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The shame of it.

Posted 13 months ago|22 comments|486 views
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I have never been as completely ashamed to be an American citizen then I am right now. I am ashamed that that a large part of our government is actually trying to shift the burden of this countries debt on to the backs of children the poor and infirm. I am ashamed that our countries wealthy have chosen to elect individuals who will fight to protect them from paying a share equal to the rewards they have gained as citizens of the richest country in the world.

I am shamed when I see my state and local government has made no contingency for the lean years. That they built a house of cards upon income streams that were not secure. That they chose to make forfeiture a budget entry thereby requiring those funds as operating budgets.

I'm ashamed that every one of our leaders democrat and republican let us down when they did not require taxpayers to directly foot the bill for the wars in the middle east and elsewhere. And I still believe that we should be repaid in full by the countries we liberate.

I'm ashamed that even before the economic crisis every time the budgets were scrutinized the education allocations would suffer. That we pay our teachers less then carpenters that we require so much and yet offer so little to these people who are responsible for teaching our kids.

It shames me to think that our judicial justice system is set up to felonize the youth, which revokes the right to vote. That our archaic way of dealing with addiction costs more lives then it saves. That the incarceration rates of Africans Americans is still so much higher then Whites.

I'm ashamed that in our zeal to act enlightened racially we have created a homogenized stereotype of racial equality which is not equal by any true sense of the word. Not equal on either side I might add. That we somehow discount our differences to the point that they should no longer be mentioned is to say that as individuals we no longer exist.

I'm ashamed that we've chosen comfort over common sense. That we have chosen to abandon civility. I'm ashamed that the freedom of speech has evolved into a god given right to be heard. That you can hurl insults at a family during a funeral without having to suffer the physical repercussions of that act.

I'm ashamed of the men we have become. So different from our grandfathers who saved this place for us. Men who are only willing to fight for their wallets. Those who would rather see the poor bear the brunt of the economic mess that the wealthy created.
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COMMENTS
13 months ago: What state would that be? Shall we guess? One that is bankrupt, over run with regulations, government employees and benefit recipients out number working folk, won liberal seats in the last election?
13 months ago: Nope. Not bankrupt, certainly over run with regulation but then few states can honestly say that aren't. And we actually employ one of the head conservative idiots and an up and coming conservative idiot. Both of whom are busily not creating jobs by getting bogged down in maneuvering over ideology and trying to take advantage of a failed market system.

Try again though. this is fun.

I'll start.

We're bigger then a breadbasket.
13 months ago: Couldn't be too much fun since your state has left you unemployed for how long? Bigger that a breadbasket? Yeah probably one that needs to steal bread from everyone else to keep the breadbasket feeding the lazy members of the State of Breadbasket.

What? You can't say what state your sponging from other than the United States?

So what state pays you?
13 months ago: Im not unemployed.. Your really batting a thousand.
13 months ago: Whatever... You don't follow Baseball too much do you? Batting a thousand?

Never answered the question. Is that now 3 strikes your out?
13 months ago: Oh I thought we were playing a guessing game.
13 months ago: Don't you mean your hiding game?
12 months ago: Im in Kentucky TCG. So what are you going to have to say about that? I wasent hiding it. I have absolutely no reason too. I thought you wanted to guess.
12 months ago: So you are one of the few liberals out of the 4,339,367 (2010 Census) that live in Kentucky. Sorry to say. Kentucky does not hit the radar screen as a bastion of places that add to the countries best interest. The COUNTY is reside in has a larger population and contributes more to the U.S. GDP and pays more taxes than your entire state. I'm not impressed.
Altruist
Altruist
Eugene, OR
13 months ago: Back to the excellent point of the post.

I am ashamed that people were willing to allow their votes to be purchased by the corporate elites who outspent Democrats 3 to 1 during the last election.

Now however the people are having buyers remorse when they see that the republicans have absolutely no interest in reducing the deficit or in paying off the National debt which they created.

If they were serious they would first look at what created the debt. 1. Military buildup, 2. Wars one of which was illegal and unnecessary., 3 Tax Cuts to the Rich, 4. Unfunded medicare gifts to big Pharma. 5. Corporate Welfare

The poor and middle class did not create the deficit, and schools, libraries, social programs and our infrastructure have been underfunded since Reagan.

If the republicans were serious they wouldn't try to balance the budget by cutting the 12% of the budget which should actually be increased, the cuts should be to the military which has grown 150% since W got in, The Bush Tax cuts should be eliminated which would halve the deficit, and the rich which historically paid over 90% top tax rates during times of war, should pay their fair share.

I am ashamed that half of the country is addicted to all of the baser of human emotions: hate, fear, greed, racism, Islamaphobia, Homophobia, ignorance, and superstition.

