Could It Be, A Generation X Revolution?

I really did not intend to talk about Generation X in this blog very much. But I guess you flock to who you are. I was one of those, who did not like that label, or any other for that matter. I never would admit being a part of Generation X, until about the age of 25. Again, I am indebted to Jen. She brought up the name of the authors of the book I read many years ago, that first influenced me into researching the Lost Generation. I sort of scoffed when I first read the book, then as I thought about it, it started making a little sense. By the time I was ready to reread the book and give it serious consideration, I had lost it, and have never seen it again. The book was called 13th generation by Neil and Strauss. I could not remember the authors names and I could not find the book, but I want that book.

Since I could not find the book, I delved headfirst into the literature and culture of the Lost Generation. This is when I fully realized that Neil and Strauss might have been onto something. There were a lot of similarities. I am thinking about doing a post of "discovering the Lost," where I talk about the literature and film of their generation, and how it influenced me. If anyone is interested in getting started, before I post it, just look for anything "bohemian". That is an excellent starting point.

But in this post discussing the Lost is not the topic. I want to discuss Generation X alone. Since I grew up, I have developed quite a pride in my generation and the struggles we have had. The struggles of most generations are societal in nature. For example, the Boomers had Vietnam and their whole Counter Culture, that brought their generation together. Generation X did not have this. Our struggles were more personal. We had drug use, homelessness, suicide, latchkey kids, and runaways. One thing that I would like to point out. Personal struggles have created a personal revolution. I will explain.

Generation X used to be known for it's shock value. Look at what we looked like. Had any other generation ever spent so much money, to look so poor? Ripped Jeans, graphic T-shirts (some costing up to 40.00), and acid wash. I mean looking back, Madonna kinda had the bag lady thing going on in the "Like a Virgin" video. This shocked the Boomer. In a way they feared us. Anyone remember Dee Snider from Twisted Sister walking into the Senate to take on the PMRC. The Senate was genuinely scared to death. I do believe that Dee Snider is in fact a younger Boomer, but if he could sit there and say that Tipper Gore had a dirty mind, then at the time, he represented my values fine.

Then somewhere along the way we grew up. We were not so shocking in appearance anymore. We started having kids and conforming (well, somewhat). I will admit, I was looking for us to take over with an "in your face" approach, reminiscent of our youth. That is not the case at all. In this blog, I have been focusing on what Generation X would become. Little did I know, it had already started. This I will call the quiet revolution. It is not happening in the mud holes of Woodstock but in the homes of America. Again, I will point to Jen's blog. I heavily recommend subscribing to her feed if you haven't already. There is still not a lot of coverage of Generation X by the media, but Jen finds all she can find on the net, and puts it in one convenient location. I think all of our Generation needs to read this as faithfully as the daily newspaper. For it is here that I opened my eyes to what is going on rather than waiting for it. I knew it was happening for me, but I had no idea it was already so widespread.

Since the generation gap between us and the Boomers is still pretty big, I will, in my own words attempt to explain to them how I see this quiet revolution. The quiet cry is, "The Buck Stops Here". First and foremost, you spoon fed us crap with our pop tarts, through your entertainment industry. Get off of our TV. We were sick of it when we were young, that is why MTV was an instant success. It was all we had that didn't have you. We will not let you push the filth and violence that you call entertainment on our kids. Our kids will be entertained cleanly, and their innocence protected, by US. And speaking of TV, Dennis Hopper, quit trying to act hip, you are an old man. Our generation gave up the hip act long ago. I am sick of your Ameriprise commercials. A pasty white old man dressed all in black prancing around. What are we trying to go for here anyway? Goth, maybe? But back to the point: Hollywood, stay away from our kids. We did not like your parental authority, and we don't like your governmental authority. We have no problem with our kids praying in school, or anywhere else for that matter. Ever notice how many of us are homeschooling? This is our revolution: Family

Oh yeah, and Boomer, we see you trying to save social security. I have a better idea. When all of you reach retirement age here soon just take the money out and split it up among yourselves. We don't need it. We have done without for so long because it was all you, that we are willing to do without now and give to our children. Our children can just stop paying into social security when they enter the workforce, and use the extra money for themselves and their families, their success is our success. And the other thing, you can have your ineffective, big government welfare state as well, we don't need it. I am sorry, compare the dollar per dollar effectiveness of your bureaucratic agencies with the effectiveness of a group of thirty-somethings cooking a supper for homeless people at their local church. This is our revolution: Community.

So here we are, quiet, sneaking our revolution past you, in the privacy of our own homes. Our hard lives and our personal struggles have created a very tough generation. We are using this toughness to insulate our children from the complex world you created. Our revolution started late, so we will not turn our backs on it for personal success. Greed will not overtake us, neither will lust, neither will anything else for that matter. Our values are the results of our disappointments and failures, as well as our successes. We hold our values dear, and will to the grave. These values are love, truth, compassion, justice, opportunity, among others. We are proud of our values, for we have truly earned them. But as abrasive and revolting as we can be, we intergrate our values into our daily life. This is our revolution: Integrity.

And one more thing you need to know. We have political issues with this war too. The main issue being, you do not call members of our generation, and the older members of the following generation, put them in harms way, then make it more dangerous for them, by underfunding them and demoralizing them for your own precious political point. Even if members of my generation disagree with me on any other point, I am sure we all stand together on this one. I don't care if you are a Democrat or a Republican, if you think your point is more important then the lives of these brave people, then I am sure we will stand as a generation and say DON'T YOU DARE. This is our revolution: Common Sense.

