IM JUST SAYIN!

When I started this blog I made a decision not to write about politics or religion and I’m not about to change that today;  however, as I was checking my email, and reading the news on my IPAD this morning I read where someone had decided to unfriend someone on Face Book due to a political disagreement.  In this hot political season where everyone seems to be much more polarized that I personally can ever remember, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen a friendship dissolved because of a disagreement over politics.   As a person who has friends from all walks of life, rich and poor, Black, White, Asian Muslim, Jew and yes, Democrats and Republicans, I find it hard to believe that I would ever lose a friend over something as idiotic as politics.  First of all, if you have friends who don’t respect you enough to understand that your views aren’t always going to mirror theirs, what kind of friend is that?  At least weekly my friends and I have arguments about some political subject and some of them are heated, but we never leave the conversation as anything other than friends who respect each other’s right to his or her opinion.  My dad used to say that everyone is entitled to his opinion, even if it’s wrong which is what I usually say to my friends when I’ve had enough of the argumentJ  We basically decide to agree to disagree and let it go which when you think about it is just smart since in most cases we’re never going to solve the issue anyway. 

Let’s stop here and take a look at the qualities defined by friendship:

Friendship is a relationship between two people who hold mutual affection for each other.  The value of friendship is often the result of friends consistently demonstrating the following:

• The tendency to desire what is best for the other
• Sympathy and empathy
• Honesty, even in situations where it may be difficult for others to speak the truth
• Mutual understanding and compassion; ability to go to each other for emotional support
• Enjoyment of each other’s company
• Trust in one another
• Positively strong, deep, close reciprocity, mutuality — equal give-and-take between the two parties
• The ability to be oneself, express one’s feelings and make mistakes without fear of judgment.

If we believe in any or all of the basic tenants of friendship as defined above, how could any political argument cost us a friend?  I know some people allow their political party designation to define who they are and who they associate with, but the truth is that’s a very sad state for anyone to be in.  When we close ourselves off to views of others, we also close our minds, and many times it fosters ignorance and sometimes just plain stupidity. 

No matter what your political party, we all should always remember that politicians will say anything to get into office and once there, they will say anything to stay there.  A politician will do everything possible to keep the masses divided because that’s how they hold onto power.  If they can make you and I believe that where we live, our economic status or the color of our skin makes us so different that we can’t possibly have anything in common, that’s what they’ll tell us because gaining and holding power is their only real concern. 

Finally, I want to thank my friends for allowing me to be who I am, for respecting my views and knowing that I respect yours;  for respecting my right to sometimes be wrong in your view, but respecting me none the less, as I do you.  I absolutely appreciate each and every one of you and seriously can’t think of anything that could happen politically that would cause me to think of you as anything other than my friend!

If you agree, pass this on to your friends or have them visit: www.crobrun.com

I’m Just Sayin

As some of you may remember, I started this blog with an article about what my dad thought of TV and the effects it would have on our society.  For those who haven’t seen that article, basically my dad felt that TV would turn us into a nation of idiots, thus he called it an Idiot Box.  I can’t imagine what dad would think if he could see some of the stuff that people now say and do on the internet today.   It never ceases to amaze me the things that people will write in post on Face Book, Twitter and Yahoo that they would never say to another person in a face to face conversation.  The internet gives some people the kind of courage to say things that they could never bring themselves to say in polite company.   Given that most of us would never say many of the things in person that we post on the internet, let’s make some New Rules!

• New Rule – If you’re married, you’re not permitted to use Face Book or Twitter to search for your old flame, or ex-spouse.  If it didn’t work last time, it’s not going to work now and all you can do is cause yourself problems so “Don’t Do It”!
• New Rule – If you’re an adult, don’t use Social Media to fight with your spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, next door neighbor or anyone else.  You are after all an adult, if you have an issue with another adult, try talking to that person face to face as using the internet to express your beef will only serve to escalate the situation. 
• New Rule – If your kid is in a dispute with another kid, unless there is the potential for it to turn violent, stay out of it.  You had your opportunity to be a kid, now it’s your child’s turn!  You are not to Face Book the little girl down the street because she’s in a beef with your little sweetheart, if it’s that bad, try talking to her mother.  Wow, did I just say that?  What a great idea!
• New Rule – No more Face Book on the office computer, your employer pays you to work, not play around on the internet at work.  If you work for a large company like a bank, insurance company or other large employer, your internet traffic is probably being monitored.  How much of a smuck will you feel like when you have to go home and tell your spouse that you got fired for playing on the internet?  Think it can’t happen?  I actually know one person to whom it already has, so follow the rule.
• New Rule – We all want to think that our friends want to know what we’re doing every minute of the day, but not really.  Fact is that no one really cares if you just finished your morning constitutional, just left the hair salon, nail parlor, golf course and so on.  As much as your friends might love you, I am certain that the honest ones will tell you that they don’t want to know about every minute of your day.
• New Rule – There are pictures that should be kept private, so please use some common sense when posting pictures.  Try not to embarrass yourself, your family, friends or employer by what you post in the internet, after all the fact that you’re an idiot isn’t their fault and none of them should have to defend you.
• New Rule – We love your kids but there are things that happen to your kids that are best kept within the confines of your home.  I personally love reading about the accomplishments of my friends children, but none of us need to know that little Johnny or Sally Sue took their first crap in the potty today.  I know, you’re proud, but in the future, just smile and try to keep that excitement to yourself.
• New Rule – If you have racist, homophobic or generally hateful views, do your best to keep them to yourself!  Most sane people could care less about your views and in case you haven’t noticed, the people that you think are friends have started to keep you at arm’s length because they don’t want to be associated with your view of the world. 

