Ron’s Reflections

Between my father and myself, we served in the U.S. Air Force for over three decades because we believed in the promises of America, if not always its practices. I used to believe the people I was defending shared the same values and differed only in how to realize them. It took the Presidential campaign of 2008 and its aftermath to cause the scales to fall from my eyes and help me see there is yet another war to be fought, but this time against a culture that finds life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness repugnant and believes the end of subjugating us to their worldview justifies the means.
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I’ve been puzzled and a little worried about my reaction to Barack Obama’s victory. I’ve seen black people weep openly, choke up in public, and exult in President-elect Obama’s accomplishment, yet I’ve been sober and dry-eyed about it. Yes, I’m intellectually capable of acknowledging the historical and symbolic nature of his election but I’m not emotional about it.

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After declaring in a previous post that “my skinfolk ain’t necessarily my kinfolk,” a black correspondent objected to my refusal to vote for Barack Obama simply because we’re of the same race. This was my response to her:

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As I scanned the faces of the joyous crowd listening to President-elect Obama’s victory speech early this morning, my heart broke, not just for the courageous and honorable war hero and public servant I supported for President whose political career is now in its twilight, not just for the trailblazing female governor from Alaska who was still the target of mean-spirited online commentary at a time which called for grace and healing, but also for the people in the crowd itself. They have invested so much in this idea of “change” in the person of Barack Obama and the hope and expectation in their faces was too much for me to take. That this man was able to persuade a majority of people in this country that he stands for change is more of a testament to his considerable political skills than the novelty of his ideas. In fact, one could lay his prescription for the nation atop John Kerry’s or Al Gore’s, shine a light through them and find nary a stray ink mark or deviating sentence. “I will listen to you, especially when we disagree,” he proclaimed. Very well, then, Mr. Obama — how about some real change for a change?

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In three days, you will have an opportunity that comes around once every four years, and I’m not just speaking about the election of our next President. This is your opportunity to strike back at the elitists who insult your intelligence, belittle your values and attack your faith. This is your opportunity to remind them that, in the words of Alexander Hamilton, “Here…the people rule.”

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I cannot believe the lies slots proponents and our elected officials are telling in order to intimidate us into voting for slots. I received a flyer in my mailbox this week that is so full of falsehoods I’m not sure how its authors sleep at night.

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The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a “black issues” think tank, estimates that Barack Obama could receive 94 percent of the black vote, the highest since President Lyndon Johnson was elected in 1964. I find being one of the six percent who isn’t voting for him liberating, however. Freed from the tyranny of basing my worldview entirely on my skin color, I’m allowed to be the unique individual that God made me.

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“Don’t tell me words don’t matter!” ~ Senator Barack Obama

Dear Senator Obama:

You hate the word “socialism” when applied to your tax plan because you know Americans reject socialism as anathema to our values. Since words matter, let’s take a closer look at what socialism is and how you and Senator Biden in your own words described your plan to the American people.

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The modern Democratic Party claims its origins in the Democratic-Republican Party of Thomas Jefferson, our third President. As I see our country being rushed by the Democrats toward expanded government, excessive taxation and restricted liberty while Republicans offer tepid resistance, I think this is a good time to explore the words of President Jefferson and challenge ourselves to defend the principles for which Thomas Jefferson stood.

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In 1969, President Richard Nixon popularized the phrase “silent majority,” referring to those Americans who weren’t out in the streets protesting the Vietnam War or engaging in the sexual revolution or the drug culture, and who generally weren’t publicly vocal about their views. At the time, he was contrasting these people with the more vocal and radical citizens who took to the streets, wrote opinion pieces or appeared on TV and the radio, implying that they were in the minority.

Recently, reports and videos have been circulating about the increasing rage on display at rallies for John McCain and Salin Palin as the election nears. Liberals complain that Senator McCain and Governor Palin are stirring up resentments and division with their increasingly critical rhetoric about Senator Barack Obama’s past alliances with unsavory characters, or they point to the angry people at these rallies and say they are indicative of the kind of people who support Republicans and/or conservatives. The latter opinion is typical condescending liberal claptrap and it explains in part the anger that’s on display. Read the rest of this entry