Country Before Party or Country Before Self

[TheNewPatriot]

The way I see it there is a discouraging process happening in this country by Americans from both political parties and that is the priority of loyalty. It is apparent that instead of deciding what’s best for the country, we’re blinded by loyalty to the party above all else. This is wrong and very disheartening. We fail to make the distinction between the two. Loyalty to the party does not mean loyalty to the country and loyalty to country does not mean loyalty to the party. Now I know those of you who read this will accuse me of being one sided. While that is true, it’s the circumstances of this presidential election plus the road we’ve been on the last couple of decades that force it to be that way. I believe the cause of this is two fold. First, we’ve lost our history and second, we’ve got a narcissistic society for the most part. Meaning, too many Americans are self absorbed with them selves and always looking for what’s in it for me, what am I entitled to. Obviously this does not happen overnight, it takes time. We can thank the land of academia and media for that. Our schools have, whether on purpose or not have avoided; maybe I should say neglected, to teach our kids about our history. I mean ALL history including the good, the bad, and the ugly. Without the lessons of history you can’t see where you’ve been, you can’t understand the sacrifice made to get where we are. Without learning from the bad and ugly, we are destined to repeat those mistakes. Cliché, I know, but tell me where I am wrong. And the media, well they haven’t reported the news objectively in decades to the point where their bias is so blatantly obvious that journalism is dead and can’t be trusted.

The ultimate result of this neglect is lack of knowledge of knowing what is right and what is wrong. Understanding American history teaches us that. However, this lack of knowledge is a great weapon politicians use to slowly remove your liberty. Of course the media has to be complicit in keeping this knowledge from you. There’s an old story that when you drop a frog in boiling water, it’ll jump out immediately, but if you put it in cold water and then slowly heat it up, eventually the frog dies. This is what is happening to our country; those on the political left over the past couple of decades have been increasing the heat so slowly that we’ve been coasting along like all is well. When in reality our country is almost dead. We don’t recognize that it’s wrong or why. When you no longer know the value of freedom, then you don’t recognize that what little liberty you have left is on the verge of being taken away in name of social justice. There are two famous quotes from our past that are so appropriate about where we are now. America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves (Abraham Lincoln). They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety (Benjamin Franklin). These quotes are important and representative of Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. They’re asking you to trade in more of your liberty for security. The reality is, you’ll give up that freedom and never receive that security. Neither Barack nor the party are American. Before you fly off the handle asking what do you mean they’re not American, are you saying I’m not American? What I mean is their ideas are not American and just because you are a U.S. citizen and belong to a political party doesn’t automatically make you American. When they present solutions (paying taxes is patriotic, Joe Biden) that aren’t even close to what made this country great that is not American. The theft of your liberty has been done so slowly over the past couple of decades all in the name of fairness, of the children, of equality, protecting the environment, and on and on we’ve bought it like a ham sandwich because it made us feel good.

Back to the slow boil, it’s been so incremental we can’t make the distinction between what’s right and what’s wrong, we can’t make the distinction between American ideas and socialistic ideas. If you can’t make the distinction anymore, maybe you should listen to those who can because they’ve lived the socialist nightmare, the Marxist nightmare. Those who lived under communist or Marxist regimes and then found freedom do recognize the risk that faces this country if Barack Obama becomes President. When you’ve spent most of your life under the ideology of redistribution of wealth and an intrusive and oppressive government that suppressed your ability to speak freely, defend yourself, or decide what’s best for you and your family, it’s easy to recognize, especially in the language. They understand freedom doesn’t descend from government; only government can take it away. They understand it was individual freedom is what made us the wealthiest country in the world and it’s what they want for themselves. They understand it was freedom that solved our problems along the way. It wasn’t a government handout, or a government program all in the name of fairness that made us great.

 

[editec]

The way I see it there is a discouraging process happening in this country by Americans from both political parties and that is the priority of loyalty. It is apparent that instead of deciding what’s best for the country, we’re blinded by loyalty to the party above all else. This is wrong and very disheartening. We fail to make the distinction between the two. Loyalty to the party does not mean loyalty to the country and loyalty to country does not mean loyalty to the party. Now I know those of you who read this will accuse me of being one sided. While that is true, it’s the circumstances of this presidential election plus the road we’ve been on the last couple of decades that force it to be that way. I believe the cause of this is two fold. First, we’ve lost our history and second, we’ve got a narcissistic society for the most part. Meaning, too many Americans are self absorbed with them selves and always looking for what’s in it for me, what am I entitled to. Obviously this does not happen overnight, it takes time. We can thank the land of academia and media for that. Our schools have, whether on purpose or not have avoided; maybe I should say neglected, to teach our kids about our history. I mean ALL history including the good, the bad, and the ugly. Without the lessons of history you can’t see where you’ve been, you can’t understand the sacrifice made to get where we are. Without learning from the bad and ugly, we are destined to repeat those mistakes. Cliché, I know, but tell me where I am wrong. And the media, well they haven’t reported the news objectively in decades to the point where their bias is so blatantly obvious that journalism is dead and can’t be trusted.