So there you have it. That is my view of the quiet revolution. The revolution that is happening in the heart of America, it's families. Thank you for reading. Of course I am going to remind everone, that again I am talking about entire generations, so I am speaking in generalities, and not about individuals, well, except for Dennis Hopper, Dee Snider, Tipper Gore, and Madonna. (I did mention them by name, as my wife pointed out)

Okay, This Shoe Leather Tastes Bad.

I have a rather "processless" process to writing my blog posts. I do not rough draft. I do not plan. I come in, I sit down, and I begin writing. I layout out my beliefs on the current situation, which is mainly ranting about the ineffectiveness of Washington, the division among Americans, and the loss of interest in sound traditional values. Then I add my twist of optimism and faith for the days ahead. I do very little proof reading, besides my wife going over grammatical errors, and the four letter words when I have a very heated post. (She is better at that than me). Of course, I posted before she had a chance to edit, on the post directly following the second presidential debate. (He Did It. No, He Did It)

I believe there are some strengths to this style. First, it is emotion and thought in it's truest form. Therefore I can go back over my writing and look for inconsistencies in my thought process that may not have been apparent, had the thoughts not been written down. But the true power in this, and what takes it beyond journaling, is there is a reading public, that can also do this and keep me in check, in case I am too hardheaded to admit inconsistencies, after they have been typed out.

Just like everything else, there are weaknesses to this style as well. Since I am not planning, and editing the raw emotion, I am also not catching errors in delivery of my ideas. In other words, if I wasn't blogging, and we were all sitting around as a nation and talking, I would make a statement that would essentially "put my foot in my mouth". This has happened in my post titled "I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind but now I see. I owe a great debt of gratitude to JenX67. JenX67 ( I love that name) is a blogger who happened across my little blog, and read the aforementioned post. She then critiqued the post in a way I found most fascinating. You can read her post here concerning Generation X news http://www.jenx67.com/2008/10/dish-it-up-generation-x-news.html. Her blog is an excellent read. I have subscribed to it myself. She is definitely one of the shining stars of GenX that I was raving about. Just look at her blog, how she feels about her family and their traditions. Her article about her child discovering race is an excellent read, and is a perfect example of how much love our generation feels toward those that are following us.

I want to first thank Jen for the very kind comments she made about my contrasting Gen X to the Lost generation, and the optimism I have for Gen X. Then I want to thank her even more for pointing out an error in delivery that I made. I stated in the other blog post, "The "Me" generation has turned their free love paradise into a wasteland of AIDS, addiction, and big controlling government, and passed this onto us." In her response Jen said, "however, I think he goes off-roading when he blames Baby Boomers' "free love paradise for the wasteland of AIDS." (I nearly stopped reading, and ridiculous comments like that make me not want even link to his site.)". Even though I wrote the first quote myself, to describe an idea, I must say I agree with Jen. I did not communicate very well the idea I was trying to set forth, and worded it in a way that could prove to be very dangerous to our current finger pointing society. So I will take the time to elaborate on what I was trying to get out. The way the statement came out is basically the same thing as saying that homosexuals, or the government, or anyone for that matter is the responsible party for AIDS, which of course is caused by a virus, and not any of the above including Boomers.

First off, when you speak of generations, you are speaking in generalities. Not everyone in a generation has the experiences or subscribes to the "popular" philosophy of the generation. For example, my mother (a Boomer, and a very wonderful woman) did not subscribe to the free love movement. During Gen X, a major trend was the latchkey kids, which I was not one of, which I am thankful for now (but during the time was a drag, because my friends got away with everything.) Second, a better way for me to have worded this is "the free love paradise passed to us from the Boomers, was turned into a waste land due to AIDS and addiction" This would be more accurate of the idea I was trying to get across. What I was trying to do is show that certain elements passed on to our generation from the free love movement, early on in our lives, mainly drugs and sexual promiscuity. But like the Lost Generation, our generation has already shown the ability to change and pass on something better to our following generations. Due to AIDS, and the downward spiral of addiction, there has been a dramatic shift in the view on sex and drugs among GenX, that began in the late eighties, throughout the nineties. We are almost hovering our kids to protect them from these influences, and as a result GenY has a lot healthier, and reasonable view of sex than we did in the early years of our generation.

And Jen, this is directed at you. I thank you for your honest criticism of my post and pointing out my error in delivery. That is the reason for writing my blog. Even though this time it was a wording error, that very well could have been my world view, and you grudgingly stood up to it. (This is one of the finer GenX traits, and one of the ones that will change the world). You also expressed some dislike for my saying that we won't be remembered as being a great generation. I am saying to you, you and I are a part of a very great generation, as I feel the Lost is the true "Greatest Generation". If we keep going with our similarities to the Lost, we will be the unsung heroes, and even though the history books probably will not reflect that (as with the Lost), the force of character we are developing, and will continue to develop, will affect the outcome of our nation for years and generation. And in closing, you Jen are one of the greatest in a very great generation, and again many, many heartfelt thank you's. You have done me a much needed service in your critique.

Another Long Post, Stressing What I Have Been Saying

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school."

"Too many of us look upon Americans as dollar chasers. This is a cruel libel, even if it is reiterated thoughtlessly by the Americans themselves."

