Discussing the lower-temperature matters first might lead to greater clarity on where they stand on the crucial point: Government by laws which do not offend the Constitution and which are administered by men and women who take their oath of office seriously and literally.My own thoughts? Too many people read history like a comic book, the Founders and Framers as a bunch of verdammit plaster saints, all in warm'n'fuzzy agreement with whatever we ourselves are warm'n'fuzzy about -- and that ain't so. Those folks were all over the map on a whole lot of issues, especially up close and personal items like religion an' wedlock*
They put in the hard work to figure out the big, important notions they had in common -- and the other big, important things with which no government ought to be meddlin'. The small stuff? Not so much.
Here's ya some small stuff:
● Who's sleepin' with who, an' if the State otta bless it. (This insanity can be traced right back to the indignant reaction to old-time LDS practices, a reaction which is playing out badly to this very day. What? You thought I was goin' someplace else? Stay outta people's private lives).
● Where the President was born (as opposed to, for instance, payin' attention to the crazy BS he's pushin'). Who cares? It could have happened in a log cabin deep in der Heardtland or he could'a been hatched out in a Soviet biolab and his policies would still be just as objectionable.
● Whether terrorists are criminals or criminals are terrorists. Ft. Hood or an Austin IRS office, we can all agree it was some bad, bad stuff, done by bad guys who should be deader than they are. (Y'know, when I get strep throat, I don't look into the motivations of the strep, I simply kill it off ASAP before it gets worse. Just sayin').
● If the holiday display on the courthouse square might make somebody feel all left out or offended.
● If the holiday display in your neighbor's yard might do likewise -- you know, those neighbors, the ones that dress funny or talk funny or go to services on the wrong day?
● And so on and so forth.
We have a FedGov with a bad case of overreach and State Gummints likewise. It's not gonna fix itself and I very much doubt blowin' stuff up will work, either; all that does it make the Feds look better than havin' stuff blow up, which they are though not by as much as they think. It is time to find common ground and find it fast; as a bunch of fragmented, hyphenated this-and-thats, those of us inhabiting the vast, frustrated midsection of the continent and economy are just a noisy rabble; as obedient cogs in our respective and all-too-alike Parties, we go unheard. The Tea Parties, so far, have functioned as a new "Big Tent," a megaphone for lost-in-the crowd voice crying out to be left the heck alone by Our Masters in the Capitols.
Don't lose that voice to divisiveness over goofy nonsense.
___________________________
* Take, for a single example, the bespectacled Franklin, who somehow never quite got 'round to actually marrying the woman history records as his wife. Most of those great men -- and they were indeed great -- show evidence of quirks a lot of folk'd be up in arms about nowadays. There's a lesson there, if we will but heed it.
Roberta
ReplyDeleteI have to go back to your previous quote:
Barry Goldwater,
US Senator, General USAF, 1964 Republican Presidential Candidate
“”The conservative movement, to which I subscribe, has as one of its basic tenets the belief that government should stay out of people's private lives. Government governs best when it governs least - and stays out of the impossible task of legislating morality. But legislating someone's version of morality is exactly what we do…””
I worked for Goldwater when I was in high school in 64 and have watched every stinking special interest grooup want to have the FedGov hammer their wants into law at the expense of the rest of us. The FedGov has two jobs, deliver the mail and defend the borders. Lets get back to basics!
Bruce
crankyoldmanwithgun@yqhoo.com
The only problem I see with religious displays on government property it that I'm forced to help pay for it. So many religious folks make an exception to the sixth (Jewish), seventh (Catholic) or eighth (Protestant) commandment where tax supported religious displays are involved.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with most of your points here, I feel compelled to remind you of the fact that Article II, section 1.5 specifies that the President must be a natural-born citizen. The man is undoubtedly, at a minimum, a naturalized citizen, but that does not meet the qualifications as outlined in the Constitution. I understand that you may not feel this to be of primary concern, but consider this; the man has access to, and the authority to launch, a nuclear arsenal that could exterminate all life on this planet. The President is also the CINC of the most lethal military in the history of mankind.
ReplyDeleteThere can NOT be ANY question as to the man's background. His own grandmother swears that he was born in Kenya, and that she witnessed his birth there; his father was not an American citizen. He has spent millions keeping his birth records from public disclosure. Why? To what end?
When I applied for my government security clearance, concealed-carry permit, FAA pilot's certificate, and when I enlisted in the Air Force I was required to submit my original, (or a certified copy of) full birth certificate; no redactions or omissions permitted. I cannot understand why the same standards would not apply, and has apparently not been applied, to the President of the United States.
It is possible that Barry has committed the most stunning fraud in the history of man; namely, a foreign-born man may have ascended to the Presidency of the most powerful nation in history. This is not "small stuff." And now that he's been seated as the President, nearly every action he has taken has weakened our Republic. Again I ask; to what end?
If it is discovered that he is not a natural-born citizen, he should be impeached for fraud and tried in the Senate. Otherwise, we'll do well to pay more attention to these details in the future.
"Conservatives say the government can't end poverty by force, but they believe it can use force to make people moral. Liberals say government can't make people be moral, but they believe it can end poverty. Neither group attempts to explain why government is so clumsy and destructive in one area but a paragon of efficiency and benevolence in the other."
ReplyDelete--Harry Browne
What consenting adults do in private is nobody's business but their own. And who and how many consenting adults choose to wed is nobody's business but their own.
ReplyDeleteAs far as Obama's place of birth is concerned, an individual with far more patience than I have pegs the cost of refusing to show Obama's "long form certificate" at $15 million as of election day, '08.
That is a lot of money just to keep a public record out of public view. I suppose it is remotely possible that it is mere contrariness. It's more likely Obama or his supporters believe there is a valid reason for concealment.
Perhaps his mother was determined to have a girl, and named him Pearl. Or some other name that would grate on the electorate's ear. Jamma Obama perhaps.
I could mention other and more likely conjectures, but I will only observe that fifteen mil is a lot of money to hide something that should be freely and publicly displayed on request.
Stranger
I'm glad you addressed the fact the founders were all over the map. It's not as though they arrived at their final decisions without vigorous debate. In fact, many items were near run but it shows the quality of their work and why it has stood the test of time. They thought much through and didn't arrive at decisions willy nilly.
ReplyDeleteYes, they all were imperfect. Such is humanity. Dr. Franklin was one of the first abolitionists, and cared for a bastard son as his own, while disowning his own 'legitimate' son, who had remained loyal to the King.
ReplyDelete