The Face of the Shutdown

This is Matt Gaetz. A Representative from the state of Florida. He will be the reason this Government shuts down on Sunday. He has threatened the job of the Speaker of the House, and the Speaker has played his game. This isn't a political opinion, just an observation. 

What if?

What if politicians called you the victim?

What if politicians told you they were the only ones that could protect you?

What if politicians told you the other side is the enemy?

What if that is how you saw people who disagree with you?

What if one side told you it was all about progress?

What if politicians told you the other side wanted to take everything away from you?

What if one side told you it was about protecting traditional values?

What if politicians knew how to manipulate you?

Chances are the country would look like the way it does now.

What if we ignored politicians?

What if we began to dialogue with those who think differently with us?

What if we stopped seeing ourselves as victims?

What if we began to build friendships with those who look differently than us?

What if we stopped looking at the other side as the enemy?

What if we actually started loving those who would vote different than us?

What if we saw through the manipulation?

What if we didn’t let our history’s past define us?

Chances are we would build a more perfect union. One not built on hate, rather built on love for your fellow neighbor.

Will we ever be perfect? I doubt it. However, I believe it would be better than what we have now. We are a very diverse society, there is no way we will ever think the same on every issue. I am okay with that. What I am not okay with is the militarization of the “base” of each political party. We must be better. We can be better.

"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." - Romans 12:18

White Privilege

I am someone who finds it difficult to wrap my head around privilege. My childhood, I was made fun of, bullied, and ridiculed for being skinny, for having a nose that was "Jewish," for having bifocals, because "only old people have bifocals." As an adult, I have spent my whole adult life, up until the last year, in what would be considered poverty level income. When trying to get a job, I was told, "you are not the type of candidate we are currently looking for" (They were wanting to diversify, even though I was more than qualified). So when it comes to my life, I struggle. However, I also know, it is not about me. It is very easy to look at our lives and find the negatives and magnify those and say, "See there is no White privilege here!" And you know what, for some, that may be true, they are not privileged. However, when it comes to the system as a whole, whites do have a better chance than those that are black. Even with an equal amount of drug use between cultures, blacks are still twice as likely to be arrested. Blacks are more than likely to be profiled, and blacks are still more likely to live in poverty. The reason is because America is currently built to give the white man more of a fighting chance. Yet in order to see it, we often have to remove ourselves from the equation. I had to remove my experiences, my negatives from the equation. I had to look at the world without me. In one area in particular that I got to see it first hand was in the world of NASCAR. Only in NASCAR would you see a lone garage stall have a rope pull fashioned as a noose, have a crew member find it, and it turn out to be false, and have the one person, who was thought to be the victim and who did not see it, be blamed for the rush to judgement. Why is he blamed, I believe it is because of the color of his skin. NASCAR should probably get most of the pushback, but instead it is the driver. Most of it because he is fighting for what he believes is right. If it was anybody else, it would have been quietly pushed under the rug. While this is one example, there are many, who like Bubba, are not given the benefit of the doubt. Mostly because of the color of their skin. Again, in order to see it, I had to take myself out of the equation, because my experience does not equal truth. My experience would tell me that White Privilege does not exist, but then again, there is a lot of evidence that it does. 

My final thoughts. While I do believe there is Privilege out there, the one thing I will not do is apologize, nor will I shame myself for being White. I will not hate on fellow white people, I will not beg society to forgive my of my whiteness. I will not apologize for something that I cannot control. But what I will do is live my life, and continue to be a person with true empathy. I will be a person that is willing to listen, and have that discussion. We may disagree at the end of the conversation, but that is okay. Freedom grants us that opportunity. 

(I know it has been years since my last post, and I probably won't post often, but if I have things to say I will say it.)