The ultimate result of this neglect is lack of knowledge of knowing what is right and what is wrong. Understanding American history teaches us that. However, this lack of knowledge is a great weapon politicians use to slowly remove your liberty. Of course the media has to be complicit in keeping this knowledge from you. There’s an old story that when you drop a frog in boiling water, it’ll jump out immediately, but if you put it in cold water and then slowly heat it up, eventually the frog dies. This is what is happening to our country; those on the political left over the past couple of decades have been increasing the heat so slowly that we’ve been coasting along like all is well. When in reality our country is almost dead. We don’t recognize that it’s wrong or why. When you no longer know the value of freedom, then you don’t recognize that what little liberty you have left is on the verge of being taken away in name of social justice. There are two famous quotes from our past that are so appropriate about where we are now. America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves (Abraham Lincoln). They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety (Benjamin Franklin). These quotes are important and representative of Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. They’re asking you to trade in more of your liberty for security. The reality is, you’ll give up that freedom and never receive that security. Neither Barack nor the party are American. Before you fly off the handle asking what do you mean they’re not American, are you saying I’m not American? What I mean is their ideas are not American and just because you are a U.S. citizen and belong to a political party doesn’t automatically make you American. When they present solutions (paying taxes is patriotic, Joe Biden) that aren’t even close to what made this country great that is not American. The theft of your liberty has been done so slowly over the past couple of decades all in the name of fairness, of the children, of equality, protecting the environment, and on and on we’ve bought it like a ham sandwich because it made us feel good.

Back to the slow boil, it’s been so incremental we can’t make the distinction between what’s right and what’s wrong, we can’t make the distinction between American ideas and socialistic ideas. If you can’t make the distinction anymore, maybe you should listen to those who can because they’ve lived the socialist nightmare, the Marxist nightmare. Those who lived under communist or Marxist regimes and then found freedom do recognize the risk that faces this country if Barack Obama becomes President. When you’ve spent most of your life under the ideology of redistribution of wealth and an intrusive and oppressive government that suppressed your ability to speak freely, defend yourself, or decide what’s best for you and your family, it’s easy to recognize, especially in the language. They understand freedom doesn’t descend from government; only government can take it away. They understand it was individual freedom is what made us the wealthiest country in the world and it’s what they want for themselves. They understand it was freedom that solved our problems along the way. It wasn’t a government handout, or a government program all in the name of fairness that made us great.

Good post. I could quibble on minor issues but in toto I agree with your basic message.

As to the frogs in boiling water metaphor?

What surprises me, if how many of my fellow frogs are telling themselves that all the dying frogs they're sharing the pot with were just loser frogs who deserved to die.

This virture of selfishness philosophy which I find so many younger folks buying into (Young meaning 40 and below)?

No society will survive when enough people buy into that philosophy.

Because every society depends on people who do the right thing, and far too often, the right thing means not being selfish.

Now that doesn't mean that you've got to give your life over to the commonweal like some saintly nun, but it does mean that your every encounter with the other isn't thought of an an opportunity to never give a sucker an even break, either.

Competition is a good thing.

But cutthroat competition, where anyone who treats the other decently is thought a complete fool (and that's where I think we're headed, right now) is bound to lead to a society which is more disfunctional than fuctional.

If you really think that the value system of pirates is the path to a more productive society, move to Somalia.

That's where you can be just as selfish as you want.

 

[Diuretic]

It's just and proper for anyone to vote in their own self-interest. It's right that they put their own wellbeing before anyone else's in voting for their own interests. Pleading for ordinary working class or middle class people to vote Republican for the "good of the country" is transparent right-wing propaganda. Indeed it's close to a call for fascism.

 

[PubliusInfinitum]

It's just and proper for anyone to vote in their own self-interest. It's right that they put their own wellbeing before anyone else's in voting for their own interests. Pleading for ordinary working class or middle class people to vote Republican for the "good of the country" is transparent right-wing propaganda. Indeed it's close to a call for fascism.

ROFLMNAO... This from an Australian... who was disarmed by those to which he refers to as 'CONSERVATIVES.'

Now friends, if those that you allowed to disarm you were 'conservatives' from your perspective... then you're a card carrying comrade which really should learn to keep it to yourself.

There are many times where one's self interests are paramount... but in the voting booth is the absolute LEAST of such times.

Let the record reflect that Australia became the impotent little people's republic that is has become by just such a mindset; but so did France and the UK along with the balance of the Eurostan...

And thus is the distinction between the United States and the rest of the west.

 

[Diuretic]

Pub - do you have a point yet? All I see is running off at the keyboard, irrelevant bloviating and generally much bullshit. When are you actually going to make a point? You're on the sidelines yelling at the real players all the time. When will you hop in and make a point?

Blah fucking blah, all the time.

 

[Walkabout Jones]

While I don't necessarily agree with your politics or some of your points, I do agree with you about the issue of narcissism in this society -the what's in it for me attitude rather than looking beyond yourself and beyond your own party to what is in the best interests of America and the American people. They talk about bipartisanship but most of what we've seen during the course of this campaign is partisanship at the expense of this country. Check out this story. I think it goes to the heart of the issue of what this country needs. Deep Purple | Walkabout Jones