look. after a glass of Herradura Anejo, and a nice dinner cooked on the grill with my wife, I am feeling fairly mellow. And even though I know you did enter into a bet with me that I won, I realize that...it's the freakin' internet, and it's a message board and maybe we should just shake hands and put this behind us. You know I made O-5... I know I made O-5. You disagree with my politics, and I disagree with yours. I got a lot of stuff on my plate trying to learn a new language and build a home at the same time. I don't have a lot of time to flail around with this. Let's put this behind us. I will refrain from insulting you going forward if you refrain from insulting me. Deal?
Well expatriate... I must admit your video was
a bit over the top.
But in all fairness I accept that you were what you claimed to be, even though your political affiliation has me completely
baffled... I know it has been quite some time since you left the Navy... My question is, did you have the same ideologies you have
now when you left the Military, or was your Liberal lunacy something that just sort of grew upon you over time? Not trying to be an ass, but most of the O-5/O-6 crowd I have had the honor to know over the years seemed much more in tune with individual achievement, and personal responsibility (see
my previous post -many posts back) than you seem to demonstrate here on USMB. Whatever the rationale for your Liberal mindset I have to say you are one seriously puzzling SOB.
I don't know where I have ever expressed anything that would suggest that I do not highly value personal responsibility and individual achievement because I certainly do. I just happen to believe that there are many people out there who are not blessed with the intellect or ability to do much in our society. I served with a good number of honest, hardworking sailors for whom tasks that you and I can do with one half of our brain tied behind our backs were insurmountable. They were hard workers. They just didn't have the mental horsepower to do hard things. They could chip paint or maintain a windlass if you showed them how, but correctly updating the month maintenance schedule and doing any sort of paperwork was absolutely beyond them. While my wife went to school, she was a waitress, and worked with lots and lots of waitresses and busboys and career dishwashers and fry cooks that were much the same way. They worked hard... harder work and longer work than most of us have ever had to do for minimum wage, or in the case of the waitresses, for half of minimum wage. The list goes on and on. I happen to believe that our nation needs to be able - as a nation - to take care of the people who work for us but who do not have the abilities to advance very high up the ladder of our socio-economic system. I don't believe that any mother should die or bankrupt her family simply because she gets ill. I realize that many on the right do not share those beliefs, and that is what our political dialog is all about.
In answer to your question, I grew up in a family of liberal democrats. My grandfather was a democrat even as he was on the board of directors of a fortune 500 company. My father was a successful lawyer, lifelong democrat, and, for a time, an Illinois state legislator and a friend and compatriot of Adlai Stevenson. I came by my liberal outlook from the values that my parents instilled in me. They also set very high standards for all four of their children, and we all have gone to college, and graduate school. Three of the four of us are just as liberal as our parents, but, much like Michael J. Fox in Family Ties, my kid brother is the only conservative republican in the family. We still love him dearly, however, and, as a father, he is my role model on how to be a great dad.
While in the service, I knew many democrats among the officer corps. We were certainly outnumbered by republicans, but not overwhelmingly so. And, in life, I am a much more moderate democrat on lots of issues than this forum affords me the opportunity to show.
