Picture of the nicest Merc' I have ever seen. No relation to this post, whatsoever.
My buddy Mike and his lovely wife have a new blog. It's over there in the list, at the top of the list to be exact. Mike's a great guy and if you read the comments I left him you can see I give him as much grief as possible. I don't talk to Mikey much anymore due do being a dad, husband, and homeowner but he is one in a very small group of folks I consider my brothers. My Mom only had one child, so there are no blood brothers to Surly. I'd take a bullet for guys like Mike, Joe, Bill, Jimmy and to a lesser extent, Gordy (inside joke) without hesitation. My Dad has a blog which I've referenced a time or two, we all know my Crazy Uncle and now Mike and his lovely wife are blogging. I've enjoyed the experience and I'm sure they will too. Mike's blog title is reference to a nickname that I (sort of) gave him many years ago. Mike's mom told me once that one of her other choice in names for her son was John Robert. Of course I called him J. Bob for pretty much the rest of that summer. If any of you hadn't noticed, I'm a fucking wise-ass. Suprisingly, I've never been punched as a result mostly because A: I'm smart enough to know when not to use that part of my brain and B: because I knew guys like Mikey would bail my punk ass out if I ever did. It's good to have friends and family. I'm sure there are the odd exceptions but the majority of my readers are just that, friends and family.
Mike's got a post about his Pops. He talks about how he admires the man but does not agree with some of the things he does. I don't talk too much about politics or religion because I'd rather not fight about whether I'm right or wrong. Clearly that's a problematic point of view. How can you feel strongly about something and not want your friends and family to feel the same way. That's an interesting one. Having a blog puts one in a position where you feel you need to explain how you feel about this or that. We all do it to some extent or another. Some blogs are created solely for this purpose, be it politics, religion, or motorcycles. I have tried to leave the more controversial topics to the folks who think it's important to them to discuss it. Don't get me wrong, the topics need to be discussed I just don't choose to do it here. To be honest, I've always been a bit spineless about telling others what I believe. I don't want to drive a wedge between me and those that I care about or care about me. Perhaps I've done myself a disservice in doing so. To a lesser extent, I've been reserving judgment on many topics because I believe one should make informed decisions. How can i say the Holy Book of a religion that I'm not involved in is wrong if I have not read it or participated in that type of faith? This is a bit overstated but I'm just trying to make a point. I've always tried to understand the other point of view. I've met people I've had a strong dislike for that said some things that I really agreed with. "How can that asshole have just said something so poignant?". There may be merit in what your enemy has to say. I'm not going to say Adolf Hitler was some kind of philanthropist or anything but if you vote blue and Grandpa votes red that shouldn't necessarily make ol' Gramps evil. Remember, he wiped your ass at one time. Things in life are rarely black and white.
The United States of America has a system that boils down to two parties. I don't agree but that's just my opinion. The reason I don't agree is that it becomes divisive. By saying "My party is correct all the time and your party is always wrong" drives a wedge in this country that WE ALL belong to. When I was a kid I learned the Pledge of Allegiance. I always had trouble with the word indivisible. It seemed like it was just kind of stuck in there as an add on. I would forget to say that word when it came around. I did not grasp the gravity of the Pledge as a youngster. When you pledge your allegiance to anything that's a big deal. If I was to pledge my allegiance to Fredonia or some such place that would be an act of treason. We have the right to free speech and that allows us to do this here blogging thing without fear of reprisal (to a certain extent). When someone sits at the old Bozoputer and bangs away at the keyboard it's easy to just start typing about what you feel is right. There's no one there to tell you to shut up. There wasn't anyone there asking your opinion in the first place. If you sit down and try claim that you are right and "they" are wrong isn't that divisive? To be divisive then would go against the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America would it not? There are folks who actually want the President of our fair land to fail. This is a far sight different than disagreeing with his decisions. Disagreeing with someone is healthy, important even from time to time. Please, express your opinion. Feel free to list the reasons on your blog or lame ass radio show as to why you disagree with our Commander in Chief. If you say you wish to see the President fail, however, I see that as "the offense of attempting by overt acts to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance". That's treason for those of you who don't click on my links. If you are guilty of treason you are a traitor by definition. The definition above is from the dictionary but the one that counts is from the Constitution of the United States of America. I realize I'm splitting hairs but let's try to think about what we say before saying it. Let's not bitch about how horrible things are and then hope it gets worse. Treason. Traitor. How about an adult conversation instead of yelling at the other guy about how he's doing things wrong. I've read some blogs that are linked on my blog that had some content that I feel bordered on treason. I may have to take it down if that shit continues.
Perhaps now it's a bit more clear why I don't enter into discourse with other folks about what I believe. I'll tell you this, I believe my friends and family are very important to me and I'd like to think they would listen to my point of view and not judge me by a D or R next to my name or what holy book might happen to be or not be on my shelf. These things do happen however, and that divides us. The pledge that I took said indivisible.
