What Life Should Be Like

In America today, everything is sooo screwed up. We live in a time where what is truly wrong is considered right, and vice versa. Those who can remember life in the 50's will tell you that things were so much better. Neighbors actually knew one another, people often left their doors unlocked, and there weren't boogeymen lurking around every corner. While it's true, those days weren't as truly wonderful as those who can remember them would actually like them to be, there's much to be said for living that way. So, what's changed? Really. What did? Well, for one, we let the devil in, so to speak. Our schools took the Bible out, and put "Johnny Has Two Daddies" in, or something to that effect; we let women kill their unborn children and called it a right, yet we coddle murderers and rapists because executing them is considered cruel and unusual punishment. We reward sloth and deviant behavior and tax the shit out of those who slave for a living, and we legislate morality by way of politicians who can't keep it in their pants.
I've been in a quandry for some time. As I've said before, I hate conflict; not so much because I'm fearful, but rather because I'm wrathful. When I see or hear of things that piss me off, I want to kill, literally. I don't take kindly to injustice, but I want to administer "street justice". I am of
the bent that sometimes, truly, that is the only way. I like the line in the movie "Shooter", where the Attorney General tells Bob Lee Swagger that, "this isn't the Old West, where the streets can be cleaned up with a gun....even though that's just what's needed". We, who obey the law, look after our families and do what the very real right thing is, should NOT be penalized for it; yet after every turn, there are those who see things differently, and want to impose THEIR will on us.
It's high time we shot back...and I never miss.

Social Justice

Of the myriad of terms that are used by the left, the one that irritates me the most is
"social justice". I don't know what it is about this term, but it leaves a terrifically bad taste in
my mouth. Now, I'm all for charity. Helping people is a noble and often necessary pursuit; but...
when this "help" becomes something of a "gospel" it belittles and neuters the True Gospel. In
some so-called Christian circles, there is even preached a "social Gospel", which is neither.
These folks, most of whom are liberal in both politics and religion, look at Scripture and glean
the passages that pertain to charity, and base their entire theology on them. This is not rght.
Yes, the Bible talks at length about helping the poor, etc., but this is not the main point. Charity
is practiced because you love God, but it is not the foundation of faith. God reminds us that,
while we strive to worship and serve Him, we must not forget our fellow man. This is what
Jesus meant when he chided the Pharisees about their strict religious observances. Though
they put on a good show, their hearts were far from God. Likewise, those today who preach
about "social justice" are doing much the same. This philosophy is also closely linked with
collectivist political practices, in fact they often go hand-in-hand. We, who are Christians are
not called to change the world, it can never be while evil still resides here; but rather we are to
point to The Way and to the One who can. In truth, what is called "social justice" is nothing
more than a scam to elevate the victimhood of a minority at the expense of everyone else.
While I have no doubt there are people out there who genuinely care about the plight of the
world's poor and often mistreated people, one must keep in mind that this has been going on
for millenia. Compassion for those people is one thing, but prayer and charitable
contributions to reputable organizations goes a lot further than buying over priced "fair trade"
coffee and uttering such mantras as"think globally, act locally", just to make yourself feel like
you're doing your part, ever will.

Tired

Lately, I've been having somewhat of a crisis of faith. Not faith in God, that remains secure,
but rather faith in myself. I'm guessing it has a lot to do with all the bull that's been coming out of D.C., and given the fact that I'm loathe to conflict. I've never liked to fight. Maybe that makes me weak and a coward, I don't know, but fighting to me is just plain stupid. I'm no pacifist, if push came to shove, I'd make damn sure that whatever the threat, it would be neutralized. No,
it's petty bickering and "schoolyard bullying' that pisses me off so much, in whatever guise it may take. I just want to be left alone, in peace. I resent people who desire to try and take advantage of me, who would want to rob me, or tax me, or whatever. I have no desire whatsoever to harm, deter, or otherwise infringe on another person, unless of course, they were to attack me first; but if I try and lead a peaceful life and remain polite, as I am wont to do, I would expect the same courtesy. That's what being civilized is all about. Is that really too much to ask?

I Wish I Were a Hobo

I've always had an affinity for "the Road". Wanderers, wayfarers, vagabonds, these types of people have always fascinated me. Perhaps it is their perceived freedom that is the allure, or
maybe it's just the absence of responsibility. In any case I've always wanted to live like this.
When I was 18, right after high school, I had thought about taking some gear and tramping on the power line that ran north to south near my home. I doubt that I would've gotten very far, but that was beside the point, I wanted to be free. Soon after, I was married, with a job, and later a kid, but the dream of being a road bum never left. Later it morphed into living out of a truck or a van, but that seems to be more hassle than what it's worth. Even now, more than twenty-five years later, and with far more aches and pains, I still have that desire. Perhaps that has always been my vocation, I just never possessed the courage or gumption to embrace it. It's little wonder I'm so miserable. Well who knows, the way things are going, I might just get my wish?

