A letter to Americans

As we prepare to vote in the coming week all across our nation, I would like all Americans to consider what it is that makes us all "American": It is not bipartisanship. It is not Democrats vs. Republicans, or Liberals vs. Conservates. It not entitlements or governmental control and influence in every part of our lives.
It is individuality and peronsal liberty from governmental involvement in every aspect of our lives; the strength of the human spirit to persevere; and the desire to earn a modest to luxurious living through hard work, and the dedication and determination it takes to succeed. These are the qualities which define America, and they are the qualities we should all look for, when possible, as we choose this next wave of people to represent us all in Congress...

It is time for us to take our country back-back from the corruption in corporate America, and, especially, back from the corruption and ignorance that plague our national and state governments.
For too many decades, too many of us have sat idly by, choosing not to participate in society other than by simply getting up and working every day: these people haven't voted, they haven't taken an active role in the raising of their kids, they haven't even taken an active role in their own lives except to survive until the next day-caring not one bit about what the day will look like so long as their own self destructive needs are met. It is too these people-the ones who believe that they can have no effect on "politics" and society in America.
It is to you, this "silent majority", who I am reaching out too.
Vote.
Express your opinion.
Let our current Congress people, and the newly elected ones, know that you will no longer stand idly by. That you will be heard. That you will be respected. And that you will no longer be trodden on and/or ignored because a select group of special interest groups, lobbyists and corporate interests are subverting your liberty via their influence over our elected leaders.
This is not a call for rebellion or separation, it is a call for you to take your respect and your liberty back as Individuals and members of our national and local societies by your choice.
It is time you are heard. Your country, and your fellow citizens, need you to speak, or else there may not be anything left for us to stand up, and speak for.
RR

A Letter to Liberals

There was a time in my life when I considered myself one of you-a "liberal", but it didn't take me long to realize just how anti liberal modern liberals really are.
As I...matured...I grew to understand your particular ideology more, and realized that, as a whole, Liberals really have no clue what being a Liberal-by political definition-actually means. Personal liberty and responsibility, individuality, independence, small government, the freedom to keep what you earn, all these things mean nothing to you. Liberalism, to you, means nothing more than standing opposite of Conservatives...
Conservatives believe in the 2nd amendment, but you believe that guns, not people, kill people; therefore the 2nd amendment is outdated and needs replacement or a massive alteration...
Conservatives believe in less taxes, but you see all Conservatives as being the top 10% of all income earners in our country; therefore, you see cutting taxes as only being for those that would affect the "evil rich"...
Conservatives, due to their religion, do not believe that homosexuality should be treated equality by all laws; Liberals, believe it should be, but, instead of supporting the rights of each state to determine such things-as the Constitution designs-you would have the Federal Government force the nation to allow something which many people morally and ethically oppose...
Conservatives believe in earning financial equality through hard work, and creating an economic system which allows for that; Liberals believe that everyone is entitled to financial equality...
Conservatives believe that a greater, intangible, power known as "God" has ultimate control over everything; Liberals believe that the more tangible power of "Government" should control everything...
As a group, you propose no economic solutions to our nations problems that do not include the Federal Government as the primary solution; you propose no solutions to our cultural and societal problems which do not include Federal legislation; and you propose no solutions to our growing welfare and national debt problems, than to have the Fed print more money to throw at them...
Even worse, about your ideology today, is that the lack of National pride and cultural identity America has today can be directly attributed to you. Over the years you have demonized American culture and having pride in our nation by focusing on the flaws of our past and making Capitalism out to be a engine of greed which only a few are able to take advantage of, at the expense of others.
The only thing which can be loosely considered "liberal" about your ideological beliefs are the positions you take regarding issues like the environment, animal rights, and issues of equality in society-positions which most would support you on if you weren't so willing to toss logic aside and go to such idiotic extremes that you take unrealistic positions which you expect to hold everyone too expect your leaders.