-All quotes attributed to Albert Einstein

I have been noticing a lot of things lately, as any readers already know by my previous blog posts. I will simply reiterate what I have been saying and go a little deeper. One of the things I have noticed is, my two blogs do not seem to have the same reader base. One of the things I have been attempting to do with these blogs is to redefine conservative. Well, not really redefine, but to bring the real definition back. A conservative is not merely one who supports the war in Iraq, or thinks the government should fund big business, and displays a "false" air of patriotism. The great Mister Webster defines the noun conservative as "one who adheres to traditional methods or views." I agree with this. The real conservative is not one who believes a certain political ideology, but someone who tries to govern his own life by these traditions.

Now, what are these traditions? Well, frugality is one. Frugality has become looked at as a "liberal" thing in this day and age because of the environmental movement. I am not a fan of the environmental movement, but I love these people. They come up with a lot of good ideas on living a more frugal lifestyle. The ends may be different, but the means are the same, as long as the environmentalist doesn't put their faith in some 10.00 a gallon concoction (that is usually made from vinegar), because the company that put it out is an "environmental company". I chose frugality because it is a traditional value, championed by the likes of Benjamin Franklin and other financially successful people. Besides, look at it this way, if Americans had never left the value of frugality, would we even need an environmental movement today?

Another tradition is freedom. People, every time the government hands you money, they expect something in return. This is a little bit more of your freedom. When describing true freedom the word freedom needs to be followed by the word "of" and not "from". For example, the freedom of speech gives you the choice of what you are going to say, along with the responsibility for your statements. The freedom from poverty gives the freedom to make bad decisions, but does not give the educational opportunities we only get through consequences, especially failure. Another way of looking at this is saying, it's okay to jump from a skyscraper, but it is illegal to die when you hit the sidewalk. Doesn't make much sense, huh? "Freedom of" is democracy, and "freedom from" is socialism.

There are of course many other values, and we will get to them later in the post. I want to address why the term conservative has so many negative connotations. Well, to begin with the word liberal does too. This negativity for both word were caused by political "double talk". For example, Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the house and a so called liberal stated (I am paraphrasing), that a free market has plenty of good, but not when it is unbridled. Now, how can "free" and "bridled" be one and the same? John McCain, the so called conservative, stated his dislike of big government spending and earmarks, and then votes for the now famous bailout bill. These people either are not deciding what their core values are, or have decided that their core values are themselves, and this is their way of showing it. The only reason they make absurd statements such as these (and again, just the tip of the iceberg, but I hit Sen. Obama very hard the other night after the debate so I am going to be nice and leave him out this time) is for nothing more than to attack the other party, and keep the focus on these propaganda attacks, and keep the focus off the actions they are taking in their offices.

So, I hope I have proven that conservatism in it's true context is not such a bad thing. I feel we are in this mess we are in today because before we bailed out Wall St., we bailed on our American values. Things like service, patriotism, industry, frugality, and integrity.

Now, I will discuss how I feel that these core American values can bring us out of this recession in a much better way than any ineffective billion dollar government program. Ultimately, what has always made America great is not it's government, but it's people. When the people do right, we prosper. When we do wrong, we fail. I didn't get around to the post on communicating with your actions (If you want change, start with yourself) so here it is.

Say No To Socialism

The core freedom of America is it's individual freedoms (speech, religion, right to assemble) followed closely by it's free market. If there is no free market, there is no American Dream. The American Dream, and the free market support each other. Because of the dreams of the American people, along with adherence to the other values that make our society great, the free market thrives. These United States were not founded on the principle of socialism, and socialism will take away all the great strides this country has made with capitalism. And Bill Mahr, if what you are looking for in America is a "Progressive European Nation," well, there are plenty of them in Europe, hurting worse than we are, practically in breadlines. See ya, hope ya have a nice trip. And I hope you can find a plane that runs on chicken grease, because when you go to Europe you probably won't be able to afford the carbon credits.

Before I move on to the next point, I want to say there is one thing that is American, that could loosely be defined as "socialism". The only difference between this "socialism" and government mandated socialism is, there is no bureaucratic middle man, to take your money and give a little to someone else, while probably putting the biggest part in his own pocket. This American "socialism" is called community. It has shown itself faithfully throughout history as barn raisings, quilting bees, community meals at churches, and any time the community comes together to meet the needs of one of its beloved citizens. This is the only "socialism" that works, and for it to work, it has to be firmly etched on the hearts and minds of all who partake in it, and the government needs to stay out of it. So the point is, if you want to be more help than Washington in this crisis, stop looking to Washington, and strengthen the local community. This is step 1.

Take Responsibility

Just like the free market and the American Dream go hand in hand, freedom and responsibility do too. You will not always win, so lose sometime. That's right, damn it, fail. Then get back up and go a different way, and fail again if you have to. And keep this process going until you succeed, and if you do this you will succeed. If you get bailed out repeatedly, it does nothing but justify the inappropriate behavior that caused you to fail in the first place. Bailouts produce more bailouts, whether they be in the form of a corporate bailout or a welfare program. So be proud of your failures, they bring you that much closer to success. And of course, there are the naysayers that don't like this idea, because failure is uncomfortable. Well, hell yeah it is, but if there were no discomfort in failure, there would be no reason for success.

Take Pride In Yourself and Your Nation (Subtitled: Bankrupt China)

Today taking pride in yourself seems to mean dress in the latest fashion and other cosmetic things. But I say, take pride in the fact you are an American. Don't worry about the outside, near as much as the inside. The great successes in American history were not attributed to how pretty we were as a people. Americas success came from resourcefulness and a relentless drive not to be second best, because we are Americans. Take pride in yourself and your values and your nation, then let this pride overflow into your work, your family, your community, and your nation.