Of Arms & The Police

In the United States today, the chances of an unarmed citizen being killed by police are probably better than even. In many jurisdictions police actions are on par with something that would be routinely seen in the Third World; residents of wrongly raided homes, people under the influence of drugs or alcohol, who are understandably belligerant, cases of mistaken identity, and people who have a limited command of English have all been victims of police lethality. It seems to me that the majority of these occurances have happened in places where the citizenry would be barred from the use of arms; in any event, the killing of a police officer, even in cases of self-defense, is considered by many to be an act of such severity, that it would warrant capital
punishment, as if the police were accorded some sort of demi-divine status. Police men and women are people, just like the rest of us, who have undertaken a job that can best be described as foolish. They demand respect, yet they themselves rarely give it. There is a certain animosity
among police today, they suspect everyone of being up to no good, and it is this deep-seated paranoia that is usually the cause of violent encounters. When they do happen, the offending offficer is more often than not, not held accountable. One thing that buggers me, why is it that
liberal supporters of civilian disarmament always insist that " only the police and the military need guns"? If there are to be no guns among the general populace, why on earth would the police need to be armed? The military I can see, but cops? No. If the people are unarmed, then the police should likewise be unarmed. There are a few countries in the world that still field unarmed police- Ireland, Iceland, Norway, New Zealand and the U.K. are but some examples.
With the exception of the U.K., these countries do not have the crime problems that we have here. I am not advocating disarming our police, but there has to be a limit as to what is acceptable behavior among those police. If an unarmed citizen goes down to a cop's bullet, he or she should be held just as accountable as anyone else, nor should the police be held in such light as to be considered "the only ones".

Sedition

There seems to be a new watchword among the collectivist left-"SEDITION". I wonder how many of these freaks actually know the true definition of this word? Ironically, it was these same people, who just a few short years ago, were hanging George W. Bush in effigy and claiming
that he was a reincarnation of Hitler. Now that their man is in the White House.....wwweeellll.....
anything bad said about him is, well, seditious. I do not like Obama, and it has absolutely nothing to do with his pigmentation. He is, like ALL Democrats before him, a megolomaniacal tyrant wannabe. In fact, in our entire history there has been only ONE good Democratic president; and that was Andrew Jackson. Unfortunately, for us, his legacy was so thorough and long-lasting that
all subsequent Democratic presidents were thought to be "men of the people". Nothing could be further from the truth. From Wilson onward, all such men had done nothing but enlarge the government and erode our rights. And just so you don't think I'm just picking on the Democrats,
the Republicans don't have much of a track record, either. We, who are alive today, have come to
a proverbial crossroads in our national history. We ARE no longer one nation, but two. There are the collectivists, who seek to fashion our country more along the lines of the European Socialist
democracies, and there are the individualists, who seek to return to the ideology of the Founders, one of maximum liberty with minimum intrusion. As for me....well I've never been much of a " joiner".

Lost Again

Sometimes, when life gets overwhelming, I tend to forget who I truly am. I begin to hate life, to wish it were over, or that it had never existed, for me, in the first place. But... then I get to the end of my road, and I find something to remind me that it's not all bad and that I'm trying to do or be something that I'm really not. Part of who it is I am, is a minimalist. Simplicity is my Holy Grail. I practice it in theory, not altogether in actuality. I guess genetics plays a role here; my parents were packrats. They were not sloppy, but they never got rid of stuff. I tend to be somewhat of a slob, not dirty, just cluttery. I never really did go for the "good life", you know, big house, fancy car, big bank account, but when my pockets are light, I loathe the decisions I'd made...but, I remember... One of the happiest times in my life is when I was in the Army in Hawaii. I lived in a one-room apartment for a month and then in the barracks, I didn't have a car, and few possessions. I had no baggage, it was liberating; then I spent 20 years accumulating a couple of tons of junk, and now I feel chained. For the past few months I've been in a funk, bored and depressed(call it cabin fever-blah!). Now that spring is coming I feel a renewed sense of self. My biggest problem is that I'm jaded. I've "been there, done that" so much so that nothing piques my interest anymore, at least nothing that I can afford. I'm also geting old, not too old, but the aches and pains of age are starting to catch up to me. Another thing that beleaguers me is regret. Whoever it was that said "have no regrets" is an idiot. Having no regrets is for assholes who die young, they have no time to regret; I... regret a lot of things.
Enough blathering for now, tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day, and I plan to exercise
my monniker and go for a walk. I know I'll feel better, at least for a little while.