in the game
when my assailant was driving his basket. I put a hip under him that sent him
six feet off the court. We immediately got in a fist fight and I was thrown out
of the game and off the team.
The relevant point regarding the current primary is that we
have seen conservative republicans taking elbows in the teeth for two decades
and the festering anger is finally starting to surface. In their anger some are
throwing their support behind a guy they think will “even the score”. The
problem is that such a candidate will stand no chance of winning the general
election and will probably result in their very valid concerns being discarded
as they are “thrown out of the game” for picking a stupid fight. Instead let’s
“get even” by uniting the party and appealing to the large number of unhappy
independents, to make real change, and help eliminate the incompetence and
irresponsibility that currently exists in Washington.
The world doesn’t need any more “bomb throwers”. Electing
someone as President of the United States is a huge responsibility. And yes, we
haven’t done a very good job lately. We have already proven that a “hope and
change” guy, with no experience in anything, is going to be totally overwhelmed
by the office. It’s a complicated job that takes an ability to make hard
decisions, and also a willingness to compromise and work with others.
Our government has spent the last few decades throwing one
big frat party at home. We have left a trail of destruction in morals, ethics,
drugs, and infrastructure. We have lost our sense of responsibility for our
actions, and our ability to tell the difference between right and wrong. Nobody
has a clue how to pay for this big party and the answer from the Democrats is
“more of the same’, and to let someone else deal with all the garbage our
generation leaves strewn on the front lawn.
And overseas it may be even worse. We cannot make a decision
and sometimes don’t even make an appearance when things start to go to hell.
Uncle Sam is like the weird old relative who lives in the attic and only comes
down on the Fourth of July wearing a tin pot hat and thinking he is going to
lead the parade.
Our young people are dying or being maimed in conflicts all
over the world and we seem to have no strategy and no real objectives. Yet we
ignore the major threats to our way of life. Our answer to terrorism is to call
it by a different name and try to pass bills to disarm Americans at home, and
to sign treaties abroad that will arm our enemies. (Are we really giving Iran
150 billion dollars to support the mess in the Middle East and kill our
allies?)
If conservatives are truly angry about all of this, they
should work to create a Republican ticket that can actually get elected. There
are lots of independents and even some Democrats that are finally getting tired
of our current situation. People yearn for leadership that can help reunite the
country and solve problems instead of just feeding the flames of hopelessness
with devalued dollars. The Democrats have no answer. If they are tired of
Hillary and more of the same, their only choice is Bernie, whose solutions all
involve spending more money and throwing a bigger party.
But the solution certainly isn’t to be thrown out of the
game. Please choose carefully in the upcoming primary. It may be feel good to
hit a few people in the teeth after the mess that has been created, but we need
long term solutions. There are several candidates that actually have some
answers. Let’s fix things, not blow them up.
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