12 months ago: Also, you left "CHRISTophobia" off your list. There's plenty of that going around as well.
12 months ago: not to mention "TEXophobia"....
12 months ago: Al - Thankfully it's less than half of America that is addicted to those issues. The rest being addicted to additional poisons like moral relativism, hedonism, and secular humanism.

There would be no need for folks to live in fear and ignorance if they understood why they are here in the first place.

Unfortunately many don't know who they are or why they are here and many don't even care. No purpose, no destiny.

On top of that, folks have either thought or hypothesised God out of existence or feel as though they have Him in their back pocket. Answer to none but yourself or create god in your own image. Those are the dominant philosophies of this nation today. Both positions are irrational, illogical and will spell this nation's and this planet's doom.

We all have to do our part but you better believe in miracles, 'cuase that's what it's going to take to fix this mess.

12 months ago: Not to worry Huey. Al has a front row seat reserved for the sequel with John Denver and George Burns.
12 months ago: What Huey said!
12 months ago: But, a village on a hill cannot be hidden.

That's all we can do.
Altruist
Altruist
Eugene, OR
12 months ago: I wouldn't consider religion on the plus side of any equation. Religious intolerance of other's beliefs have killed more people and caused more wars than any other cause but disease.

The main damage religion is doing today is that it is damaging respect for science. Christians who don't believe in evolution and that is related to those who don't believe the scientists when they warn us about climate change, (2/3rds of Republicans)and that in turn effects their children who do lousy in school compared to other countries.

How on earth are we to lead the world in innovation when people feel free to pick and choose what scientific facts to believe?

As far as providing a moral compass. People who do the right thing because they recognize that good behavior benefits society are superior to those who are coerced by threats.
Altruist
Altruist
Eugene, OR
12 months ago: But back to the main point of the post. Why are all of the worst of human imperfections, the violence, greed, hatred, bigotry, intolerance, etc. embraced and encouraged by the right wing who also claim to be the moral superiors of the rest of us?
12 months ago: Sin doesn't have a political affiliation. It is alive and well on both sides and the middle.

As far as Christians swallowing hook, line and sinker evolutionists doctrine, why should they? Why should anyone for that matter given the fact that the theory has enough holes to drive a house boat through?

There are genuinely honest ideas and hypotheses couched with-in the theory, this is true. However there continues to be a pseudo-scientific dogma that is unfortunately allowed to run throughout it. The motivation of which is not a search for truth (after all, there is no such thing as objective truth, right?) but an attempt to wipe out every other belief system and alternative view point. It doesn't matter that the vast majority of the theory is unproven. Open wide and swallow.

Also, secular humanism is a religion and so is dialectical materialism. More death and destruction has been caused from those philosophies than has been from any specific theistic view point. Check this the body count from the last century alone and you'll see.

As far as a moral compass, good behavior should come from the motivation of the heart and not the threat of retribution. True. But often that does not work. That's why we have laws and the criminal justice system. Flawed as it is, it still motivates folks to behave. Would you like to see that done away with as well?

As far as education, my kids are not home schooled. One is a straight A student and the other has a GPA 3.5. They respect science, and they follow Christ. Smoke that. If other kids are not learning it's because of other issues, not Jesus Christ.

Real science does not negate God, nor should it be worshipped as God.

Objective truth is the only reliable moral compass, not ethical relativism.

I re-iterate, until folks realize something has seriously gone wrong, not just with society but with themselves personally and individually nothing is going to change for the better. Until folks understand and stop making excuses for selfish, immoral and unethical behavior things will deteriorate even worse. But most importantly until folks stop trying to make themselves out to be god this planet will never be fixed and its just a matter of time before it's all over.

Thankfully there is still hope.
12 months ago: For the record I agree with a good bit of what Slim wrote in his post.

Especially the part about recognizing the type of men we have allowed ourselves to become. It starts there and the buck stops there as well.

We can't fix a problem if we don't admit that there is one in the first place.
11 months ago: Slim,

You have a lot of good to say, I am for spreading the wealth to those who can multiply it and feed their families etc... However, there is a problem with one part of your post, you said...

"the incarceration rates of Africans Americans is still so much higher then Whites" ...what do you suppose we do about that? Incarcerate more whites to "even" things up a bit? Have a few witch-hunts? Well...
9 months ago: TB
Sorry the reply comes so late.
There are dozens of laws in this country that put the darker races at a disadvantage. There are also examples of jurist inequality rampant in our system. There are also numerous examples of racism and prejudice in the law enforcement departments.

It is in one way beginning to equalize but only in the worst way possible with the focus of these inequalities becoming economic instead of racial. Meaning the poor black or white are being held to higher standards then the rich in the eyes of the law.

Take a little time researching this and you will see my point about the injustice that is still occurring on a daily basis in America. We are not as enlightened as our Canadian cousins.

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