I am not a democrat. Nor am I a republican, libertarian, communist, socialist, whig, hottentot, albigensian, or any other label people routinely apply to others. I am reasonably certain that most people who are described using the terms above do not fit into the label with which they’ve been identified. It is merely easier to simply lump people into general categories than to deal with the fact that everyone is both more and less than the labels we’ve been branded with.
Political tags – such as royalist, communist, democrat, populist, fascist, liberal, conservative, and so forth – are never basic criteria. The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire. The former are idealists acting from highest motives for the greatest good of the greatest number. The latter are surly curmudgeons, suspicious and lacking in altruism. But they are more comfortable neighbors than the other sort. -RAH
If we examine the various political advertisements which bombard us every hour of the day, we can find a lot of crap disguising the real intent of the ads. For example, there’s one in particular which sets my teeth to grinding and my trigger finger to twitching.
The ad in question starts by begging our leaders to help reduce pollution, global warming, dependence upon foreign power sources, get the weeds out of our gardens, make our penises larger, make us lose weight, and generally solve all of the world’s ills. The reason I hate this ad is the implied statement that it is the Gummint’s job to do any of this.
Our Government is supposed to maintain public order, defend the country from foreign and domestic enemies, and otherwise stay the Hell out of our business. Yet far too many people spend a great deal of time and energy trying to get the Gummint to get more and more involved in our lives. This specifically includes the various politicians (of every description) running for public office. All of them.
A friend of mine recently complained that his utility bills were too high, and groused that Warren Buffet (who had recently purchased said utilities) ought to reduce the rates. How about a little personal responsibility? If you don’t want to pay so much for electricity, cut down on your consumption. There are a lot of basic things anyone can do to reduce their utility bills: upgrade the windows; turn the A/C up in the summer and down in the winter; change your light bulbs for lower-wattage models; use the bulk of your electricity after dark, when the rates are lower; etc. Instead of praying to the Gods for relief, try doing something for yourself.
It all comes down to basic criteria. Are you willing to take responsibility for your own decisions, or are you willing to become a serf to the Gummint in exchange for a life of ease- with no decisions? I have no desire to be a serf. Generations of Americans have fought, bled, and died so that we could be free. Becoming a serf would be turning one’s back on the sacrifices of our ancestors. Remianing free means making some sacrifices of one’s own.
Americans used to be infamous for our go-it-alone attitudes. We were a nation of individuals, loosely organized around a set of ideals embodied in a couple of parchment documents in the nation’s capitol. Over just the course of my lifetime, I have seen more and more people begging the Gummint to relieve them of the responsibility for their own actions, to make decisions for them. This has led to a huge number of egregious stupidities to flourish in our institutions and discourse. More and more, the implied belief in far too many people is that the Gummint would be there to bail them out from the consequences of their decisions.
I refuse to be a part of this crap. If you want the Gummint to run your life, then you should have the option of turning over 90% of your income to the Gummint to pay for the privilege. Everyone else can pay their taxes normally. Those of us who are willing to run our own lives should not be forced to pay for those who are not so inclined.
Current status: disgusted
Current music: Seen All Good People by Yes
A Dark and Sinister Force for Good 
Good God he used the “p” word!
Layman Pong: I realize that some people consider the term to be obscene or offensive, but personal responsibility needs to be mentioned more often.
That’s what you were talking about, right?
Of course.
“Whangdoodle” starts with a Wh.