Finally, if you’re going to use Social Media, or comment on something that you read on Yahoo or another internet site, think about your mother’s reaction if she were to read what you’re about to write/post.  Most of you know that my mouth works much faster than my brain most days, so the reason that I like to write is that it gives me an opportunity to think before I say something.  Unfortunately many of us have the attitude that if it’s written on the net, we don’t have to own it, but nothing could be further from the truth.  Even if no one but you or I know that it was one of us who made the idiotic comment on the web, we still know, so my question before I post is always; If my mom reads this, what would she think?   

I’M JUST SAYIN

Ok, I’ve waited long enough to say this.  I’ve been watching the news for the last week and every single day I see people in the Middle East and Africa burning our embassy’s, killing Americans and trashing our freedoms, all because of a movie that I am certain 99% of them haven’t seen.  For more than 10 years now we’ve had troops in Afghanistan making every effort to help them democratize their country in the hope of better life, not to mention the billions of dollars we’ve given them and the loss of more than 2000 American lives lost.  In Libya, they pleaded with us to help them overthrow Gaddafi until we sent planes and troops and not to show their gratitude, those mopes torch our embassy and kill four Americans.  In Egypt, we helped them overthrow Mubarak, and less than a year later they too riot in the streets and throw fire bombs at our embassy.  I could go on with these examples, but I’m pretty sure you get the idea by now, so let’s move on. 

Ok, so how many of you remember the Shah of Iran who ruled that country until 1979?  Remember, like Mubarak, the Shah was our friend, yet when revolution broke out, we not only didn’t help our friend, we helped overthrow him.  Now, let’s see, how’s that working out for us?  It seems that every time one of the Middle Eastern countries has an uprising, they call on the good ole United States of America to help them fight their battle, and once those leading the revolution take our money and not only turn their backs on us, they give us their ass to kiss.  The very people we help do nothing to protect our diplomats or other Americans in their countries, they are hostile to our people and our government, yet we continue to give them billions in aid while we cut aid for the poor in our own country. 

Now these people say they have to riot and try to kill us because someone in our country insulted their god, so they have to exact revenge by burning things and killing innocent people.  Can you imagine how many dead Muslims there would be if Christians rioted and killed people every time they insulted Jesus Christ? Listen, I understand people taking their religion seriously, I’m serious about mine, but, me nor a single person I know (no matter how crazy they might seem) would kill someone because they insulted our god.  Now before anyone reminds me that there are Christians who have murdered people, you’re right, but we don’t collectively lose our minds and riot in the streets destroying our own country, not to mention murdering folks who have done us no harm.  We absolutely have more than our share of nut case preachers in this country, but Muslim countries carry nutty preachers to a whole different level.  How can a supposed man of god incite people to purposely commit violent acts against other, by strapping bombs to their bodies, filling vehicles with explosives, or just going out and shooting the innocent?  How can seemingly entire countries of people who practice a religion that’s supposed to promote peace not speak out and reel in the lunatic fringe among them?  More importantly, how can so many people in these countries try to make excuses for the monsters living among them?

Fact is that both you and I know that not all Muslims are violent terrorist.  Having said that, unless and until those Muslims who claim that they want to live in peace as part of the world community step out of the shadows and take their countries back from those who commit terror, they will continue to carry the stigma associated with their countrymen. 