You, just like Conservatives, fail to understand human nature at its core. You fail to understand that human nature is firstly the individual, and secondly the member of society. You see people as just the opposite: humans are firstly members of a society-one mandated and controlled by government; and secondly, that society allows us to be individuals-but only under terms which that society says are acceptable.
That time when I considered myself a member of your ideology is, of course, now long behind me-it is nothing of it used to be, and nothing of what I thought it would be-an ideology that would back and support my individuality; protect me from "big brother"; and support me in my pursuit of financial and personal liberty.
No, I see your ideology for what it truly is, which is little more than Socialism-an ideology which is a known destructor of, not just the individual, but societies as well.

A Letter to Conservatives

It may be arrogant of me to say the things I'm about too, but someone has too-someone has to be willing to point out your flaws...
You see, there are many people just like me who would support you, who would be on your side, but you just can't give up the religious rhetoric, can you? Why can't you state your positions without always having to bring "God" into the picture? Why, when you refer to America, and "American" ideals, does it always have to be "God and country", or the "Christian American" ideals? Are you even aware that such talk is completely hypocritical to the positions you hold regarding our economy and the Constitution? And that it parallels you in not so subtle ways to the theocratic dictatorships which dominate the political structures of the countries which are our sworn enemies?...

This is what I mean: you support the Constitution-as it is. This is a position which, easily, the vast majority of Americans would support if not for your apparent disregard for the 1st amendment. You know that amendment, don't you? You know, the one that guarantees a separation of church and state? This is important because, based on your religious rhetoric, you would have it otherwise. Based on the things your ideology says, and the basis for the moral positions you believe all Americans should have, if you had your way, Christianity, and its bible, would be the basis for all legislative policy at the national level. Not only is this contradictory to the Constitution, but it also contradictory to your position on the economy.
You believe in as few regulatory controls over our economy as possible-another position which the majority of Americans would support. The problem is that Capitalism is the greatest vehicle ever created, by which people can achieve the most personal liberty possible. This includes exercising personal choices, like lifestyles relating to sexual orientation and other religious belief systems-both of which you don't approve of because of your religious views.
Even worse, you don't stand out against the more radical of your believers, in most cases, you choose silence. You refuse to comment, or properly disassociate yourself from the religious fanatics of your belief system that would bomb abortion clinics, label gays and lesbians as something other than human beings, or would otherwise threaten physical force on those who aren't "in line" with your religious beliefs.

Don't you understand that, just as you believe that the federal government has no right to tell you how to live your life; has no right to dictate how much of your income you should have to give in taxes; has no right attempting to legislate every aspect of American society and culture; that you don't have the right to tell anyone what to believe or how to believe in what they do, just because you disagree?
What of the greatest things about America is that we actually have the right to agree to disagree. In fact, part of your ideology supports that position-except when it comes to your religious views, views which you, for some inhumane reason, believe should be the basis for all legislation in our nation.
In no way am I implying that you should not have the right to exercise your religious beliefs, but I will stand against you attempting to force those beliefs on those who would disagree, at the point of a political, and legislative, gun.
You claim to be for the Constitution, and to be supporters of Capitalism-2 aspects of American culture which promote individuality and independence, and yet your religious beliefs make you appear otherwise. Your religious beliefs cloud your judgment and breed their own form of individuality crushing collectivism. If you can only see that you must separate your personal beliefs, from the legislative guidelines proper for our Federal Government, just as the Constitution is built to do-limit the reach and power of our National Government-you would find many more Americans calling themselves "conservative", as opposed to standing by and shaking their heads at you in disbelief and disgust over your obvious hypocrisy...

You, just like Liberals, fail to understand human nature at its core. You fail to understand that human nature is firstly the individual, and secondly the member of society. You see people as just the opposite: humans are firstly members of your society-a society based on religious principles; and secondly, that society allows us to be individuals-but only under conditions that your society says is acceptable.
Stop dragging your religion and morality into every issue, and stop letting Liberals drag you down to their level of ignorance and they will be easily exposed, and you will have much greater support from Americans than you do now.

Nauseating campaign ads

Is it me, or are the campaign ads for those running for public office not just ridiculous and nauseating, but full of meaningless attacks on the person running against the person whose campaign paid for the ad?
At their core, all the ads are the same-they are personal attacks on an oppenent, based on actions they took in the past, or on ideological positions they hold-regardless of who the ad is targeting, there really isn't a difference; and all that these ads do is highlight the fact that has helped to create a silent majority within our country: that those who aspire to run for public office, or those already holding that public office, are, in some way, corrupt, corrupted or corruptable.
In the end all these ads do is turn off the majority of people from voting, and tell us nothing about the candidate who paid for the ad....

Wouldn't it be nice if one day, we all woke up to find that these ads disappeared, to be replaced by ads stating the positions the candidats held on the most important issues of the time?
Wouldn't it be nice if the people who ran for public office actually held the capacity to directly answer a question when in a debate?...

In physics, it can be mathematicaly proved that anything is possible...I can only hope that that includes politics and politicians, because then, maybe, we have some hope.

American political ideologies-Conclusion: finding common ground.

For the most of the last 20 years, ever since my passion for such things was born, I began silently keeping track of what the typical, average American wants in an elected official at the Federal level. I began doing this during the Bush/Clinton/Perot Presidential race in 1992 after reading a poll a few weeks before the election showing Bush as the leader. This poll made no sense to me given that the vast majority of people I knew-regardless of age-were going to vote for Perot. Granted, I only had a relatively small sample of people to go on, but it was a pretty diverse sample and amongst that sample 2/3 of the people were planning on voting for Perot. This disparity, between what the media said and the truth about the world around me, motivated me to find out for myself, at election times, who, and what, people really supported. Over the years, this has evolved into a general understanding of what it is that most Americans expect, and want, in their nationally elected leaders...

Given the convoluted, and diluted, political ideologies in America, where is the middle ground? Where are the things that all, or a clear majority, of Americans can agree on? Not too long ago, these questions had answers, but I'm not so sure anymore.
Commonalities as a culture and society must start in the home and our educational institutions, today both of these institutions are ethically bankrupt: the family unit has disintegrated due to a high divorce rate and the improper use of liberality in the home, and America's primary educational institutions have, over the decades, taken away the focus on what makes all Americans, Americans, and what it took to make our form of government the best the planet.
America's primary educational institutions are divided into so-called "public" and "private" schools. Public schools are union run, and, though it varies some by state, the union dictation of our educational system has lead to it being more about job protection, than educating our youth. The private school system in America is primarily theologically based and, on the surface, caters to what the general public considers "the elite class". Neither of these educational institutions have American history and culture as a core theme throughout their curriculum; true, they teach American history, but it is a diluted history of simple facts and focuses on the wars and military actions of our nation, as opposed to the cultural upheavals, technological advancements and great thinkers and inventors that made our country the greatest in the world for most of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The family unit issues in America are a topic to be addressed separately, but with so much distress and dysfunction in the home, how can we expect any reinforcement at home of the principles which make up the fabric of American culture, much less a solid, humanly based moral and ethical code?
The bottom line is that modern Americans lack any sense of national pride, we lack any attachment to our "roots", much less to each other through the cultural ties which bound us all during the formation and growth of our country. We have forgotten what it means to be American. Between modern liberals (socialists) interpreting the Constitution to fit their own needs, Conservatives (Theocrats) attempting to force their own theologically based morality on the country, and the majority of Americans sitting on the sidelines, unwilling to participate in their own future while complaining about it, is it any surprise that America is so divided that we cannot even unite long enough to find a solution to any problem facing us today?
As a nation, we have to get back to the basics of the Constitution-the Constitution, and the rights that it guarantees us, are the back bone of American culture and society, and we have gotten away from it.
We have to stop letting modern liberals and conservatives try to force their interpretations, of how things should be run in our country, on us. We must all remember, every election cycle, that they serve the people, not themselves, and that it is to us-the people who make up the United States of America-whom they are responsible too.
The middle ground for all Americans, hasn't been lost-it has simply been buried in the illogical bureaucracy created and supported by the extreme fringes of the ideological left and right, and the greed of a select few who consciously take advantage of Capitalism at the expense of our society because most of us fail to actively participate in it by simply voting every chance we get. That middle ground is in our Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and in the free market principles that our particular form of Capitalism gives all Americans-principles which give all in America the opportunity to succeed through hard work, dedication and determination. All we have to do to bring that middle ground back into the forefront of our state and national legislative practices, is for Americans to get involved and care again: care about ourselves, our country and community, and the future that we are leaving for the generations after us...

