Time for a change in the USA

I am age 63 and I perceive change I do not like.

Right now I think I can still vote, and have it count, like put into place political leaders that will represent me, federally, state, and locally, to include school boards. If that does not happen, then I have other alternatives, to include taking up arms. Lord knows, I hope it doesn't come to that in the new world USA. I am an OK shot, but still wish for the ballot box to decide things. Now even I understand I might get out-voted, but at least I got my chance in this hope.

One thing as an old Marine I like is that so many fellow humans (racially and culturally) are attracted to our USA way of life, which is pretty good. Many immigrate to come here, and even serve their new country for their own reasons, often personal, to include their Family. Good on them, and a pox on their enemies. Believe me, they (our enemies) don't want to mess with these people.

Yet I also perceive that many Americans think otherwise.

This includes, in my thoughts, that present federal leaders and their hired minions want to take over, like dictate, like be a dictator or a king. This idea includes both the President of the USA, and many of those in our Congress, and of course their hired minions. Hopefully I am wrong in my worries, but I still worry, and have myself and my Family to think about. And in the same vein, I assume the intent is be benevolent, in the best old world USA style. But what if they are wrong, like there are alternatives in our new world USA's political and human future that are probably better. That appeals to me, but that is also just me.

The obvious political debate in our new world USA is how do we go forward?

The also obvious answer is we new world USA people are in charge of our fate.

What a privilege in life

The subject is on demand public electricity. The obvious example is that when I turn the switch to get light in my house, it actually comes on, even in the middle of the night. Plus my satellite TV still works, too, like all day and night long. This is still amazing, to me, and I appreciate it. I have lived in places with less public electricity, too. Usually it is like allocations, like the capitol city of North Korea gets 3 hours a day, while the rest of the country gets zero.

Build that into your Family planning work schedule, too. Most of us like even having our public electric refrigerator and freezer working, too.

It has taken a lot of work, and planning, and other such things to allow this to happen for we common citizens in the USA. I like the benefit! For all the fellow Americans who still work to make this happen, thank you. Even I like being warm, for example, and public electricity sure helps in this matter, like the basic heat, or even the public electric controllers for things like natural gas and fuel oil.

And even I use a wood stove heater, too. The first year it was kind of romantic, now it is just work. So my supplement is public electricity (and long johns), and the prices to pay are rising, which I kinda accept, but still wonder why. I suspect our present elected political leaders are warm and also fed, but don't really know from where I live in east Tennessee.

The point of the preceding lament, is that I expect our political leaders to share in the effort, but from where I sit, it doesn't seem to be happening. Even the Putnam County Courthouse is often too hot for many employees, and I think my taxes help pay their energy bill.

So back to the title of this post. I truly appreciate all the efforts our fellow Americans go through to provide us common citizens public electricity, on demand, to boot.

A change we can believe in

Things may be more simple than we thought. While the details can drive about any one crazy, the principles are pretty simple.

Things need to change. Mostly right now it is at the USA federal level, but change will also come to state, local, and even school board levels, too, probably later than the federal level, like by 2020.

The century of American idealism, to include terms like liberal, progressive, democrat, and republican, is coming to an end. Change is definitely do, and what a Country for it to happen in.

Now I expect we in the USA will have to suffer, along the way. If this happens, what a shame, since it did not have to happen, but it apparently is happening, as I write.

Now suffering may be as simple as going back to the European dark ages, or more complicated, like dealing with totalitarianism, and its consequences in the future USA. These consequences could take centuries to change course.

In the meantime, while I am alive, I'm planning for the worse.

I never thought all this could happen in my lifetime in the USA.

What goes up must come down

And vice versa, too.

Many things seem inevitable, in a good sort of way. We humans do vote with our feet, and our pocketbooks. Often it does take decades to become apparent. And usually our families and hope for their future has a lot to do with it.

Obvious trends to me include the great migrations in the USA. Once it was from the South to the Midwest and the Rustbelt areas. Now it is going the other way. Another is the trend towards progressive and tradional liberalism and its wonderful benefits is being brought back to reality by financial reality. Add in all the world interconnectivity that has been building for decades, and it remains a topsy turvy world to me.

Now it is the "down" side of things that worries me these days. Mostly that means, to me, that the pace of change is accelerating, and common order and interests may also break down, like return to older times I have read about. Having lived around the world, I have seen many of the alternatives, and I prefer what we have in the USA, warts and all.

It almost seems biblical to me, that is how we humans do in mass, both in good times and bad. And to me that means having a vote, like influencing things, or at least having a chance to influence things. Having enjoyed the "going up" phase of life, now I guess I get to tolerate the "going down" phase before I die, too. I am age 63, by the way.

Even I accept the nature of the cycle of life and cultures and civilizations, and even how they accommodate mother nature's effects, and even human effects. What worries me is how well do our leaders know this, and deal with this?

Or do I, and others in their own way, have to rise up to deal with it as a matter of necessity?

On this idea, rests our human fate on this earth, I think.

The light bulb finally goes on

This is just a report from where I live in east Tennessee and on the Cumberland Plateau.

I know a fellow (age 41) who will not work, and lives off of the government benefits, to include food bank support. Now he does denigrate himself a lot, too, but accepts that, as well as do his female friends.

And I also know a similarly aged fellow who reports he draws a government check, all the while his wife works at a local factory, a hard working high school graduate in my mind.

Both males are obviously not starving. And they are breeding, too, like having kids.

What astounds me is that all these government benefits, and those government workers who administer all this, live off of our taxes and our work to pay them our taxes.

Now many other voters are recognizing all this. Yep, the light bulb has finally has gone on.

I warned my 41 year old friend that all this system he was used to in his life was probably coming to an end, but he simply did not believe me, and pretty much blew me off.

After all, what's wrong with my 41 year old male friend working for a minimum wage job at Burger King? It was his choice, after all. And I do like eating at Burger King, too.

The value of the sports experience

There are things we learn in school, and also out of school. Sports is such an example of out of school learning that parents can do.

And there are many different kinds of sports, which I think we all know about. I summarize them as team sports, and individual sports. Most involve competitions, too. And there are many levels, too, like local, high school, college, and professional.

The part I like, and want to report to parents, is that a lot of our kids in sports have time to think about competition, and how they will do in their sport, while they are going through the competition. They learn a lot about themselves, I think. I did.

That is a good learning process, in my mind. Mostly it helps prepare them for later in their life.