I started this article by outlining what we’re doing wrong when dealing with Muslim countries, and thus far I’ve not given you any answers, so let me try and do that in closing.  In my view the United States Government needs to do the following:

• Cut off all aid (financial and other) to every country around the world that is hostile to America. Yes, I know that some people in those countries will suffer without our aid, but part of the problem is that many of them are suffering already.  When it hurts enough, they might just overthrow the tyrants.
• Bring our soldiers home Middle Eastern soil while continuing to target terrorist with drone strikes. We claim Afghanistan as an ally, yet our solders continue to be murdered by the very soldiers their trying to train to defend their country.  Anytime you have a partner that you can’t trust, you have to cut that partner loose.
• Stop all immigration to the US from every country in the Middle East except Israel.  This includes students and those on work visas.  Never forget that several of those on the planes flying into the Twin Towers on 911 were here on Student visas.  Israel is the only Middle Eastern country whose citizens we can trust not to commit terrorist acts if allowed in the country.
• If we stopped our oil companies from exporting most of the oil produced in America, and allowed more drilling in our country coupled with expanded use of alternative energy, I believe that we would be energy independent almost immediately.  Don’t get me wrong, I understand the global economy, but we can’t continue to do business with people who hate us and only do business with us because their making billions while they make plans to destroy our very existence.     

I know that some who read this will think that what’s been said is extreme, but if you really think about it, can you really think of any better solutions?  If you do, I would love to hear them, but I’m betting that most will agree that the solutions above are a pretty good start!

I’M JUST SAYIN

As a person with multiple children and grandchildren, I truly understand people who want more for their children, and I even understand those who spoil their children by giving them the things their parents would have never given them or approved of, but let’s examine our relationship with our children shall we.  Almost everything done in America today no matter what they do will try and tie it to some cause associated with children.  Politicians want our votes so that they can secure our children’s futures, Educators want more money so that they can better prepare our children for the future; the police will violate every paragraph in the constitution in the name of protecting children (a good thing).  Have you ever heard someone say “I want my children to be better off than I am”?  How about we have to secure our future for the children, or if we don’t do this, that or the other thing our children will pay the price?  I hear these statements over and over again, almost daily, and sometimes find myself wondering, can these people be serious? 

If you’ve ever said any of the above statements, I’ve got news for you.  Your children and mine were born better off than us, and if they aren’t succeeding in life, it’s mostly our fault.  In case you’ve forgotten our parents didn’t baby us and buy us the world, they made sure that we learned to take care of ourselves and survive in the world, but not us, with our kids.  How many of you ever rode your bike or skate board with knee pads and a helmet on?  Not only did we not wear helmets or pads, if we fell, our parents made us get up and try it again.  I remember once my brother Harry and I built a bike from scrap parts and forgot to hook up the brake. When I got on to take the first ride and realized that the brakes didn’t work I decided to stick my right foot between the tire and frame to slow down, turns out that was a really bad idea only realized when my foot got stuck and I was going head first over the handle bars.   My mom patched me up, and my dad laughed like hell, but neither ran out and purchased a helmet and they surely didn’t make us stop riding our bikes.  

From a wealth standpoint our children are significantly better off than we were, if for no reason because we’ve spoiled them by giving them everything in life, and bailed them out at every opportunity.  We defend them when they do wrong, we spoil them with all the riches that we never had, we buy them nice cars, the best clothes, cell phones, computers and yes even help them purchase homes. I purchased my first car for $125 when I was 18 from a junk yard after working for weeks and saving for it; before that I walked or caught the bus to get from point A to B.  My mom and dad never owned a new car, so there was no way I could expect them to buy something for me to drive and at that time I didn’t know any kid in my neighborhood who had a car paid for by his or her parents.  Given what my generation had to work for, it amazes me that today’s middle class parents will go into debt to purchase fancy new cars for 16, 17 and 18 year old kids to drive.  Once they’ve purchase that new ride for Jr., and get the bill for the insurance, they promptly call their insurance agent and complain about the rate being too high.  Yep that’s right, get a teenager a new car that they’ll probably wrap around a pole in the next six months and expect the rate to be that of a 40 year old.  I don’t want to be a hypocrite, so in the interest of full disclosure, I did purchase pre owned cars for all of my children when they turned 17 if their GPA was at least 3.0, but they all had very strict restrictions, most importantly if your GPA dropped and you lost your discount for being a good student, hand over the keys!  Yes, I too am one of the parents who spoiled my children far too much and now I’ve started on my grandchildren.  I remember once in 1998 a co-worker and I decided to go through our check books and add up how much money we each had either given, loaned or spent on our children over a 6 month period and I have to say that I was shocked when I saw those numbers, I seriously had no idea it was so much.  I only wish that I could say that this experience showed me the error of my ways, but honestly even today if I get that emergency call, text message or email, good ole dad shows up with cash in hand. 

