Yeah, so I haven't posted here in a long time. Sorry about that. After November I kind of drifted away from here. If I can blame something (and not just my own laziness) I would have to say life got in the way. Amazing how that happens.
I've gone through a lot of changes since the last time I was here. I have changed philosophically, religiously, and I suppose my character has changed a little to. I've always been a laid back individual. You know, taking life as it comes, not really worrying about anything. The kind of guys who lets things be, why fight? Why worry? At least that is how I am generally. I am real easy guy to get along with. Yet, when I step into the realm of politics, that is a completely different matter.
I will be blunt. I dislike ignorant people who think they are intelligent and think they are clever. Nothing aggravates me more than ordinary citizens who think they have it all figured out and stage protests and demonstrations about something they don't have the vaguest idea about. But feels right to them, they are protesting something because they don't understand it. If can't already guess, I really hated all those people who were doing their "Tea Parties" on Wednesday.
There were a few here in town staging their little protest. I felt compelled to go out and talk to them, to really gauge what they understood of the situation, but I did not. I probably should have, just to see if my assumptions were right about their understanding of the situation. That way I am not just blindly calling them unintelligent about American politics and the tax system. Yet, just from my observations of these "tea parties" and gather one unifying trend. They all hate Obama.
These people never liked Obama in the first place and they believed the lies that McCain's campaign was throwing out at them. The lies about whether he was really an American citizen. The lies about his supposed Marxism. The lies about how he was a terrorist. Some of these people at these demonstration on TV still actually believe these lies about our President. Of course, Fox News as done nothing to move on about this. They are happily pouring gallons of gasoline on the fire of these disgruntled citizens. They are enraging them to believe certain things about our President. I mean Glen Beck was even wearing a t-shirt at one of these demonstrations that had Obama dressed up like Mao Zedong. (For those who don't know, Mao Zedong was the Chinese Lenin when it came to the Communist Revolution in China.) Fair and Balanced my ass. Please excuse my language, but this stuff really aggravates me and gets me angry.These cable news networks have a responsibility to provide us with information so we can better understand what is going in the world. Instead, they are using their influence to promote their own politics. I am not just talking about Fox News, either. CNN and MSNBC are just as guilty, MSNBC to a lesser extent.
These people believe what they were being told by the networks and they seriously believe that Obama is going to turn this country into a socialist country. I mean, Fox News was about as subtle as a sack of bricks landing on your head. One day during one of their economy segments they flashed "United Socialist States of America" at the bottom of the screen. Which brings me to my next grief about this whole incident. Fox News making these whole tea party things look like 'grass roots' movements. They are reporting them like they are actual free will demonstrations. You know that isn't true either. Some of these latter protest events may have been locally organized by the common people, but the ones that made the news in the first place were organized by people like Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich. They people who have the least amount of gain when it comes to Obama's Tax policies. They organized these 'tea parties', at least off the record. You can tell, because the people protesting Obama's Taxes are actually protesting against what is most beneficial to them. Obama has just given them, the middle class, the grass roots, the boys of the heartland, the 'real' Americans, the biggest tax break in US History. Whether they like to admit it, Obama is their best friend when it comes to taxes.
Which I suppose is something else that has to do with this. They hate the fact that Obama might actually be a positive thing for these country. I think a lot of this 'movement' (if you could call it that) is just some left over election fallout. These people are still pissed that their candidate, good ole' John McCain lost. They are still upset about it and they are looking for any reason to hate this man. Of course, now I am speaking more broadly. The entire right, or least the prominent ones, are still angry about the outcome of this election. As I have said before, Fox News has stopped being subtle about their politics, they are now happily flaunting them in your face. All because a liberal is President of the United States. To quote Jon Stewart here: "Your confusing tyranny with losing".
Now, let me make something clear here. I am in no way bashing Conservatism. I may not agree with right wing politics, but I respect them. What I don't respect is that some of the right, more importantly the ones in power and with the most influence of the general public of their party, who do not extend the same courtesy to the left. I am not advocating that everyone become a liberal. I am of the belief that there is no right choice when it comes to matters such as these. Everyone chooses what political ideology to ally themselves with for a particular reason. All I want is for people to think for themselves. Don't just get your news from one source. Get it from several. I skim Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, I get my headlines from BCC and Al-Jazeera (yes, that Middle-Eastern News company that Bin Laden is always sending his videos to). I gather my information from a vareity of sources to keep myself informed on the situation as much as possible. Which is why I get angry with people whose only source of news is Fox News, Bill O'Reliey and Glen Beck. They are not getting all of the information, nor are they hearing all sides of the argument, even though Fox News would like them to think so.
Well, that was quite a rant. As you can see, I have quite a bone to pick with the ignorant masses of America. I suppose I could quote Adolf Hitler here, and I don't do that often but I think he was right at least in this respect, "There is no end of stupid people". I think he was right.
Comments (3)
Unfortunately, Hitler didn't set out to kill the stupid people, he set out to kill the ones that knew the difference. It's an age old problem, Daniel, and one you'll deal with the rest of your life. The government and media LOVE stupid people. They are easily led, easily massed, easily sent off to die for things they don't understand or believe in... it's a sad fact of life that stupid people are easily manipulated and they make "good citizens". Thus the design of our educational system. Designed so no child is left behind in the race to dumbify the entire country. Makes you cry, doesn't it??? Won't be the last time, either! Get some tissue...and welcome to being an intelligent grup!
(Aunt Diane's friend Laura)
I haven't posted in a while either. I usually just wait until a lot of stuff has been pent up to say and then comes out a mess. I enjoy that for my readers, all 2 or 3 that is, but that's ok. :)
How have you changed really? I would say that you've always kind of been this way but just more shy about it? But I'm not sure. I think the world is really changing around us (I mean, yeah, I know it always is) but in a way that we feel we have to take on more responsibility and really get empassioned about things, truly understand what we think and believe.
You know, I wish there could be like a "Shadow the President (and other political figures) for a day" for just normal adult people. Just in general, I wish there was more knowledge seeking going on than anger and agitation. Was the tea party thing a big deal in Madisonville? I really didn't see anyone doing anything major here but I read about it in the newspaper a little.
It's weird, I think we were writing similar journals at the same time. I feel almost the same way too.
@lauraweed - Aww, did you create an account to comment on my little rant?