A Facebook Post

The Right-Wing Asshole

Here is an interesting piece. It presents a true, real-life situation with which you may identify. Or not. Either way, it's a compelling read about a perspective within a situaution that is more prevalent than many may realize.


Hi Andrew,

I’m writing because I just can’t deal with my father anymore. He’s a 65-year-old super right-wing conservative who has basically turned into a total asshole intent on ruining our relationship and our planet with his politics. I’m more or less a liberal democrat with very progressive values and I know that people like my dad are going to destroy us all. I don’t have any good times with him anymore. All we do is argue. When I try to spend time with him without talking politics or discussing any current events, there’s still an underlying tension that makes it really uncomfortable. Don’t get me wrong, I love him no matter what, but how do I explain to him that his politics are turning him into a monster, destroying the environment, and pushing away the people who care about him?


Thanks for your help,
Son of A Right-Winger

Read the compelling, insightful and useful answer here.

My repsonse:

"Andrew" had me right up to this:

"No matter how bad someone may appear, they are truly no worse than us. Our beliefs and behavior don’t make us fundamentally better than others, no matter how satisfying it is to believe otherwise. We must be tireless in our efforts to see things from the point of view we most disagree with. We must make endless efforts to try and understand the people we least relate to. And we must at all times force ourselves to love the people we dislike the most. Not because it’s nice or because they deserve it, but because our own sanity and survival depends on it. And if we do find ourselves pushed into a corner where we must kill others in order to survive, we must fully accept that we are killing people just as fully human as ourselves, and not some evil abstract creatures."

Taking the author at face value, I suggest most individuals are quite "fundamentally better" than a Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Manson, Gacy and other sociopaths. How does one "see things from" their "point of view? Only a few good courses in Abnormal Psych might help me "understand" the twisted mind that wants to kill me because of my race, religion or food preference. My "sanity" depends on clear, rational, objective, analysis about the people and circumstances I am facing - if my "survival" has any chance of surviving. Otherwise, it was a damn fine response.

Fish Are The Last To Notice The Water

By now it should be obvious to the people of the West that they’re being held in a primitive bondage. And fortunately, more eyes are opening to this than ever before.

But still, most people are so used to this particular “water” and have so long acclimated themselves to it, that they haven’t recognized it. There’s nothing inherently wrong with most of these people; they just haven’t stepped back far enough to see the obvious.

More here

Now For Something Really Different...

Despite all those decades on radio and TV (5!) and all the crazy crap I had to do for Stations to promote the show, it was always my least favorite part of the job. Idealistically, I believed if the show was good enough, the audience would come and grow "organically". Saying how great it was in a :30 sec TV spot seemed obvious, hooray-for-me egotistical and way less attractive.

Turns out, the shows did quite ratings-wise, thank you. But was that because the Station spent thousands on TV production and giveaways? Or because, from day to day, the show was just that unique, compelling and damn good? Listeners would have to work that out for themselves.

Now comes this book, Watercolor Memories, The Story of Lauren. The title alone should be sufficient to reveal this isn't another political screed I've been writing for awhile. As noted on the back cover:

It's that old high school love story told anew: Boy meets Girl. Boy loses Girl. Boy finds Girl. But this time, it takes 15 years, two proms, college, marriage, divorce, kids, careers, over 10,000 miles, a chess-playing cop and some strange guy with a beard. Even then,  the ending is a surprise and a shock. Or maybe it isn't.

So far, all 3 or 4 people who have read it say "It's got a pretty cover".

Well...

Take a look. There's a sample page on the Amazon site. Who knows? You may get hooked enough to read all of it! If you do, when you've finished please post your unvarnished thoughts on the Amazon page. The more comments, the more chances I have of having it made into a movie!

Thanks.
BW

Quote Without Comment

"My take on the "political morass" - actually "political more ass"?

Redundant. Predictable. Anathema to Liberty and Freedom. There is no area of human existence that is not in irreversible decline - except for those who never progressed past the Crusades anyway. 

A Man's Age According to Home Depot

You are in the middle of some home projects: putting in a new fence, painting the porch, planting some flowers and fixing a broken door lock. You are hot and sweaty, covered with dirt, lawn clippings and paint. You have your old work clothes on. You know the outfit -- shorts with a hole in the crotch, an old T-shirt with a stain from who-knows-what, and an old pair of tennis shoes.

Liberty Is Not For Wimps

Guest Columnist - Dr. Walter E. Williams

John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics 

George Mason University


Most Americans, whether liberal or conservative, Democratic or Republican, do not show much understanding or respect for the principles of personal liberty. We criticize our political leaders, but we must recognize that their behavior simply reflects the values of people who elected them to office. That means we are all to blame for greater governmental control over our lives and a decline in personal liberty. Let me outline some fundamental principles of liberty.