Vanity License Plates | Main | Carnival of the Recipes #53 - or the First Carnival in Year 2
August 18, 2005
Rerun time
I posted this over a year ago, but it still goes. So, I thought it worth another go round.
1. Adults are responsible for their own actions. Blaming their own behavior on drugs, alcohol, coming from a poor family or because they are gay or black or female or brown or white is neither rational nor useful. Every day we all have choices to make - good ones and bad ones, and if you make bad choices, then don't blame me and expect me to pick up your pieces if things don't go well for you. (naturally, folks who are mentally ill are exempt from this rule)
2. Life is precious. Whether you believe in God or don't, life is the most precious thing we have. That includes the life of a baby growing in a mother's womb. I get annoyed at all the liberals who think that American deaths in Iraq (and every one of those deaths is distressing, but probably necessary in a war) are the worst thing that can happen on earth, when millions of Americans have been denied being born because abortions are too easy to come by for any reason whatsoever (let's leave rape out of this discussion, please). The Death Penalty should be abolished, and replaced with life in prison - no parole whatsoever.
3. Education is the road out of poverty. Many public schools in cities and suburbs fail to teach children the basics - math, reading, grammar. They graduate these kids, and when the kids can't keep jobs, they make bad choices (see #1). Alternative education choices, including private schools, give kids a much better chance to become productive adults because they spend more time on the basics.
4. Not all values/cultures/morals are equal. I am sorry folks, but cultures like fundamentalist Islam, where women are property and slavery is okeydokey do not have as high a value as Western culture. They are not equivalent to us in morals. Fundamentalist Islamic Arabs want to rule the world and force us all to be their slaves or convert to their rather perverted view of Islam. I would even go so far as to say that American culture is better than Western European culture.
Why? We have a much freer society than any country in Western Europe, and way less socialism. And we are not nearly as snooty as the French.
5. We all have the right to protect ourselves and our homes from harm. I am a gun owner. I am proud of that fact.
6. I don't care if someone is gay or lesbian or straight. What is done in the privacy of one's bedroom is not my concern.
7. The money I earn is my money. I work very hard for it. Taxes are necessary, but politicians need to stop thinking of my money as the government's money. We need to keep taxes as low as possible - this encourages growth. (Economics 101)
8. We all have the freedom to worship as we choose - so long as that religion does not harm other people (Islamic fundamentalism comes to mind, as does Satanism). The courts are flat out wrong when they say that Christians cannot express themselves but Muslims and Jews can when it comes to religious symbols.
9. Owning property is a fundamental right. Home ownership is a wonderful thing. Habitat for Humanity is a wonderful organization that helps people own their home. I would rather see home ownership subsidized by the federal government than Section 8 housing and inner city projects.
10. Women and men should be paid the same for the work they do. I am in a predominantly male environment at work - believe it or not, I am a technical consultant. It is still an old boy's network, and I fight that every day.
11. A free market that is competitive (which means either eliminating or regulating monopolies) is a really good thing.
12. A free market that allows for free trade with other countries is also a good thing - as long as we don't allow other countries to dump artificially low-priced goods on us in an attempt to kill our own production. See #11.
13. The so-called War on Drugs needs a peace treaty. It is no more that a repeat of the alcohol prohibition of the 20's. The government should tightly regulate and license drugs like marijuana and possibly cocaine. Other drugs, I'm not too sure what to do about - some are just downright lethal. The gang problems our cities have will not exist without the profits they make from the drug trade. We have way too many kids in prison for doing stupid assed drug tricks - they should be out and learning how to make a legal living.
14. Every single one of the Bill of Rights is what makes our country so wonderful. That includes the right to gun ownership and the rights to worship as we please. I am worried that too many judges are abridging our freedom from unreasonable search and seizure - and the folks pushing for these searches without warrants are from both sides of the political spectrum - stop it, I say!
15. The elderly - as children, we need to take more responsibility of our parents' needs when possible - not the government. Too many times I hear very wealthy people complaining that their mom or dad can't afford rent or to eat because their medications are too expensive - for God's sake, help your parents! They raised you - the federal government should not be taking the place of families. If someone has no family, that's different - of course we should help them - but the next rich BMW-driving SOB who complains that his mom or dad is suffering because there is not enough Medicare - well, I would say something really rude here!
16. Be nice to people - even if you do not agree with their politics, it is important to try to remain polite. Otherwise, you end up with a bunch of people screaming at the world - KOS comes to mind.
Posted by Beth at August 18, 2005 8:10 AM
Comments
Excellent rerun, Beth. And I would point out that #1 -- personal responsibility, or lack of it -- is the driver behind almost all of the other items listed.
Posted by: Mona at August 18, 2005 9:34 AM
Wow...I agree with everyone of these! Very, very well put!
Posted by: ALa at August 18, 2005 6:50 PM
Regarding why American society is better than W. Europe
"Why? We have a much freer society than any country in Western Europe, and way less socialism. And we are not nearly as snooty as the French."
I agree on the socialism, which sucks. But when you say "much freer", what do you mean? I would certainly argue that one way that European culture is better is that it is far less Puritanical and more libertarian on things like drug use.
Posted by: James at August 19, 2005 8:57 AM
James, I mean legally free - They are not free to own guns, speak their minds under nearly all circumstances and go to college without being pegged as not worthy for college at age 13 or so.
Economically, we are much freer, also - in France, you are only allowed to work 32 hours a week - so productivity sucks there - and people rat out neighbors who work more than that?
Nah, we have much less government interference in our lives.
Posted by: Beth at August 19, 2005 9:14 AM
Well, you are certainly back with a vengeance, Beth! Posting at Kos of all places, and now this. I haven't had much to say up until now, but I'll bite on that comment. Politely, of course.
1. There are several European countries where gun ownership is perfectly legal. We do not have a gun culture in England, and we do not want one. Nothing has been taken away from the common man here. If you wish to pursue the sport of shooting, you may.
Not one person in my family has ever owned a firearm. In several generations. That is because we are not criminals. I live in a busy suburb of London where there have been two instances of gun crime around the general public in about ten years. Yes, people own them. But they are not the sort of person any decent member of society would know, or want to be involved with.
2. We don't have The Patriot Act. In fact, until very recently, freedom of speech rights were given to those most undeserving of them. Namely Islamo-facist clerics preaching hate in the wake of 911. Don't think that didn't sicken me.
3. Education: I didn't decide to go to University until a year after leaving the equivalent of High School. Most people in my class were not in their late teens. They were women who had studied to gain a place at Uni having had their families. Their children were grown, or growing. Some were married. Some were divorced. I admired them very much.
4. In the U.K, the government can buy your property if it is in the interest of the nation as a whole. If a major road is to be built, for example. This does not apply to business or commercial stuff. It is also the law that the home owner is given a price above current market value. No back rent either.
France will go to hell on it's own back. I have nothing to say about their stupid commie labor laws. Oh, I just did.. :-)
Your point regarding the elderly was excellent. It is something about which I had never given much thought until now. I agree with much of your original post, but even if I didn't, I hope that one day I will have the ability to state my views as succinctly.
Posted by: Sally at August 19, 2005 3:50 PM
Right on! This sort of manifesto is always worth a rerun. Otherwise the forces of socialist mediocrity will forget there are people like you (& me) too.
Posted by: geekgirl2 at August 20, 2005 9:01 PM