Twenty years worth of research has lead me to these conclusions about the American people as it concerns the ideology they would like to see represented at the Federal level: adhering to the Constitution (though many don't fully understand it, they still support it) and the Bill of Rights as they are written; social liberality-meaning the Federal Government has no role in legislating issues of personal choice (i.e. homosexual marriage, right to die, drug laws, health care standards, religious and moral preferences, etc...); and simple common sense and simplicity in our laws. This, by asking 1000's of people throughout my life, is what I have learned that most Americans ideologically support, but this will never be reflected by those we elect so long as a majority of us continue to sit idly by, and not take an active role in the formation of the laws of our nation, by voting for those who are supposed to represent us when creating them.

Rubio, Christ and Meeks-let the war for the Florida Senate seat begin.

Citizens of Florida got to witness a debate tonight between the 3 candidates running to represent our state in the Senate, and as is the norm for such debates, we saw a lot of fluff and no substance-from any of the candidates.
What we witnessed in this debate was a battle of 3 entrenched politicians-one of which is supported by a group who is vociferously against the status quo politician in this country. To be fair to Mr. Rubio, he spoke a very good game and obviously did his homework, but all he could honestly do was partake in the game of one upmanship displayed by all 3 parties during this debate. From 2 of the 3, we constantly heard about how broken D.C. is and how it needs to be fixed but; and as usual, we heard not one solution-viable or otherwise-from either of them.
Of the 3, Meeks obviously stands for nothing but the status quo-between his ignorant support of "Obamacare" and his insistence the he stands for the "working man"-a person he seemed incapable of actually defining, it was obvious that his only real position is that of an"anti conservative" and basher of the elite...Of the 3, he is the most obvious "politician" of the 3, and, in my view, definitely represents most of what is wrong with politics in Washington today.
Rubio, the Tea Party poster boy, spoke well, but supports positions which are anti individual-positions which are blatantly hypocritical to his general position on the Constitution. He gets credit for understanding economic theory and why the current tax cuts placed into law by Bush work(ed), but he failed to do little else but place personal attacks on his main rival, Charlie Crist, throughout much of the debate. Rubio, in my opinion, failed to prove any of his positions beyond a reasonable doubt and failed to prove (to me) that he would do what was in the best interests of the state of Florida.
Crist, the "npa" candidate who left the Republican party due to ideological differences, was the only one, at any time, who provided any actual solutions to any question at all. It was only one time-when speaking about how to shore up Social Security-and I disagreed with his answer, but he at least provided something of an idea to one of the problems facing our society today. Placed between such extremes, all Crist really had to do to win this debate running away, was avoid falling into the typical bickering that happens during all such debates-something he either couldn't, or refused, to do...

Personally, I saw nothing out of these 3 candidates, in this format, which gives me any hope that any of them could do the job of a Senator properly. But, if I had to grade the 3 on a pass/fail system, only one would pass-Crist.
Why? Because the position of Senator has nothing to do with the people of this country. The position of Senator has to do with the states, and states rights, in our country. 97 years ago, the 17th amendment went a long way to stripping the individual states of our country of their states rights-which is one of the primary reasons why our national political scene is in the mess it is today; and throughout this debate, the moderators continuously made the mistake of asking these men questions which had nothing to do with states rights. They continuously asked questions trying to pull at the heart strings of people and all 3 continuously fell into the trap-showing that they really have no clue what the position they are essentially applying for is supposed to represent...I digress; Crist wins because, of the 3, as a (soon to be former?) governor he is the only one truly capable of understanding what "states rights" really means-whether he was given a chance to show that in this debate or not...

Before this debate, I was certain of who I was going to vote for to represent Florida in the Senate, after this debacle, I'm not so sure anymore. I did, however, learn one thing from this debate that my more conservative friends won't like seeing me say: when you get down to it, Rubio really isn't any better than Meeks. The only difference between the 2 is that, too Meeks, the Federal Government is a God capable of solving all our nations problems; and to Rubio, God is an intangible entity defined by the religion of his choice, and should lead our government in the direction of solving all our nations problems. Both of these ideologies become anti individual when "push comes to shove", and therefore I cannot support either of them... 

