More ramblings of an old person

       For the record, I am age 65 and in OK health living in a rural setup. I use the internet a lot for my reliable "news". Now there is plenty of other "news" around here, east Tennessee on the Cumberland Plateau, too. That news is less reliable.  What's one old time expression,  take it all with "a grain of salt"?  I do in both regards.

            Now I think our ancestors built a lot of nifty things, like bridges and roads and other transportation things. And they did it as a priority, and our taxes paid for a all of it. And we got the benefits from it, too, like interstate commerce. And even now some places are better than others, as most of us know.

            But now we and our elected representatives are not maintaining all this stuff our ancestors made, built, whatever and where ever. Maintenance does cost tax money.  And as the example goes, even bridges on interstate highways are falling down, with more forecasted as probable.

            Can you imagine the worry about bridge safety becoming part of our psyche? I can imagine all this the way things are going. Now that may affect our lives and our psyche and our commerce.  Even vacation planning will come into play.

            I really believe we have "dumbed down" our population, and now we are only beginning to suffer the consequences.  If you buy my belief, really a suspicion these days, then when will we "wake up", like our local school board members as a start point. Said another way, how many may have to suffer and even die to get our attention.  Again, and in fairness, some school boards for public schools are doing a good job, like we elected them to do.

            On the education side of things, I both went to GaTech and even taught there; and Atlanta University, too. Plus I have taught in the Marines, too. I even know the difference between  being smart, being educated, and being experienced. And I am not happy how things are sorting out these days.  There is a definite difference between education and indoctrination, for example. Last, even I know how to screw people over, but to do it deliberately  (or politically) to our children is appalling, to me. After all, I devote myself to making them happy, like providing them every advantage in life. After that, they are on their own. And it seems in too many places  we have voted for all this, both good and bad. And all I want to do is go through a fast food car line and expect the person there can even make change, even with a machine to help her.

            I still believe in marriage. Kids need two people to raise them, as raising kids is a pain in the tail to most, speaking for myself. Government policies that promote single parent families cause a lot of harm that affects us all, especially the families. And now I am suffering, in my opinion.

            I know one poor person who refuses to work for a living, and our present way of life in the USA supports his habit. And he is white, by the way.  And he has plenty of sex from girls like him, too.  That whole idea is immoral and wasteful and dumb, to me. He is a good worker at age 41, but, again, will not work vice living off the government dole.  People like him test my golden rule instincts.

            Last, especially before Memorial Day, we have a lot of good Americans doing a good job, in all ways. So good on 'em.

            All is not doom and gloom, but we Americans have work to do,  kind of like normal, and on top of our own lives.