In taking pride in yourself and your nation, one good way to do this is to absolutely refuse to buy anything made in China, or anywhere else in the world. This is American jobs that we have sent away to people who do not like us, and seems like they are trying their best to poison us. We want American quality, made by American hands, and wages feeding American families. If we have enough pride and will to do without long enough for the corporations to realize it's time to come back home, and then go back to work with the same pride that brought them back, we will have our manufacturing base back, and will slowly work our way out of the crisis. Then this will send the message to Wall St., and Washington, that we, the people, do not want an economy based on credit, but one made of worth, and based on manufacturing and goods. And if this ever happens then it is up to each individual worker to produce his own quality, as opposed to government standards, and big unions.

It is now after 11:00 PM, so I will do just one more section, and continue tomorrow. This section is called...

Educate Yourself, And Stand Tall

Everyone has their hero, and is looking for another one. For people with a bent toward civil rights, it is Dr. Martin Luther King, for democrats, it is John Kennedy, for myself and a whole lot of other conservitives, it is Ronald Reagan. These people are not going to be resurrected and come back. The danger is, we look out and take whatever we can, and hope they will be like our heros. For example, listen to Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech, then listen to Al Sharpton, or Jesse Jackson, spew white hatred and divisive language under the guise of "civil rights". Another example, how did "Ask not what your country can do for you..." become "I'm gonna give you free healthcare, and a tax credit whether you pay taxes or not."? And come on, Reagan was a true "go against the grain" maverick. Somehow doesn't a senator who vows against earmarks, then votes for earmarks, seem not to really fill those shoes.

What these people left behind, are their ideas. Learn these now. I don't mean someone else's interpretation of these ideas, I mean, the actual writings, quotations, and anything else you can find. What made these men great is they had their unshakeable core beliefs, as a foundation of what they said. If they are your heros, understand their core beliefs, and fill their shoes yourself. Don't depend on someone else to come along and swear they are in the tradition of your heros. You follow those traditions.

Then you have a new education, a renewed set of values. It is now time to focus attention on Washington. I will describe Washington, as they describe our economy. The fundementals of our government are still sound (the Consititution), but there are some people involved that are greedy, and they are messing it up for everyone. I have stated before that the responsibility for our economic crisis belongs to all Americans. Even though, there are varying degrees of responsibility. The frugal housewife did not have near the effect, as the greedy Senators and Bankers, but I am sure she made mistakes too. But why is Washington trying to solve this problem with the cause of the problem. The problem is excessive credit and government regualtion. Why are they borrowing and spending more and more, when the same frugal housewife has to become more frugal to make ends meet. 700 billion here, 150 billion there, then, as I mentioned above, this money does nothing but socialize the financial sector and make it even less effective with more regulation. This has to stop. These problems aren't new. They happen over and over again, but as Thoreau said "There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root." Hack the root. Stand up, replace those in Washington, not only with experience, but those with values and common sense. Run against them yourself, if you have to, keeping in true tradition with your heros.

And as I sign off for tonight, I want to mention, that when Secretary Paulson was asked how he came up with the 740 billion dollar figure, he said he needed a really big number. Well the reason I used quotes from Albert Einstein, I just wanted to quote a really smart man. LOL. Good night.

I Once Was Lost, But Now Am Found. Was Blind, But Now I See.

Writers note to any readers: A very poor choice of words has been pointed out in this post. Staying true to my policy of not editing other than grammer, or spelling, I am not changing the original post, but I am elaborating on what I was trying to say here: http://chris-theconservative.blogspot.com/2008/10/okay-this-shoe-leather-tastes-bad.html. I would like to appologize in advance if my poor choice of words has offended anyone, in any way. This was certainly not the desired outcome of this post. And of course, since it was my mistake that was made, I am taking the responsibility to correct it, as I have repeatedly endorsed in this blog.


I am still a little upset by last nights debate, or shall I say lack of a debate. You would have the same debate between a socialist and an communist. We are in a dark period of American history, and as I have mentioned before, it is not the first. I really think that my generation (Generation X, as they called us, no matter how much we resisted) could learn a lot from the Lost generation.
To begin with, lets look at the similarities of the two generations thus far. Both generations were not very respected by their previous generations. During periods of economic prosperity, the majority of both generations, mainly worked in low skill, low paying jobs. For the Lost generation, it was in nickelodeons and in corner shoeshine stops. For Generation X, it is McDonalds and WalMart. Both generations were proceeded by an elitist, selfish generation, that they found themselves reacting against. For the Lost it was the Missionary Awakening, and for Generation X, the Baby Boomers. Both groups had excessive problems with substances that aren't considered very healthy. For the Lost, it was alcohol, weed was sold in candy, and Coke really had the real thing (Cocaine). For Gen X, it was alcohol, weed (which wasn't sold in candy, but baked in brownies), and as we were drinking Coke, we had to put the real thing up our nose. These substances, along with a rising crime rate and increased immigration for both generations, produced gang wars, especially in inner city areas. Prohibition created bathtub gin and moonshine with all of it's side effects, and the War On Drugs, produced crack, meth, and heroin with all of their side effects.
And to a paragraph all to itself, I must mention the partying and good times both generations had during their young adulthood. For the Lost generation it was that new music, Jazz, which was termed as "devil" music by their previous generation. For Gen X it was hard rock, punk, and that new music rap. Which the Boomer's, led by Tipper Gore, railed against as "devil music". The Lost had the scandalous flappers, Gen X had the Madonna wannabes and the "Fluff Chics" with the big teased hair. Jazz clubs to night clubs, Hollywood glamour everywhere in the two generations. Both generations had a bent toward individuality, and a grit not shown in more civilized generations. The economy during the 20's was based largely on credit, as it is today, and in both times everyone was (despite the societal problems) living large, spending freely, being wild and crazy, and escaping into a Hollywood induced stupor.

Then the 30's came. It all came to a screeching halt. Unemployment rose, families lost everything as banks closed. The government was throwing every penny at the economy that they could, to try to help the situation, and just made it worse. During the 30's, people who in the 20's were jazzing it up, flapping, and having a good old time, were now pinching every penny and standing in breadlines. New things came about, like Hobo stew, Poor Man's casserole, and an actual religious revival. Although the Lost generation kept their grit and fun loving spirit, they were fundamentally changed. The Jazz club was replaced with the dust bowl. Values, such as family, industry, frugality, and integrity, became important. And with these values, the Lost generation raised the greatest generation in history. This generation won World War II, through the sacrificing they learned from their Lost elders, and made America the greatest superpower ever known throughout history.

So Generation X, here we stand at a point where we have the greatest economic crisis our country has seen since the depression. With all the similarities, big surprise, huh. We are heading into our depression, this is our fundamental change. Right now, people are losing their homes, the banking industry is in trouble, and life savings in the stock market are but a fraction of what they were one year ago. At the present time the government is throwing billions into the economy to try and bail it out. The "Me" generation has turned their free love paradise into a wasteland of AIDS, addiction, and big controlling government, and passed this onto us. Will we do like the Lost, and not pass on the biggest part of our problems to our children? I think we will, because despite our downfalls and slacker ways, we are good. And this economic crisis will bring out the best in us. And the best of ourselves is what we will leave to out children.

I would also like to point out that the Lost generation was the mischievous "old codgers" when my generation was kids. I noticed that, even though I could not identify with my Boomer parents, these old men and women seemed to share a common viewpoint with me. They were the ones who warned of giving government too much power, because of the lessons learned from the New Deal. They even overwhelmingly supported Goldwater for president, even after he offered to cut their social security. They also warned about slowing down and taking it easy. Don't go so fast. Work hard, but enjoy life too. I can even think of two who warned of a coming depression, and told me stories of the depression they lived through. Like my generation, they also had problems with the Boomers. One even went as far as to say to me, "when the economy falls for you, it will be their fault." One thing to keep in mind, Generation X will not go down in history as one of the greatest generations, Generation Y will. But we will go down in history as the generation the great generation Y looked up to, and revered, and the generation, who will teach them everything they need to know to be truly great.

He Did It. No, He Did It.

It is now 10:45 at night on the East Coast. The second presidential debate has just concluded, and I am taking away from planning other blog posts, to put my reaction to the debate, before I follow up with any news anchor expert analysis or any of the other junk that goes on following the debate. What do I know now? I know how we got into this mess our country is in. We have two college educated US senators, who can not tell time (even with the red, yellow, and green light shining in their face, and constant reminders by Tom Brokaw). And the same two US senators can not give a direct answer to a direct question. Before I take the two candidates one by one, I will mention that the format was supposed to be a town hall style debate. I am from a small town and have been to many town hall meetings, and have yet to see screened questions, as was in this debate. If you are being asked questions in a real town hall meeting, you have no idea what is coming. So it was crap to begin with.

I will start with John McCain. Senator McCain I appreciate your service to your country. I myself am a veteran, and I come from a line of veterans. Still this excellent and brave service to your country is no excuse for you to be full of crap now. I too learned everything I know about leadership from a Navy Chief Petty Officer. (My father). That Navy Chief Petty Officer taught me that you never trade your values for anything. Money, love, and everything else comes and goes, but your values you take to the grave, just like he did, looking death in the face and his main concern being his family. You are going to stand at a debate and talk about earmarks, after you vote yes for this pork laden bailout bill, and have the nerve to stand in front of the American people, and call it a "Rescue Plan"? What the hell are you rescuing us from, maybe some hard times that our grandparents did just fine handling during the depression, and is a much needed reality check. Senator McCain we need a maverick, and I believe that Sarah Palin is that maverick. If you were a maverick you would stand tall and tell it like it is. The economic problems we are facing now is everyone's fault, and they are not going to change unless we, the people, change. The children during the depression changed, and became America's greatest generation. This is the challenge facing America today. We have new challenges that will mold and shape a new greatest generation, which our children will be a part of and nothing would make me prouder. If my home has to be foreclosed to produce this generation that will set America straight, then, damn it, the bank can have it.

Now on to Senator Obama. Just shut the hell up. Everything that comes out of your mouth is crap. You are going to stand up and say that this economy is not going to get worse? No matter what the government does this economy will get worse. It is built on credit. You mentioned that small businesses would not be able to get loans to make payroll. PAYROLL!!!!!!!!!! And you see nothing wrong with funding payroll through credit? So lets print some more money and loan it so the employer can make payroll with a devalued dollar. If this is what your scholarship education taught you, then by God, we don't need another college educated president we need and everyday average Joe, from the dirt road, that is pissed off that his check is being paid by credit, to go up to Washington and straighten this stuff out by rolling up his sleeves and turning around and locking the door. Get my point. Our economy is based on credit, now the last thing we need is more credit we can't afford and more damn money printing. I guess the money printing won't stop until the paper you print the dollar on costs more than the damned dollar itself. And another thing Senator Obama. How in the Hell are we going to help the economy in European Georgia, when the economy in American Georgia is in shambles. Sure let's print a few more billion and send it to them, or better yet maybe do an electronic transfer of money that doesn't exist.

America, with all respect to Senator McCain's Vietnam service, and absolutly no respect to Senator Obama, neither one of these men deserve your vote. I am only the voice for this pissed off redneck asshole from Georgia. But I say to both Senators, we don't need you. As far as the economic crisis ya'll can just do another fundraiser, and we the people will take care of it. As we say in these here woods, "we're screwin' this cat, you just hold the tail". This election day, maybe we should just all write in our next door neighbor. And one more thing, I usually make a point to put at least one picture in a post, but I don't think that these two need any more publicity for their lying mugs.

If You Want to Make Change, Start With Yourself

It's a scary world right now. Today the Dow fell over 500 points, and this is the largest retreat in the Dow since 1937. Many people are wondering what the government is going to do next. I am putting my money on point fingers and bicker back and forth, and accomplish nothing. The next things on people's mind is "What am I going to do?". Well, the way I see it I would trust myself, over a politician, a banker, a lawyer, or a Wall Street Baron (If there are still any)

In my other blog "The Creative Cheapskate", I have been doing what is now a two part series, which will include more as time goes on, dealing with tips for people who don't know anything about frugality, and are maybe forced into it by the economic downturn. Of course, this blog does not deal exclusively with frugality, or politics for that matter, it deals with the entire conservative lifestyle including the politics, the values, and the thought of the most conservative person I know (myself). This post will deal with how to impact the world around you with actions you can do yourself.

By stating the purpose of this blog, I have another point I would like to bring up, before I get started. I am sick of the impression of conservatism being "pro-war", "pro- big oil", or Republican. All this does is oversimplifies the true depth of the total lifestyle. But I will treat this topic to a post of it's own, before I get too far off topic.

So, what can a person do if they want to create change? The most effective way is communicate. But before we can communicate we have to get two questions out of the way. The first being, what do I want to communicate? The second being, how do I communicate? I will attempt to answer these questions broadly, and give some specific suggestions, but keep in mind that these are only suggestions, I am not telling you what to do. (Besides the conservative lifestyle is all about freedom.)

So let's tackle the first question. What do you communicate? Well, that is a decision you have to make. What do you believe in? Even more important, why do you believe in these things? These answers are what you communicate. But be sure to think deeply, and clearly, and when you feel you have come up with a consist ant viewpoint, then you are ready to communicate.

Well that was easy enough, but now we go a little more in depth. For our purposes we are going to define communication as the transfer of ideas, through speech, writing, or actions. No matter what means you use, your goal it to make an impact. This is why you want your viewpoint to be as consistent as you can make it. An erratic and inconsistent viewpoint will not make the desired impact.

So let's look at the three methods of communication, and use the example of the economic downturn, as the example for our purposes here, and figure out how we can use the three methods to make an impact in our economy.

As I have mentioned in the other blog I don't like to be too long winded in each post so I will break this post into three parts. Today we will discuss communicating through speech.

Suggestion #1 The basics, just talk.

The most basic way is to talk to everyone you see about the ideas you want to transfer. For example, just talk about how the devalued dollar, the dependence on foreign oil due to excessive Government regulation, and the punitive taxation of the oil companies, contributed to the rising fuel price. This created a domino effect, by increasing the price of products due to higher transportation costs, and a lower buying power to the dollar. This later, created defaults in the mortgage industry, because it made the mortgages that people couldn't afford anyway absolutely impossible to pay for and created a credit crisis. This credit crisis is the fall of the current economic system, because it is no longer based on worth, but on credit. Told ya, just basic stuff here.

Suggestion #2 Get Socratic on 'em

Socrates is famous for his method of showing a fallacy in a train of thought using questioning. For example and still staying on the point of the current economic situation we are in, lets say someones makes the statement: "It will be okay, besides the government passed the bailout."

Here is the example line of questioning:

You: Hasn't the government already spent itself into a huge deficit?

Them: Yes

You: Well, how does the government pay for the bailout if they are out of money themselves?

Them: Well, if they need more money they can just print it.

You: Well, that sounds easy enough, but let's say the entire wealth of the United States is represented by one dollar.

Them (by now looking at you weird): okay

You: What happens to the value of this dollar, if another one is printed, and now these two dollars represent the total wealth of the United States.

Them: Well both of the dollars are worth 1/2 of the original dollar by itself

You: And what happens if a third is printed?

Them: Then each of the three dollars is worth 1/3 of the value of the original dollar.

You: Does it seem that a weakened dollar would help the economy of the US?

Them: Well, no

Okay in this example we used a reasonably intelligent person, who was just misinformed. One principle of the Socratic method is the more ignorant, the more questions that will probably need to be posed.

Suggestion #3 Don't be afraid of mass media

After you have talked to your acquaintances, and listened to their ideas, debated and challenged you own ideas, and further tweaked your worldview, then call the radio stations, C-Span, create a podcast. Do anything to get that viewpoint to as many people as possible. After you have developed this viewpoint this can translate into impact times thousands, or maybe even millions.

Well there is three suggestions. I had better stop here, it is getting close to 7:00 pm . Five minutes to Glenn Beck (imitating Rainman). In the next post I will discuss communicating in the written word.

Ok, Now We See Where The People Stand

Here we are, earlier in the week, we thought we had narrowly avoided the bailout bill proposed by the House of Representatives. We thought that the 106 pages of socialism, and corporate welfare was dead. Boy were we wrong. The Senate come back with over 400 pages of socialism, and corporate welfare, along with a ton of earmarks. The only bright side to this becoming law is the next time our government tries to push this through, it would be over 1000 pages. I haven't written much lately because of all the things that have been going on in the news and in politics. I have been keeping up with all this stuff, and decided instead of writing about every little thing I will make a post of comments basically, about all that has been going on.

My first comment is directed toward the Glenn Beck show that comes on CNN headline news at 7:00 eastern time. Glenn Beck seriously needs to run for president, and soon. We definitely need him. Anyway, earlier in the week, Glenn had two guests on the show, that he was asking what the average everyday American, should be doing in these hard economic times. These men were Brett Aarons, and Steve Cardasco. They were basically financial advisers. They were not giving the advice that Glenn wanted, instead telling what should be done with investment portfolios. The questioning was given for the average everyday person who can't even afford to fill up their gas tanks, who could care less about investing. First point, why is Glenn Beck the only one who is talking about these people, that I call the working poor, or the dirt road, in response to the latest buzzword in government : "Wall Street and Main Street". Why haven't I heard anything else from anyone else about these people. The second point is directed right to Glenn Beck. Glenn, the next time you have a question about normal Americans, and what they can do economically, don't go to Wall St. Wall St., Hollywood, and sometimes even Main St. are completely out of touch with the reality that we Americans on the dirt road know. Instead, there are Amy Dacyczyn, and Rita Bingham, among others.

So what do I feel the average Americans need to do? First of, get away from credit. Use credit only for emergencies. Americans have been using credit to buy everything. Stop this, my family has it can be done. Start with your values. If you have materialistic values, you will overextend yourself on credit. An economy that is based on credit flow is a dangerous economy indeed. Next Americans need to pay more attention to the value of their dollar. This is done in three ways. 1) Buy items cheaper. 2) Make items you bought last longer. 3) The most effective is a combination of the above 2. As an example, lets say ground beef is on your grocery shopping list. Buy following suggestion #1, you find it on sale for 1.50 per pound. By following suggestion #2, you use the ground beef with other ingredients to make casseroles or soups rather than two grilled up hamburgers per pound. Both way save money, but to save the maximum amount of money is to do both. It ain't rocket science.

My next comments are on the government, and the "leadership" we have elected into positions they don't deserve. This bailout bill that just passed is dangerous. The credit economy is what has gotten us into this position to begin with. Do we need to preserve the credit culture that we have become accustomed to? Well that is what this bill (well now law, thanks President Bush) does it preserves the very dangerous system that caused the problem. My next point I want to bring up is directed toward Senator John McCain. Senator McCain was speaking my mind with his campaigning against "pork earmarks". Well Senator, you just voted yes to a bill that has so much pork in it, that it should be smoked. What are you thinking, do you think that protecting these banks is more important than living up to the values you have proclaimed. I am very offended by this, and I feel terribly sorry for Governor Palin.

Moving on, I have watched some of Senator Obama's campaign speeches. I have noticed if there is a problem he wants to address, it always reminds him of someone. The troops coming home reminds him of his grandfather, and the laborer reminds him of Mrs. Obama's father. The list goes on and on. Well, Senator, these people had challenges in life. Name me someone without challenges. In your speech, you stated that these people overcome what was in their way. They didn't need your government program to succeed. They did it on their own. If you are really looking to these people for inspiration you would realize that Americans do not need help from their government, they need their government to get out of the way, so they can deal with their own obstacles, and succeed.

The next thing on my mind is the growing impression among the public, that oil companies are inherently evil. Exxon-Mobile has become the poster child for this belief. Everyone is complaining that the gas price is rising, due to greed, and Exxon-Mobile is getting "windfall profits". Barrack Obama is even speaking of "windfall profits" tax. You have got to be kidding me. Taxation is a business expense that gets passed on to the customer. A windfall tax would be the exact opposite of what we need. As a matter of fact Exxon-Mobile is already paying to the government more than they get to keep of their profits. This is your gas price over taxation. For more information on this go to the following link : http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=XOM
Right now, with the oil companies being taxed like they are, they pass the burden on to the customer. So you are basically paying their tax bill every time you go to the pump and ruin your life savings. The government needs to cut the taxes the oil companies pay, and cut regulations on them which are also expensive, and gets passed on to the customer. I believe the gas price would be half of what it is today.

Hey Big Man, Let Me Hold A Dollar

Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.

Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.


The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.
-All quoted from Ronald Reagan

As I write this on this sunny, cool Sunday morning, the top leadership of our government, along with leading economists, are working hard to try to come up with a bailout plan for our mortgage lenders. According to reports, all day yesterday was spent on yelling at each other, finger pointing, and getting pretty much nothing done.

I am against this bailout. I feel that the government needs to stay out of business, and business needs to stay out of government. The both of them being in bed together has created an artificially inflated economy, that is teetering. All this bailout will do is prop up our shaky economy a little longer, and then it will fall like a ton of bricks later down the road.


The democrats seem to say that the economic problems we are facing now is a result of deregulation by the Bush administration. I am sorry, I have to disagree with this. There is still to much regulation. As an example I bring to your attention the Community Reinvestment Act.


The Community Reinvestment Act was approved by congress in 1977 during the Carter administration. The act "is intended to encourage depository institutions to help meet the credit needs of the communities in which they operate", according to the CRA website. This includes extending credit and mortgages to minorities, and others, with less regard to their ability to pay back the said loan. Gee, how many times has this come up the past two weeks. This bill basically gave Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac their power.


