A Change of Pace

I created this blog in November of 2011 for the sole purpose of reporting on a 47-day RV Caravan that I was about to embark upon to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Needless to say, I kept the blog going and have posted experiences on other subsequent RV trips. However, to call this a “travel blog” is no longer correct, as many of my posts have not been about my travel experiences. If you look back over my previous posts you will find I have written about topics such as my 50th high school reunion, the Texas primary, my dog eating broccoli, Monarch butterflies, Mardi Gras, the American Civil War, football, Texas music, bad drivers, government shutdown, Sasquatch, computer crashes, money and its influence, my favorite bands of all time, telemarketers, war, English Common Law, atomic clocks, Oktoberfest, cable TV companies, dieting, Walmart, creationism, age discrimination, movies, the NSA, the NRA and gun control, open carry, painless dentistry, my army training, fracking, and the Apollo 11 moon landing.

I have attempted to instill humor into most of my posts while a few have been deadly serious. I have attempted to keep politics out of the blog but am finding it more and more difficult to do so. I am 70-years old and have come to the conclusion that I should write about anything I damn well please. So, with this post I intend to start by telling the world what pushes my buttons and in what I believe. I imagine my rants will include such controversial topics as in politics/government, gun control, energy, immigration, religion (the Bible and creationism vs. evolution), environment, and anything else about which I have a strong feeling.

Consider this my first installment.

Let me state for the record that I really don’t care for politicians. But I will exempt local politicians from this discussion because I don’t believe the majority of them plan or expect to move up the political ladder. As for the rest of them? I just don’t trust them. Most of them think they are smarter than I am and many may be. But I believe that I am as intelligent if not more so than the average politician and I know without the shadow of a doubt that I have more common sense than most of them seem to have. Every politician I have ever listened to seems to have the opinion that they are smarter than everyone else and that only they know what is best for America. Unless you are an idiot, you have already observed that most politicians are condescending when they speak to a group of voters. They seem to think that only they could possibly know what is right for everyone. Therefore, I find it somewhat perplexing why anyone with a modicum of intelligence would vote for some these people and I find it extremely frustrating that voters even re-elect some of these people. 

Politicians seem to have an animalistic cunning, or survival instinct, rather than actual intelligent reasoning. The bottom line is that most politicians will do whatever is best for numero uno while giving lip service to their constituents. 

There are two things that influence politicians and change policy; power and money. Martin’s (this author) Axiom states, “It takes wealth to gain power and power to maintain wealth.” Which one came first? The power or the money? I don’t believe it is of much consequence because once the cycle has been kick-started it is self-perpetuating and difficult to shut down as it continues to be fueled with money. Stick your head or hand into that engine and you may lose a body part. It is great wealth rather than acquired knowledge or common sense that influences political decisions. The individual voter can do little, if anything, to effect legislative policy or political change. This has been proven in several studies (Google it). Mr. (Ben) Franklin’s Republic is being transformed into an Oligarchy (rule by wealth) and there is virtually nothing we can do to stop it. This is not as far-fetched as one might think. The Koch brothers are currently on a buying spree.

I call myself a “progressive independent.” Progressive because I believe that the ultra-conservatives are attempting to reverse the hands of time, undo much good that has been done, and rewrite the history and science books to reflect their backward beliefs. I am an Independent because I refuse to be a member of any organized political party that tries to tell me how I should vote or questions my patriotism should I vote differently. My politics are a little too far to the left for me to be called a Republican and I can’t be a Democrat because I don’t believe in a continually expanding and over spending government or free handouts to those not in need or deserving of them. Yet, I have no solutions for our political problems and at age 70 I doubt there will be much change during the remainder of my lifetime. It is my children and their children who will be left saddled with the mess  our generation has created.