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02-22-2015 08:56 PM |
If right wingers are a 1, and left wingers are 10, I am a 6, which naturally makes a libtard according to the ones. I too was a professional and an executive in my working days. Thank God I never had to accept any charity or direct government assistance, and paid, and still pay, a lot of income tax, which I have always considered a privilege for enjoying life in this great country. I wore the uniform of the U.S. Army and lost my best friend in Vietnam. I love my country, and would not want to live anywhere else, but also believe my country and its leaders are far from perfect and many other countries do certain things better than we do in education and medical care for example. I hate the devisiveness in our politics, and the way it divides our people. I too am happy that my tax dollars can be used in ways that help people who haven't had the advantages, opportunity, and good fortune that I have enjoyed. I believe in capitalism and have no envy of people making their fortune so long as they do it honestly and ethically. I think that the level of inequality has gotten out of hand however, and that those who have been smart and lucky enough to make fortunes should be more willing to recognize the employees who do the work to help make their fortunes with higher wages and better benefits. I believe in unions, though I never belonged to one, but realize that some of them have abused their power and cheated the rank and file. I believe in them because they were instrumental in raising the American middle class, including some in my family, to the greatest standard of living in the world during the post ww2 era. I fear the middle class is becoming increasingly smaller and not because they are rising out of it, but because many are falling out the other end. It is heartening to me to see the minimum wage being raised in many states and WalMarts announcement of across the board increases is good though long overdue. I believe that race relations have come a long way since the embarrassing conditions of my youth, and I think that most of the advances were because of the efforts of brave liberals many in the face of violent retribution. However, the black community still is discriminated against in many places and in more subtle ways. The Black community deserves some of the blame for the failure to raise their status, but we the majority need to be willing to help those willing to work to raise themselves and their families above systematic poverty. A hopeful and secure person seldom turns to crime, white, black, or other. I suppose some will pick this post apart and attack it, and that's okay by me, it won't affect me or my ideals, it is, after all, a free country(for the most part).
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