A Lot to Process Before the Election

I know there are many who will vote for their president based on whether there is an (R) or a (D) right next to their name. That is all that some people care about. They will post about the faults of the other candidate and will not do the same for their own. In fact, they will downplay the significance of the problem their candidate faces. You will hear people say, "It is locker room talk" or "Why are we talking about emails?" Unfortunately, it is so much more than that. Americans have picked probably the two disliked candidates to date, and then they say, "I must pick the lesser of two evils." It is like people are glued to the two parties and they have to stick with that choice. Now, I understand not all third party candidates are on all 50 states ballots, and at this point, Gary Johnson does not look that much better. But with all the information that is coming in about these candidates, I am surprised that people can defend the actions of their parties candidate while blasting the other. It reminds me of the Bible passage in Matthew 7. 
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

We end up judging the other candidate without truly looking at our own. As a military member, I know it is more than just an email. As a guy, I know it is more than just locker room talk. I honestly cannot see where I can vote for either candidate based on the work they have put forth. Both candidates are equally flawed, yet one candidate is going to make it to the White House. I honestly do not see a point with these two candidates that we can finally come together and repair the divisions of the past few election cycles have brought. 

So, I ask you, the reader, to look at both candidates faults equally. If you do not know the importance of classified emails, find it out. If you think things are only "locker room talk" look again. Truly process the information. This is the next four years we are talking about. We need to have a better understanding of who our President is going to be. 

New Conservative Platform

Abortion
As a conservative we cannot endorse abortion, however, the Supreme Court has ruled on the issue, and unless some miracle happens the Congress cannot ban abortion, so, what should the conservative platform be? One should look to Europe. Many countries ban abortion no later than 20 weeks, and some go as early as 12 weeks. That should be the platform of Conservatives. Why? Because at this point and time conservatives are always on the defensive. In this way, Conservatives can now go on the offensive. The left has often times looked at Europe as a way of doing things. This way Conservatives can push back

Homosexual Marriage
Many Conservatives believe in traditional marriage. However, If it was broken down, they also believe all people deserve to be treated equally in the eyes of the government. We always have! We believe in equal tax laws, many on the conservative side even believe in a flat tax. With that said, A government should not tax more of an inheritance because you are not legally related, nor should they keep people from visiting loved ones from the hospital because of sexual orientation. The conservative movement should focus on removing marriage from the government. The alternative is to apply for a Government Union. Ministers cannot endorse these unions, leaving government officials (court house) to be the ones to sign off on these Unions. This then separates Church marriages and Government Unions. 

Illegal immigration and Border control
There is no way America can deport 11 million people. Will not happen. However when people think of the word Amnesty they think of a free pass. That should not be the case. Truth be told, there should be a path to citizenship, but that also involves not being able to get social security, and tax credits right away. There has to be some kind of penalty for coming in illegally when there were so many people to go through the system legally that are still waiting. In order to get this right, the one area that one must look at, securing the border. Which also would mean a temporary halt on immigration. One must close the borders, reinforce the border, and work on a way where the immigration laws can be fixed. Step one, Close the border, stop immigration. Step two, reinforce the border, maybe even include a neutral zone. Step three find a way to legalize those already here. Step four fix immigration laws on the book, streamline the process. Step five reopen the country for immigration.

Gun Control 
The second amendment gives the right to bear arms. While we have rights, we can lose them. Thus you need to reinforce the laws on the books.Conservatives should also sign on to if you are on a no-fly list that should equate to a no gun list. Now conservatives can add a way to appeal being on a no-fly list, but if there is evidence you should be on that list then there is a reason to withhold the right to purchase a firearm. They should also sign on to a universal background check. The same standard should apply to all 50 states. 

Religious Freedom
Most conservatives believe in the freedom OF religion, not the freedom from.  We understand the federal government should not establish a federal religion, but the observance of is not the same as establishing. If this country ever gets a Muslim president, and he chooses to cite the Koran, he has that right. We may not agree with it, but it is his right. One cannot ban religious observances from happening because that too would be an establishment of secularism which is a faith background. The issue is that we have become so divided on many issues we have decided things must go our way. We cannot have that. 

