“Getting Into Things I Should Not”

Okay, my better judgment is not to write this post…

 

Writing my books, promoting them, and inserting some hopefully helpful posts to other author comrades, these are the main reasons I’m at all involved in this magical world of cyberspace — this maddening social complex that includes Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Author Networks, widgets, tags, links, settings, you name it, it’s here! Maddening? Yes, because I cannot keep up with it all — I’m a few generations away, and you probably get tired of hearing me say ‘I’m an anachronism,’ and/or ‘I’m an old dog trying to learn new tricks,’ both statements true and should certainly inform you of my aging status. The writing is the main reason so I’m going to stick around as long as I can.

 

The ‘better judgment’ thing? Despite all the risks, I might as well spill my proverbial guts, lose some friends, win some friends, or just become boring. Here goes…

 

Last night, the CBS’ Sunday night prime time line-up began with ’60 Minutes’ and an interview with President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. Longtime correspondent for ’60 Minutes,’ Steve Kroft, was the interviewer, a gentleman with superior investigative talent who has been honored with several Peabody Awards, many Emmy Awards, including a ‘Lifetime Achievement Award,’ a gentleman respected through the years for asking tough questions to get to the truth of any situation. It certainly does not matter, but I, too, have been a fan of Steve Kroft and was looking forward to this interview with much anticipation, hopeful that ‘we the people’ would finally get some answers to nagging questions about Benghazi, Libya. Mr. Kroft prefaced the interview by saying that the White House had allowed only thirty minutes for the time slot.

 

Some people I’m sure will consider this interview a wonderful piece of journalism. To those people, I extend my respect. My admiration and respect for Steve Kroft is still intact. I’m sure he had his very good reasons for turning the thirty minutes into a ‘love fest’ and long subtle verbal embraces between the President and Secretary. Perhaps Mr. Kroft’s format was determined for him by his network and/or the White House.

 

It simply took me by surprise. With only thirty minutes allowed, I expected Mr. Kroft to get right to the point and ask some vital questions about an attack that took an Ambassador’s life and the lives of three other heroic Americans. I expected at least the connection would be made to the significance of the date on which the Benghazi attack took place — a day, I should hope, would live in infamy of all Americans: September 11. The attack on our embassy in Benghazi, Libya took place on the eleventh anniversary of that awful day of September 11, 2001, when mindless terrorists commandeered four separate US commercial airline jets and brought their ‘holy war’ to our homeland. I expected some final truths to be rendered on that Benghazi attack, more than, “It’s a dangerous world out there…,” more than, “We’re working to solve the problems and make sure it doesn’t happen again…,” more than just a few seconds of meaningless rhetoric intended to make up for the inconsistencies (some might say, ‘lies’) we heard the days after the attack and all these weeks that have followed. Truth does matter, and people have the right to the truth.

 

What the eagerly awaited ‘interview’ became was simply another long ‘campaign’ delivery by two leading figures in the Obama Kingdom. (Can’t help but wonder how many friends I’ve lost up to this point?) In my simple mind, it was thirty minutes designed to broaden, strengthen, otherwise solidify the Obama political base of hungry feeders at the trough of tax payer money — otherwise known as the entitlement masses, those who have found it easier to take from other peoples’ labors than to perform their own… AND, I’m not writing here about the social security folks, the Medicare folks, the helpless and poor through no fault of their own… AND, I’m not writing here to be labeled a ‘racist’ because we have a black president. I believed him and his ‘change’ platform of ideas in 2008. I wanted him to have his chance to lead our country, his chance to guide us to some higher plateau of hope. No, I’m not a political activist and far-right loon. Yes, I’m conservative in most of my avenues of thought. Yes, I could see the eloquence, the intelligence, the ability to identify with all of a nation’s people, in this man called Barack Obama. No, the color of his skin did not bother me one iota. In fact, it pleased me to think we were finally bringing down once and for all an ugly barrier in our history.

 

What bothers me is that our president has not brought us to that plateau of hope, to a change that makes a positive difference. What bothers me is that our country’s business is not being administered, that we have people who need jobs, that our economy is trillions of dollars in debt, and we still reelect President Obama to a second term of office. Instead of a consensus gatherer, a problem solver, and one who unites, we have a ‘constant campaigner.’ That is likely not fair because the people have spoken, and Mr. Barack Obama is our President.

 

It just seems to me that our current government is going too far away from what our founding fathers intended in our great guiding document, the US Constitution. Someone sent me these five statements which counter what this current administration appear to be doing:

 

1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. 2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. 3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. 4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it. 5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.

 

Right about now you’re asking yourselves, “What the hell does this guy know about anything?” Well, you see, that’s my problem! Remember that ‘judgment’ statement in the first sentence of this post? There is a good likelihood that I don’t know about anything! I just do a little reading (some of it is political, if that counts), do a little writing, listen to television commentators, pundits, people I consider wise in their knowledge of history and government. I did divorce the liberal left years ago and became more conservative. I do not believe I’m too radical, really just want what’s best for our country. AND, darn it! That’s what some of my friends on the left say as well. So, either I’m looking at life and history through rose-colored glasses, not getting the true picture, or, this crazy old world just has to have its power struggles, these political rifts and quid pro quos. It’s crazy because those of you who might be liberal believe you’re correct in raising taxes and not cutting spending. You believe you’re right in giving the government ‘daddy and mommy’ status in our lives, controlling our engines of growth and prosperity. Me? I believe you’re wrong.

 

So, here’s the deal! I’ve had my little say here, have likely irritated a lot of folks, but, just try to understand, I had to get it off my mind and not let it stay there and fester. Those of you I’ve offended, you go ahead and do the same thing… write a post and get it off your mind. That way, we can keep this sometime uncivil war between left and right going on for more and more generations. We can let the kids handle the whole mess, or, ‘the Machines!’

 

Wonder if I’ll ever watch ’60 Minutes’ again? Ah, sure I will!