7 comments:
Nicely done sir. If you don't mind. I would like to post a post that directs people to you, this post, in particular. Let me know.
my word ver word is factupp. Like this is factupp, man.
Beautiful, Surly.
Nicole
Feel free. I'm glad you liked it.
Nice Post, Surly.
"If you say you wish to see the President fail, however, I see that as treason..." (My edit to avoid copying the link. Tell me if I screwed that up.)
I think you need a bit more context on this one. Much has been made in the media about this lately, but very little has been focused on just what one means by "Fail".
If failure entails not wanting to see the nationalization of any and all banks, businesses or private enterprises, is that treason?
Is it treasonous to not want to see the transfer of private citizens taxes to the tune of $5 BILLION to an organization like ACORN?
How about the current move to give Washington DC Congressional representation? That's one of the few things that's directly mentioned in The Constitution as a no no. As in shall not be done, But it's being pushed through anyway. This is treason by hoping that these and other similar things fail?
Wishing for failure in areas like these would seem to be far from treason. Quite the contrary. There are only 3 powers granted the Federal Government in the Constitution. That's it.
Most folks really have no idea how limited the Framers wanted the powers of the central government to be. See the 10th amendment for reference here.
May I suggest you pick up a copy of, The Federalist Papers and read the arguments that went on back then. Very insightful as to what has happened over time.
Another note, why does the oath taken by any member of all the military branches include "...to protect the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic."
Most people really have no idea how far from the original intent we have drifted. This is way past the Red State, Blue State thing, too. Neither party seems real interested in doing what's good for the country and those that do get taken out of context and hammered by the media and left as roadkill. This whole "Failure" thing being promoted in the media is a prime example of that. One sentence, taken out of context and given a life of it's own. I heard the original and there was a lengthy and detailed explanation as to what was meant by it. But that was ignored and only that word was used as a weapon against a guy who is precieved as an enemy of the media and the President.
I understand where you're mindset is and I'm not giving you a ration of shit here, my man. Far from it. It's good for you to throw these thoughts out there. That whole, rational discourse thing and all that.
You're right about how the nation is divided in so many ways and the shrillness level between the groups just seems to be going up. Answers? None off the top of my head. Education on history and civics would be a good start as most people can't name their congressional representative but seem to know the latest Hollywood gossip.
Interesting fact relating to this - More people voted for Kelly Clarkson on American Idol than voted for either of the candidates in the presidential election held that same year.
That may be a big clue as to why there is a problem here.
See your Dad's post on people getting dumber. It's not just kids either.
Love ya. Ride your bike down soon.
So my son, is this what is referred to as Pandora's box or a can of worms? Either way you have my support. It is through you that I have grown, hopefully not in girth but wisdom. I wish I had my good mind altering drugs a long time ago prior to making so many mom mistakes. However, reading your missives I feel redeemed.
Always, Matt's Mom
Well, the (in)famous bully preacher radio host who said it did not include any specifics other than "I hope he fails". I read and re-read the transcript. It did not say that he agreed or disagreed with any specific policies. Not much context there. I have no qualms with anyone disagreeing with policies or bills or even rhetoric. Stating that you hope the President of our fair land fails is indeed a very broad thing to say said by a person who makes a very good living intentionally pushing peoples buttons to gain more favor. That's the same type of shit bill collectors do. It's bullying for the sake of getting your way. If you hope a bill does not pass because you disagree with it that makes you an individual. If you hope the President of the United States of America fails you are a traitor.
I understand many things are taken out of context. Both sides do it. It happens to good people and bad. When I say I hope you fail, that makes me a dick. We can all live with that. When someone says "I hope the Pres. fails" that is going against the U.S.A. There are things that our current President is saying and doing that I don't agree with. I could make that statement about all the Presidents in my lifetime.
I'll add the Federalist Papers to my reading list, thank you.
...to protect the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic.
That's sort of what I meant. Just because someone was born and raised here and might even wave the flag they might become a domestic enemy to one extent or another.
I'm glad you got the point of my post. People close to me like you and Mikey, and his Pops have some views that don't match mine. That's okay. You'd probably be surprised where we align and where we don't. Good does not exist without evil and vice versa. No dark without light. We WILL NOT always agree as Americans. I just wanted to say we can still get along fine hanging out with each other, why can't the whole country?
This is quite a touchy subject. It really does matter how you say things. I listened to said radio DB on that very day he said this. I knew what he was saying because I heard it. I really does look different on the transcript. I DO hope the Pres. fails at implementing his craziness. I personaly think this person is a fraud of a MAN, and more importantly, a complete fraud of An American. It is not only my right to say this, it is my duty as an American, to challenge authority. I can do this with words, not violence.
Our elected government works for us, not the other way around.
These reasons alone, are why we should not talk politics. We should just enjoy each other's company when we get the not so often chance. Love Ya. xoxox
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