Viva la Revolution!

Remember Remember the Sixth of November…

            I know, I know, the saying goes “Remember, remember the Fifth of November…” et. Al… But, in light of Tuesday’s events we may have to change the saying for this year. And, in case you’ve been living under a rock these past ten months or if you are not an American, on Tuesday we, Americans that is, get to elect a new leader of our country. Now, this leader can be the same one we’ve had for the past four years or it could the new guy. Either way, to me at least, it doesn’t matter.

            We get to vote for person A or person B, or in some cases you can vote against person A or against person B. It is your choice but this only means there are only two camps a citizen can choose from. But I don’t fit into either one of those camps, nor do a lot of my friends, and we are definitely not the majority in this country. Most of the people I call friends are free thinkers, creators and producers. They don’t fall into any category, they may have at one point in their lives but today, they don’t. They are neither left wing nor right wing. Sure some of them, like myself, have beliefs from one or even both sides yet we are not conflicted on these opinions because they are based on our own personal beliefs.

            Beliefs… funny concept really. I mean think about what you personally believe in… on any topic. And think to yourself, Hmm, I wonder if I would change my belief is I were handed evidence that what I believe on this topic is wrong. Would I change my belief or would I ignore the evidence and stick to my original thought? And if you change your mind due to the evidence, some may call you a flip-flopper, or a traitor, or an idiot or intelligent, educated and thoughtful. Whichever the case, I would applaud you for learning something and moving on to a more enlightened path.

            I mean, after all, isn’t that one of the purposes of life? To learn knowledge, absorb information and to try and make the world a better place tomorrow then it was today? To give our posterity a chance at a better future? Aren’t these reasons instilled in us by our parents, teachers and fore-fathers?

            I used to think of myself as a republican, you see what I did there? I said republican, not Republican, I used a small “r”. Which should tell you something, if you think “Oh my gawd! He’s one of those! Someone get me a torch so I can kill this fascist ass!” Then you would be wrong. The small “r” means I’m for limited government control over a citizen’s life and liberty. And, a government whose primary purpose is foreign affairs, and maintaining peace and free trade with other countries through diplomatic discussion and fairness for all parties concerned. A government who has no military industrial complex whose sole purpose of existence is to seek out conflict so they can justify their livelihood. (Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a peace-nik, I do believe in such things as a just-war. I mean there have been on numerous occasions where war has been good for a country. i.e. Revolutionary War, War of 1812, WWI, WWII, Civil War)

            But, I believe war for wars sake is wrong and can only promote a depletion in citizens faith in their leaders. Don’t believe me? Ask a Viet Nam vet or even a Hippie from the late 1960’s or 1970’s. That is if you can find a hippie who hasn’t sold out their beliefs in the 1980’s for the almighty dollar and for the iPhone in the 2000’s.

            I don’t believe in segmenting any citizen, we in America are Americans, not some hyphenated American. We all have the right to be happy and deserve to love and marry the person we want, regardless of gender. (That said, I am on the fence about interspecies marriage.) If you belief two people who love each other shouldn’t get married because of the sanctity of marriage or because some bible verse, I respect your opinion, but I will never agree with it.

            I’ve left out, on purpose, a statement in the Declaration of Independence, that statement or actually, fraction of statement is, “…pursuit of happiness.” Why? Because this part of the declaration has given me much pause lately. Pause because when I was younger I truly believed this meant an individual was guaranteed the right to seek out what made them happy and try to maintain that happiness for the rest of their life. Like a quest so to speak. But now, as an almost middle aged man who is fifteen years past his self imposed expiration date, I don’t think it means what I thought it did. Now, l believe it means We the People of the united States have a right, as a majority to seek out what will make us as a country happy. To work at maintaining the quest for happiness for us, as a country and not as an individual, to ensure the laws of the land don’t show preferentiality to any one person or group of people. Maybe I’m dreaming again, or maybe I’m old enough to realize the myopic view of my youth was skewed by my own selfishness.

            Looking back at some of these statements I see I’m sort of leaning left in my life, but mostly what I’ve written about is limited government power, which swings the pendulum back to the right and landing on center. I can push that pendulum even further right by saying I’m all for guns. I like mine and I hope you like yours. That is, if you have one, if you don’t, hey, it’s your personal choice to not have one and far be it for me to tell you differently. Just grant me the same respect is all I ask.

            As for abortion… I don’t necessarily agree with it as birth control, but I can’t say it should be outlawed. Why? Because, who am I to tell a person what they can or can’t do with their body? I’m no one. Not only that, if I had the power to tell someone yes or no on this or any topic, then someone else has that right over me. And I know I don’t want anyone telling me what to do with my life and my body. Also, I don’t know nor do I want to know all the pressures someone is going through that would put them in a situation to make that decision. So why have it outlawed? It makes no sense to me.

            Ok, I see this blog is getting really long and I could write another thousand words on other political topics but I am going to save you from my endless diatribe and babbling. On Tuesday, if you are a registered voter, I highly recommend you go out and vote, I don’t care who you vote for or even why. It is your vote and you have an opportunity to participate in the course of our country. I know I will be participating.

            Have a great week.

PS. The Who said it best;

We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgment of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
And I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again

Change it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fall that's all
But the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they all flown in the last war

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
And I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no! 

I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
For I know that the hypnotized never lie

Do ya?


There's nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now the parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss