I agree with you about the dangers of “holding on to one perspective with a clenched fist.” I did that all through college, professional school, and my early career, before the Carter Admininstration and some good books on economics led me away from the Left.

But I don’t blame people for feeling passionate about politics. Politics, after all, is all about power – power over one’s own life against the power others want to have over it, and the power one might want to have over others. The people we choose through the political process are going to pass laws. Laws are going to be enforced at the point of a gun if necessary (that’s what laws are, after all). There will be winners – people who gain more power over their own lives and often over other people’s lives – and losers of power.

I have seen the loss of a great deal of power over my own life through the politics of the last 40 years (as well as, in some areas, much greater freedom). I foresee losing some of those gains, and even more loss. Naturally, being of a pretty independent temperament, I don’t like it. That doesn’t mean I hate the people who did it or are going to do it; most of them think they are doing it “for the common good,” or even for my own good.

But good intentions don’t entitle anybody to a free pass on criticism. If I go to the doctor with an ingrown toenail and she amputates my leg because she can’t tell the difference between a minor inflammation and gangrene, her good intentions won’t excuse her incompetence. I might not hate her, but I’m going to be pretty ticked off!

I am not surprised that BHO has chosen to identify black. It makes life easier — a person who looks like him would always have to explain or defend himself otherwise. And really, our society prefers that you don’t bring it up.

I have chosen to be ambiguous, and BTW not to provide information on those checkoff boxes that ask for race.

Can you do likewise? Can you accept that I believe, with complete sincerity, and for all you know, with an advanced education, a well-read background in history, political science and economics, and a high IQ score, that such policies will make our situation worse?

With the track record collectivism on full display in the history of the former Soviet Union and its former sattelite states, in numerous countries of Africa, in the despair of FDR and his Secretary of the Treasury over the failure of eight years of their collectivist solutions to break the grip of the Great Depression, and on and on, how can you expect me to simply ignore what I have learned of history?

Nik, how can I, in good conscience, do as you suggest and “acknowledge” that your solutions are what is needed, when I believe they are wrong and will lead to disaster?

As far as my worrying about keeping my money, I don’t “worry” about it – worry being pointless, but I proclaim it as the ethical position to take. I earned it. You and Obama have no idea what effort that took, what responsibilities to clients, employees, family, relatives, creditors and my community I have undertaken to meet with those dollars, and what charities I support.

All you know, and it seems all you need to know, is that you or some politician know better what should be done with my money than I do. I trust myself to spend it wisely far more than I trust you or Obama. And I’m perfectly willing to keep my mitts off yours and let you do what you think best with that.

What’s wrong with that? My life belongs to me and to those with whom I have chosen to share it. It does not belong to some Chicago politician, even if he did get elected President.

My duties as a citizen do not include delegating my moral duty for charity, which I strongly believe I have, to a politician. That is an evasion of my duty, not a fulfillment of it.

When you walk past a homeless beggar, are you always certain exactly what the right charitable action is to take? Should you give him cash, a job, food, the address of the nearest shelter, the spare blanket in your car trunk? When you consider the plight of your mentally ill brother-in-law or your alcoholic friend or your drug-addicted employee, are you always 100% certain you know what you should do for them?

I find those decisions terribly difficult and implementing solutions even harder. And if it is that hard even when I know the people involved intimately, how can I simply slough off the responsibility for them onto some distant bureaucrat and tell the government to go collect my “compassion” from my neighbors’ paychecks?

To do the things you claim need doing, we need economic prosperity. If you think that raising taxes, increasing regulations, punishing common sense and rewarding stupidity are good ways to create economic prosperity, you’ve now got your chance to prove it. It seemed to work between 1933-34. For a while.

I think people can disagree without being disagree-able.

Showing kindness to your fellow human being is sometimes more important than being right.

How soon we forgot..
Did the rescue people and fire-fighters ask what race someone was before helping them during 9/11?

Did the flight crew of US Airways Flight 1529 screen passengers about their religious or political beliefs before assisting them off the plane last week?

We are all in this together. We are all Americans. We may be diverse, but we should not be divided.

Just my .02

I truly believe that dissent IS patriotic, and the best way to make a truly great government (by keeping it honest). However, don’t pretend that it’s only important now that you’re the ones who are doing it.

I hope that certain kinds of dissent that was pretty widespread during the last administration (torture, etc.) influences this one to make positive changes.

Why is it only catfighting when women are involved? I responded to the “comments” that I was not giving enough – according to Cathy, Christine and Amanda – because I “only pay my taxes and am gainfully employed” The HORROR!

Unfortunately, the public has “transfered” their ideas regarding “change” onto this man — largely w/ the help of the media.

So, here we are. And now those things we should have known before will be revealed. Hopefully, it will turn out well.

It’s disconcerting that if one is not subscribing to the unearned hero worship of this relatively new public personna, one must be filled with “hatred” or “bigotry.” This is a scary notion. We are allowed to hold dissenting views in this country.

I’m just waiting to see how President Obama does; what else can I do? Hope for the best and do my share to see it happen.

When I go to Europe people were surprised that being from Texas I: Didn’t ride horses, had never seen Dallas (the show), had never shot a gun, and didn’t sound like a ‘Texan’. It’s a two way street…and one that is only solved by going to places and learning.

@Sally
There’s a difference between disagreement and the catfighting you’ve digressed to. Objectively read through your posts again and you will see that while you are not personally a hater, your posts make it sound like you are.

Because your flippant attitude suggests to me that you not only don’t know what you’re talking about, you also don’t care.

Hillary Clinton being elected President WOULD be a historic event. Her being elected to the Senate already has been. The fact that it did not receive the press it should have received, given that she’s been one of a bare handful of First Ladies who did something with their status besides be decorative accessories to their husbands’ careers (charitable causes or not, that’s what most of them have been), should tell you something about how gender is perceived in this country.

I don’t agree with everything she has ever said or believed, but she is smart and capable and no less deserving of achievement than any man with the equivalent intelligence and ability. But she is not a man. Women are not men who are missing a limb. So, men being elected to high office means nothing in terms of whether the glass ceiling has been shattered.