Beginning in 1995, the CRA regulations were strengthened by the Clinton administration. This led to larger numbers of loans to be awarded to people of the lower economic brackets. This also allowed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to hold just 2.5 percent of capital to back up investments as compared to the traditional 10 percent required by banks.


In 2003, the Bush administration tried to restructure the act, by putting greater oversight on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This was met with great opposition by congressional democrats, and failed to happen. Then in 2005, changes were made to loosen the regulation on smaller institutions, but in my opinion, it was too little, too late.


Today we are seeing these mortgages fail. This is the cause of the crisis we are in. The politicians love these income redistribution acts, because basically they say "vote for me, and I'll give ya some money". The best way to deal with the current crisis is not with a bailout, but to decrease even more regulation. We have an alphabet soup of agency regulating our financial sector, that make it perform very inefficiently, and illogically. These organizations such as the FDIC, CRA, SEC, OTS, IRS, the Federal Reserve, and others. How can anyone make the case for more oversight.


There has been an argument that the Bush administration has been looking out for "Wall Street, and not Main Street." This argument was made by a very articulate, and flashy elitist presidential candidate we all know. So here is what I propose for Main St: after the above organizations are done away with and government is streamlined, end income taxes altogether, and in it's place put a 10 percent sales tax on all purchases except, food, housing, utilities, business, education, and medical expenses. This helps the people by decreasing the tax stranglehold the government has on them, and encourages frugality.


Here is the website for the CRA: http://www.ffiec.gov/cra/
Picture courtesy of: http://www.freeimages.co.uk/index.htm

Personal Responsibility Part 2 Industry

"In all labor there is profit. But idle chatter leads only to poverty" -Proverbs 14:23

“Industry pays debts, while despair increaseth them” -Benjamin Franklin

http://www.freeimages.co.uk/

No man has the right to expect a good fortune, unless he go to work and deserve it. "Luck!" cried a self-made man, "I never had any luck, but by getting up at five every morning and working as hard as I could." -From The Royal Path of Life by T. L. Haines and L. W. Yaggy

Industry coupled with frugality is the traditionally accepted way to a comfortable lifestyle, and financial success. This way was championed by Benjamin Franklin, which he described in his writing "The Way to Wealth". Of course, when this was written it was way before the modern "get rich quick" schemes, and the "power look" and all the other modern supposed shortcuts to riches.

Industry is the most reliable way to achieve prosperity, whether that labor be physical or mental. Anyone who works hard and is frugal with his earnings will become wealthy. This may not be the easiest way to achieve financial security, but it has been used successfully by the highest percentage of the affluent throughout history.

Not only does industry, and frugality build wealth, it also cultivates maturity, and freedom. This is done by exercising a proactive nature within yourself to create your own destiny by your own effort. The body is drawn to relaxation, and the mind to useless distraction, and the maturity is built by putting aside comfort now for your future success.

Industry is also your contribution to your society. By your toils you design, build, transport, and sell the goods that your society needs to thrive. A life without contribution is worthless. A life that contributes, and sees the fruits of his contribution, is truly happy.

All honest work is honorable. We as a society need to stop looking down on the one who does the "menial" or "unskilled" labor. These people deserve our respect, as well as the professionals that perform the mental labor and leadership. We need to respect, and be fascinated by honesty, and contribution rather than inherited wealth, and what superstar is exposing herself or going on a drunken binge this week. We need to look to people who integrate true virtue into their lives, and not want to hear about the latest pop star who flies into an uncontrollable rage at paparazzi and crazed fans. It is the good upright everyday people who make America what it is, and by their labors work to improve it every day.

Personal Responsibility Part 1 Frugality

The philosopher Diogenes was sitting on a curbstone, eating bread and lentils for his supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king.

Said Aristippus, “If you would learn to be subservient to the king, you would not have to live on lentils.”

Said Diogenes, “Learn to live on lentils, and you will not have to cultivate the king.”
-Quoted in Ernest Kurtz and Katherine Ketcham, The Spirituality of Imperfection: Storytelling and the Journey to Wholeness. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1992; p. 34.

I love the quote above because it illustrates perfectly the direct relationship between personal responsibility and freedom. There is a crisis in America today. Our society (the writer included) has been living way above it's means. Have we become so out of touch that we will give up the our very selves for the sake of our possessions?

There are many different levels of freedom that come into play here and not just political freedom. We could live in total anarchy and if you are constantly being hassled by creditors to a point that paying them back is the focus of all life decisions you make, you are not free. You are a slave to your creditors. If you value your possession so much that life would not be worth living without them, you have become a slave to possessions.

Regardless of current economic standing, everyone could benifit from frugality. Let the Jones' be the Jones' and quit trying to keep up with them. You have your own life to live and your own decisions to make. And the person these decisions will affect is you.

So how does one become more frugal? I am certainly not an expert in this area, but I am learning very quickly. Basically, you don't spend any money, unless you have to. There are two choices here, the first being deprivation, and sacrifice. The second being creativity, and hard work.

Of course you can't cover everything on frugal living in one blog post. But a couple of good ideas are: Cooking all your food rather than eating out, plan shopping in order to avoid impulse buying, make sure that what you do buy has more than one use, using less electricity (energy in general), and bargain shopping.

Frugality has been a fascinating subject for me lately. I am even thinking about making a new blog on creative frugal living.