People, our children are so much better off than we are and they were born that way.  They have many more amenities in life, for the most part they are better educated, get better jobs and make a hell of a lot more money at young ages than most of us did.  If we would just pull those Silver Spoons from their mouths and let them grow into their own; if we just take the helmets and knee pads off, show them how to pay their own way, let them walk if they can’t pay for their own rides, and do without the “Stuff” in life that they want but don’t need and many times can’t afford.  I know what you’re thinking; I’m a parent or grandparent, I can’t just say no to my children and grandchildren, but I’m telling you that we have to if we truly want them to be better off.  Many of you reading this grew up poor as did I, so when I look at my children and grandchildren, there is no doubt, they were comparatively born with silver spoons in their mouths, and so did everyone of yours, weather you’re willing to admit it or not. 

As parents we can’t allow the politicians and others to use our children as pawns to tell us how bad off we are in the greatest country in the world.  Even people born poor in America will be better off than their parents were and there is no argument that can be made to the contrary.  If you want to keep giving your children the world, that’s ok with me, but let’s all stop saying we’re doing it for the kids, or that we’re concerned they won’t be better off because anyone with eyes should be able to clearly see that they are!

I’m just sayin

For more than two years now I’ve listened to people complain about everything from the economy to the state of American Society, and more than 90% of that talk has been negative.  Every day, our politicians, news people and even the man on the street don’t seem to see the glass as being half full, but totally empty with no hope of being refilled, so I thought I would examine a couple of the things that so many seem to think is so bad.

Jobs – While the politicians and news guys all seem to think that everyone in America is unemployed, someone should remind them that in a country of more than 350 million people, if 23 million are unemployed, that means that 92% of the country is employed.  In Northern Virginia where I live, that percentage is probably closer to 96 or 97% and frankly I don’t know a single person who is either unemployed or under employed.     If you consider that many unemployed people have specific criteria that need to be met before they will even consider taking a job, the unemployment rate is significantly lower than advertised.  Let’s take a look at some of those criteria and possible solutions.  I can’t take that job, it doesn’t pay enough.  Really, if it doesn’t pay enough, then get a second job to help get by until you can do better, myself and many others I know have worked two jobs and it didn’t kill us, there’s no reason to think it will hurt you.  That job’s in another state, I can’t move.  Why the hell not?  Let’s see, you’re unemployed and someone is willing to give you a job, but you can’t move?  I know, your family is in that crappy town that you grew up in and you just can’t bring yourself to leave.  Not to worry, the Greyhound will bring you back for a visit once you make some money at that new JOB!  My favorite excuse is the person who says “I make more by collecting unemployment”.  My solution for you is get a job you @!#$% A-Hole.  Do you have any idea what the employment rate would be if we all thought like these dumb asses? 

 Americas Greatness – The other area where I constantly hear folks complain is about the greatness that is America is in decline.  Clearly these people live in a different America than I do.  If you think that America is in decline, ask any immigrant from anywhere in the world who has come here for economic freedom and opportunity.  When people come here from other countries, they recognize the greatness that is America, they love the fact that in this country you always have the opportunity to succeed if you’re just willing to sacrifice and work hard enough.  Those folks aren’t worried about who the president is, or what a bunch of A-Holes we have in the congress, their focused on achieving the American dream.  I hear people say things like “Obama is ruining the country, or the Republicans are driving us over a cliff and both groups know that their statements aren’t true, yet they continue to spout their quackery in an effort to impress and confuse the ignorant and misinformed.   According to people like Rush Limbaugh, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, Sean Hannity and the rest of the left/right talking heads, not only is America in decline, it’s totally the fault of anyone who doesn’t think or look like they do!  I sometimes find it hard to believe that not only do people listen to such idiots they actually believe what they hear and walk around spouting the same nonsense in public.  The truth is that most of the people following this line of thinking identify themselves by who they voted for in the last election or who they plan to vote for in November.  The problem with that kind of thinking is that it’s closed minded which leaves little room for reason or alternative thought.  If you’re one of these people I suggest that you consider the following, “Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow”.  What this quote means to you Mr.& Mrs. Democrat and Republican is open your mind to some alternative thought, perhaps you’ll find that your party isn’t right all of the time, there may actually be alternatives to what the radical left and right have to say.  America is not be perfect, it never has been and never will be, but this is still a great country that isn’t in decline, but rather is being destroyed from within by the very people who claim to care the most about its success.   Maybe rather than following the politicians, talking heads and news media down the negative path, perhaps we should push those idiots aside take this great country back for the sane amongst us and head down a more positive road. 

I’m Just Sayin

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