DNC Aftermath

Heading into this past week I was curious as to how the “celebration of leftist ideals” was going to progress in the wake of the WikiLeaks hack and the transition of the disgraced DNC chair from her position with the party to an integral part of the Clinton campaign. It was interesting to say the least watching the Democratic National Convention unfold this past week as speaker after speaker leveled their attacks on Donald Trump and the Republican Party. From behind the wall requiring Photo ID to get in the speakers took the stage in rapid succession: Vice President Joe “Double Barrel” Biden, President Barak “You Didn’t Build This” Obama, First Lady Michelle “I Live In A Slave House” Obama, President Bill “I Hope To Open A First Gentleman’s Club” Clinton, Bernie “Burning and Itching” Sanders, Tim “I Have No Business Here” Kaine, and many other questionable speakers.

One of those brought to the stage was the father, with his repressed wife standing beside him, of a soldier who gave the ultimate sacrifice for his country, Khizr Khan. Given the treatment that the military and law enforcement has received during the event, the level of hypocrisy accentuated by those six minutes is rather astounding. While I respect and humbly appreciate his son’s sacrifice I cannot say the same about his punditry. Add to this questionable selection of a presenter with the fact that the stage at one point was filled with the mothers of those “killed by the police” and it truly demonstrates the fact that this was more of a circus rather than a convention.

However, there were a few things that truly disturbed me about this past week. The first was the undenounced burning of the Israeli flag outside of the convention. The second was the simple fact that there was not an American flag to be found during the DNC until this exact fact was pointed out publicly in the media. But, the most distressing aspect of this whole charade was the blind sheep like accolades that kept filling social media. Seems as though there are too many blinded by gender and the eerily robotic call to “Join Us!”

And this brings me to the marquee speech of the event which really had me questioning the mentality of the American people who have proclaimed their rabid devotion to Hillary Clinton. Following her outline of countless programs for which there is no clear plan to pay for the government overreach, she insisted on promoting the idea of group think. Included in her “I alone can fix it” diatribe, she emphasized over and over the Utopian ideal that no one can do basically anything alone. Specifically, she said:

“20 years ago I wrote a book called “It Takes a Village.” A lot of people looked at the title and asked, what the heck do you mean by that?

“This is what I mean.

“None of us can raise a family, build a business, heal a community or lift a country totally alone.

“America needs every one of us to lend our energy, our talents, our ambition to making our nation better and stronger.”

And that is one of the biggest problems, if not the biggest problem, that we face in this country. We have forgotten how to be self-reliant. Too often people are turning to others to do the heavy lifting and, in some cases, take the blame. This mentality can be seen in the increased reliance that many have on government funds and also on the other side in assigning blame to a group of people rather than an individual. We must remember that individual rights still mean something in this country and we can’t simply follow the Pied Piper as she screeches from the stage “Join Us!”

Is That A Cliff I See?

The quote for this week is something a little different (would you expect anything else on this blog?). I am sure that many of you have already seen this video but I had to post it here anyway as there is a disturbing amount of truth in the humor. Namely, the blind following that seems to be going on. I think Chicago's Second City Network did a magnificent job in distilling the current situation that I, and I am sure many of you, have been witnessing.

I have written on the subject of Syria recently and it is clear that I don’t side with the President on this issue. However, there are many that do and that is their right to do so. But, before you support a position, give it some thought rather than blindly following someone. Let your voice be heard and make up your own darn mind.

When it comes to decisions like this, think about the reasons not to go to war first before you consider the reasons for the action. If you still believe that it is in our best interests to commit to this conflict then at least you thought it through and while I may not agree with your conclusions I can at least respect the fact that you gave it some serious thought. Even in making their rather humorous point you can tell there is a considerable amount of thought behind the sketch.

Humor aside, this is a sad state when so many will follow blindly. I know I have my own point of view and it happens to fall on the conservative side most of the time but it has never been blind trust which is why there are some views where I completely disagree. I try to give the benefit of the doubt to both sides but never throw my full support without giving some dedicated thought to the topic at hand.

The current epidemic of blind devotion to politicians has to stop. And I make that statement with both parties in mind. This also applies to the support and opposition of legislation. Just because the party you affiliate yourself with opposes some measure doesn’t mean you have to and just because your party supports a particular bill doesn’t mean you have to either. The same rules apply to the party you don’t affiliate yourself with.

In the end, you may find yourself supporting everything that one party does, I seriously doubt it, but at least give those positions some thought first. And even after you have formed an opinion and taken a position, don’t be afraid to reevaluate if you come across new information. As an example, in my Syria post I said that I do not support military action with the evidence at hand but if additional information is brought to light I will reconsider my position.

It’s not flip flopping. It’s being an informed member of society. So take the time and think about what you believe and what is really going on. Only then can you make an educated decision. Don’t let yourself be fodder for the comedy community.