Opinion - Now I know

Now I know

That’s My Opinion

By Bob Robinson

Sept. 24, 2010

My mind is a blank. Unusual for me.

It’s not that I have nothing to think about; more that I’m overwhelmed with too many things to think about.

On the one hand, I’m optimistic about the future of our country; on the other hand… sometimes pessimistic.

I’ve been praying for something like the TEA movement – people who, like me, want to return to the values that made our country great – but I’m also nervous that what may be viewed as a radical departure from “business as usual” might be rejected by the voters. I can’t remember the last time a “third party” movement was successful… official or unofficial.

Too many generations have been brainwashed into thinking that they can’t take care of themselves. As they get their government (taxpayer funded) benefits – checks, food stamps, whatever – self-interest and pessimism about what they would do without those benefits can sometimes mean “I don’t like the way our country is going but I’d rather vote to keep what I have than be left out in the cold.”

We’re already hurting. Long-term change for the better will hurt more… at least in the short term.

Do we have the stomach for it? I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out in November.

The Republican Party is offering a new ‘Pledge to America’ in the same manner they offered a successful ‘Contract with America’ in 1994… that’s a good thing. Creating jobs, cutting spending, repealing much of Obamacare and reforming Congress are some of the key components.

In the meantime, we – and the media – continue to gloss over many of the more blatant crimes against us by those in power.

Would you believe our government wants to know our sexual orientation? The HHS House Committee recently passed a bill that requires anyone receiving Health & Human Services benefits tell Big Brother about their sexual orientations… gay, lesbian, cross-dressing, you name it.

And that includes kids, for God’s sake!!

Whether Congress gives it the light of day I don’t know. I only know that strange things sometimes happen when we get a lame-duck Congress after the November elections.

In the meantime, American citizens are threatened and killed as the drug wars flow across our southern borders, and the arm of government Constitutionally mandated to deal with this issue continues to ignore it.

To make matters worse, it refuses to help Texas protect its residents, and files a lawsuit against Arizona for trying to do it on its own. The Obama administration has added insult to injury by taking an internal squabble to the United Nations.

It’s almost as if the Obama elite doesn’t know how to handle its “errant” constituency and has decided to let world opinion address it. I never thought I’d live to see the day when a duly elected federal government refused to defend our borders.

Those are just the latest insults to our national integrity. The last 19 months are riddled with them.

My cynical nature (remember, I’m a former newspaper editor) tells me that even if the Reps do win back control, the chances of real reform are slim. The best I look for is an effort to improve on the status quo prior to the left wing takeover.

Is that good enough for me? No. Is it more likely to be acceptable by a majority of Americans? Probably.

A ponderous, slow, long-term fix is better than no fix at all, or continuing the current devastating path.

In the meantime, other changes are occurring almost daily that are totally independent of the world our politicians want to build.

The communications age has been upon us for nearly three decades and I’m having trouble keeping up. There are more news, entertainment and social networking options on the market – along with the tools to access them – than I can begin to list.

When I ran for commissioner I set up a facebook page, primarily to announce postings on my web site. It had an interesting side benefit. Over time a huge number of “friend” requests came from the young people I’ve been working with.

Remember, this is their medium, not mine. They found me.

One of them told me Wednesday that she hadn’t had the time to go on facebook since school started. She was too busy with the new school year. I responded that I’d seen her postings…

“Oh, that,” she said. “I just do that on my cell phone… you know, kind of like Twitter.”

Oh. Okay.

These kids are growing up in a world that I’m not sure I understand any longer. It’s part of their daily lives… they don’t know any different.

The communications part? I can live with that. Go with the flow. The political part? That scares the hell out of me.

When I was a kid, I used to wonder why older adults would sometimes say, “I’ve lived too long.”

Now I know.

That’s my opinion. What’s yours?

Bob Robinson is the retired editor of The Daily Advocate, Greenville, Ohio. If you wish to receive a daily notification of his comments, opinions and reports, send your email address to: opinionsbybob@gmail.com. Feel free to express your views.