Attitude Adjusted McCain Supporter
Bill Falzett III
March 11, 2008
Attitude adjustment is a part of everyday life. Our parents turn out to be human; our soul-mate turns out to be more of a business partner; our dream job turns out to be real work; our children turn out not to be prodigies; the weather changes; we all get old; and most often, we do not end up changing the world. Through it all, we are in a constant process of adjusting our attitude and expectations to reality. Life is not perfect, and we simply will never have everything we want, like we want it, and when we want it. When faced with reality, for all practical purposes, we either adapt, or die.
A reality of life in 2008 is that our country is ideologically polarized. The two dominant political parties in our country have taken up positions that most often appear ideological opposites. The Democrat party has moved toward Liberal Socialism. Their model of the world has a government behemoth at the center, coordinating all of the business of life with crippling taxation, massive social programs and wealth redistribution. The Republican party has moved toward a religious fundamentalism and big government Neo-conservatism. They want to be our moral compass, and force our way of life across the globe, and they have run up huge budget deficits to make it so. Though the two ideologies appear to be opposites, they threaten our civil liberties in similar ways. This polarization has left many of us in the middle feeling as if we are not a good fit in either party, and in the position of either living with disenfranchisement, or aggressively trying to move the debate back toward more familiar ground in which we feel included.
Another reality of 2008 is that the appeal of Socialism is on the rise. Through much of our history, the two party debate has kept our society operating largely in the middle, but recently it seems like the ideas of Socialism are gaining ground. Our population is aging and we now have more seniors dependent on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security programs than ever before; We have an influx of illegals choking our hospital emergency rooms and dragging down the productivity of our education system; We have Liberal Progressives pushing Universal health care; and We are suffocating in an atmosphere of political correctness that threatens our freedom of speech to aver dissent. Leaving aside the argument and rationale for any of these, the bottom line is that the number of beneficiaries of all these entitlements is growing, while the ranks of those of us paying the bills is shrinking.
Benjamin Franklin once said, "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch." I am afraid the time may have come where the dependent and entitlement crowd has reached the critical mass necessary to win the vote to have the middle class tax payer for lunch. Obviously this does not mean they will literally have us for lunch, but may be more closely equivalent to the notion Ayn Rand put forward in which the productive become enslaved to the collective. I am also reminded of the old "Twilight Zone" episode in which the Kanamit people from another planet make an elaborate presentation of their intention "To Serve Mankind". Only when everyone is on board their star ship do we learn that their intent is "To Serve Mankind"... for lunch! It is my fear that too many are getting on board for a free lunch, and not realizing the true nature of the meal.
Finally, though it has been my honor to support Congressman Ron Paul as the Republican nominee for President in 2008, it is now a reality that Senator John McCain will instead be the nominee. For me, Ron Paul was the ideal candidate for President, and a refreshing departure from the two party polarized debate. He consistently focuses the debate on the limited role of government as defined in the Constitution. Even so, it was clear early on with a little research that despite his strong presence and support on the Internet, he simply did not have the support to win. Despite this general lack of support, I voted for Congressman Paul in the primary, accepted a nomination to be a precinct delegate, and walked away feeling proud of the fact that I had stood for my principles. I didn't play games crossing over to vote in the Democrat primary. I voted my conscience.
I have since taken to heart the political and social realities of 2008, along with the understanding that regardless of who is nominated on the Democrat side, they will continue the march of Socialism. If a Socialist is elected, we get higher taxes, bigger government, more entitlements and Liberal appointees to the Supreme Court. I have also accepted the reality that I cannot have Ron Paul as my President. As such, while Senator McCain is not my first choice for President, if elected, he will certainly move our country no further to the left than it is today. He may even help to move it back to the right with appropriate appointments to the Supreme Court. He is not as conservative of constitutional guarantees as I would prefer, but he is far better than the least of the Democrat threats. The reality is that of the available options, John McCain is our best choice to preserve what is left of our constitutional freedoms. Today, I am most definitely an attitude adjusted McCain supporter!
A reality of life in 2008 is that our country is ideologically polarized. The two dominant political parties in our country have taken up positions that most often appear ideological opposites. The Democrat party has moved toward Liberal Socialism. Their model of the world has a government behemoth at the center, coordinating all of the business of life with crippling taxation, massive social programs and wealth redistribution. The Republican party has moved toward a religious fundamentalism and big government Neo-conservatism. They want to be our moral compass, and force our way of life across the globe, and they have run up huge budget deficits to make it so. Though the two ideologies appear to be opposites, they threaten our civil liberties in similar ways. This polarization has left many of us in the middle feeling as if we are not a good fit in either party, and in the position of either living with disenfranchisement, or aggressively trying to move the debate back toward more familiar ground in which we feel included.
Another reality of 2008 is that the appeal of Socialism is on the rise. Through much of our history, the two party debate has kept our society operating largely in the middle, but recently it seems like the ideas of Socialism are gaining ground. Our population is aging and we now have more seniors dependent on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security programs than ever before; We have an influx of illegals choking our hospital emergency rooms and dragging down the productivity of our education system; We have Liberal Progressives pushing Universal health care; and We are suffocating in an atmosphere of political correctness that threatens our freedom of speech to aver dissent. Leaving aside the argument and rationale for any of these, the bottom line is that the number of beneficiaries of all these entitlements is growing, while the ranks of those of us paying the bills is shrinking.
Benjamin Franklin once said, "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch." I am afraid the time may have come where the dependent and entitlement crowd has reached the critical mass necessary to win the vote to have the middle class tax payer for lunch. Obviously this does not mean they will literally have us for lunch, but may be more closely equivalent to the notion Ayn Rand put forward in which the productive become enslaved to the collective. I am also reminded of the old "Twilight Zone" episode in which the Kanamit people from another planet make an elaborate presentation of their intention "To Serve Mankind". Only when everyone is on board their star ship do we learn that their intent is "To Serve Mankind"... for lunch! It is my fear that too many are getting on board for a free lunch, and not realizing the true nature of the meal.
Finally, though it has been my honor to support Congressman Ron Paul as the Republican nominee for President in 2008, it is now a reality that Senator John McCain will instead be the nominee. For me, Ron Paul was the ideal candidate for President, and a refreshing departure from the two party polarized debate. He consistently focuses the debate on the limited role of government as defined in the Constitution. Even so, it was clear early on with a little research that despite his strong presence and support on the Internet, he simply did not have the support to win. Despite this general lack of support, I voted for Congressman Paul in the primary, accepted a nomination to be a precinct delegate, and walked away feeling proud of the fact that I had stood for my principles. I didn't play games crossing over to vote in the Democrat primary. I voted my conscience.
I have since taken to heart the political and social realities of 2008, along with the understanding that regardless of who is nominated on the Democrat side, they will continue the march of Socialism. If a Socialist is elected, we get higher taxes, bigger government, more entitlements and Liberal appointees to the Supreme Court. I have also accepted the reality that I cannot have Ron Paul as my President. As such, while Senator McCain is not my first choice for President, if elected, he will certainly move our country no further to the left than it is today. He may even help to move it back to the right with appropriate appointments to the Supreme Court. He is not as conservative of constitutional guarantees as I would prefer, but he is far better than the least of the Democrat threats. The reality is that of the available options, John McCain is our best choice to preserve what is left of our constitutional freedoms. Today, I am most definitely an attitude adjusted McCain supporter!
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