Foreign Policy
We cannot shut ourselves off from the world, but one cannot give up its sovereignty. The United States is always willing to come to the table for a compromise on issues, as long as the other party is a willing participant. We will not give aid to those who only want the handout. We will also not intervene in issues unless warranted. 

Climate Change
I don't believe in man-made climate change. I just do not see the actual science behind it. However, as conservatives, we should promote being good stewards of the earth. That means if there are better ways to use energy, we should find it. If there are ways to get off our dependence on fossil fuels, we should use it. Green energy is not bad. Wind energy is useful, and cleaner let's continue to develop wind farms. 

Education
Common core is not the answer. But neither is putting all your eggs in one basket like Oklahoma has done. They got most of their spending on education through the oil industry. When that collapsed so did education. There needs to be a better way to support education. Also, No Child Left Behind seemed to hurt more than help. Ways to fix the issue, Education needs to be a budget priority. You cannot tie education spending to a certain industry, it is not fair to the school system. Also, Cut the levels of standardized tests. When I was a Para-educator it seemed there were many tests and less time for teachers to be teachers. Let us put the education back into the hands of the teachers, and find ways to support them. 

Taxes
The current debt is at 19.5 trillion dollars. To think we are going to cut spending and fix the problem is a joke. We will need to cut spending, but it may be necessary to raise taxes. So how do we cut spending? Conservatives believe in a balanced budget, which cannot happen without sacrifice on both ends. We may need a tax increase in the short term, but where waste can be cut, it needs to happen. Where do we cut spending? Often times it is fought through politics. There needs to be a study that shows actual waste, and area's that can be improved. That way programs are not cut that actually do provide benefit to the country


In the Declaration of Independence, it says we have the right to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is my belief that that happiness is for the community, not the individual. If we all pursued our own desires, someone would ultimately ruin that for us. But as a community we deserve happiness, and that is only accomplished by working together.

Gary Johnson Deserves a Spot at the Debate

I want to start off by saying, I do not agree 100% with Gary Johnson. I do not know if he has my vote or not. But I will say that with the negative ratings of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, we need another voice at the table. For too long I have heard the phrases, "I am going to vote for the lesser of two evils," and "A vote for a third party is a wasted vote." The problem is these two phrases are what kill the republic. If you believe voting for the lesser of twi evils save your vote, you might as well stay home. By that logic most states are already decided anyways. If you are a democrat in Oklahoma, might as well stay home because your vote doesn't matter. If you are a Republican in California, might as well stay home. As a matter of fact, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania should be the only ones that vote, seeing as if every news agency is focused on those three states. We need to vote our conscience. If you truly vote for Clinton just because trump scares you more, you are a part of the problem. Give the other parties a chance. I know I am.

You are a Bigot

My hope is that the title got your attention. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was told that one day I would be considered a bigot. When you type bigot on a google search, you get this definition, "a person who is intolerant toward those holding different opinions." Though I do like their synonym as well, "partisan." Bigotry is not a one sided issue. This word is thrown out by the left towards anybody who does not conform to their idea. You will see this Election cycle candidates who cannot reach across the aisle because the other party, "has no ideas worth listening to." We have become so divided as a nation that nobody is willing to tolerate anybody else's opinion. I believe marriage was meant to be between a man and a woman. Does that make me a bigot? No. Now, if I said, "marriage is between a man and a woman, and all who disagree with me should be put to death." That would be bigotry. But I do not believe that. Many people who are called bigots and intolerant for their views on homosexuality do not believe that. But we get shut down for having a differing voice. That is actually closer to bigotry. So before you go off saying someone is a bigot or intolerant for not having the same views you have, take a step back. We need a more open dialogue. It is okay to disagree on issues. But if you are not willing to discuss those disagreements in a civilized manner, you are part of the growing problem that this country is facing. Partisanship.