American political ideologies part 5: the melting pot boiling over

Of all of the political and social ideologies in America today, the 2 we hear most about are Liberalism and Conservatism. Though these 2 ideologies, in their modern form, represent, at most, 30% of our populace, there is little question that they are responsible for the direction of all legislative policy at the Federal and state levels in our country. Worse, is that this 30% is comprised of the most wealthy of our country, and therefore stand the most to gain, or lose, within any legislation.
The direction that this segment of our society tends to lead us in is as extreme a direction-on either side of the political spectrum-as it is representative of our society: whether it be the utilization of our military for "police actions" in a distant foreign nation, or the financial bail out of corporations deemed "to big to fail", our Federal and state legislative bodies have increasing written, and passed, legislation within the last decade that is disagreed with by a majority of the general public-whether they are registered voters or not. This direction is a direct result of all the aforementioned political ideologies colluding together to create chaos within our society, and providing corporate entities and special interests the "perfect storm" through which they can dictate legislative policy at the Federal and state levels: With a majority of Americans sitting on the side lines of each election cycle and the majority of those who actually participate not being associated with any strong central leadership or ideology; and Liberals and Conservatives now in control of their respective political parties, Corporations and special interest groups, lead by their lobbying arms, have taken control of our Federal and state legislative bodies with nothing more than money and the threat of pulling their support of one candidate or another.


The result is something that is obvious to most social and political observers: the American body politic boiling over with anger at career politicians who are chipping away at personal freedoms and their wallets; who are catering to corporate demands; and who are embarrassing our nation internationally as they rapidly spend America into bankruptcy while making themselves rich at the expense of the general public.
It has taken 30 or so years, but this anger has finally manifested itself into at least one popular movement-the Tea Party.


The Tea Party is widely considered a Conservative movement due to it being created and based around Conservatives who had had enough of their fellow Republicans spending habits, support of big government, and coziness with corporate special interests in D.C. Despite their obvious theological undertones, it is unfair to call the movement "conservative"-given what they support.
Conservative, at least in part, would imply some sense of preserving the status quo, which would be maintaining the system as it is being used today-with massive corporate influence and corruption at the Federal and state level. This, however, is not what the Tea Party wants: they want change, and not the socialistic change that Barack Obama has brought to the White House, and Congress, since his election. The change they want is one back to the original Constitutional principles-principles which create a small Federal government beholden to the general public. They want career politicians out of the office; they spending at the Federal level curbed dramatically; and, unfortunately, they want their religion, that of Christianity, to be the lead of all social ideals-legislatively and ethically. These beliefs could be considered more radical (and theocratic) than they are conservative, given the distance that current Federal legislative policy has strayed from the Constitutional principles our nation is supposed to be based on.
Outside of the obvious theological flaw, the Tea Party suffers from one other weakness: competition. There is none.
Since their creation a little over 2 years ago, the Tea Party has gained, and been hurt by, a lack of any counter movement against them. People have tried to rally support for a counter movement to the Tea Party, but the reality is that, to the vast majority of Americans, the Tea Party is right on many points. The only thing preventing the Tea Party from being a run away train, capable of taking back national politics for all Americans, is their insistence on believing that they are right, not because of their logic, but because of their faith, as well as their desire to make their faith the basis for all domestic social policy in America. (This contradicts their general position on the Constitution-which promotes a distinct separation of church and state. This contradiction, or hypocrisy as some would say, is obvious to many and turns them off to the movement).



Despite the Tea Party's current popularity, the bulk of Americans remain restless and angry. Seeing no eminent change in legislative ideology on the horizon, and viewing the Tea Party as little more than a band of rich elitists trying to take control of the the Federal Government away from Liberals for their own interests, to them, their vote either "still doesn't count", or remains "the lesser of 2 evils". This anger is still building, and with no outlet, and the political establishment not willing to listen or change for the better, it is destined to implode our society: America, the once great "melting pot", is boiling over...