Here To Find Common Ground

Hello folks. I am the guy in a white hat riding in on a 383 stroker. I know a few of the names here, @CoinBlazer and @toughcoins and offer my warmest howdy-do to you fellers.

A bit of how I arrived at my political background.... I joined the US Army as a nuclear missile crewman in 1977. I was a kid and had little use for politics in my life. I served the army almost eight years. But in 1980 something magical happened. Moral became cool again for a soldier. I reveled in it and went on to serve in the Army color guard. When I discovered that pride came from the top, then I took an interest and became a staunch republican. However I do not vote a straight ticket and in fact voted for President Clinton his second term as I was pleased with his economy.

Ahh yes.... The economy.... I built a business in the 1990’s. I have eight folks that happily share in our company’s success. I have provided health care at my expense since the early 2000’s. I watched the premiums more than quadruple during the previous administration. I wasn’t pleased and used my power as a voter to do something about that. Never once vocalizing my distaste towards our nations leaders.

Which brings me to why I am here. I truly wish to understand the pre-pubescent bickering that takes place these days among those that profess to be in the know. Never in all my years have I witnessed such a childish public outcry. People are working. Jobs are stable. What on earth can possibly make these childish outcries seem OK? On either side of the fence, mind you. Bickering gets nothing done. As a businessman I learned long ago that results are the true substance of anyone’s efforts. News is no longer news. It is all “opinion” regardless of the channel you choose to get it from..... We are blessed to live in the most civilized time and place in the history of the planet. I just want to know... Why don’t we act that way?

 

I admire your intent but this forum is pretty dead. A couple of hardliners and not much activity. I gave up on civility and common ground a long time ago. This just isn't the place to find either of those things. Peter doesn't give a damn about this forum and why should he? If you sincerely want dialogue, there are countless forums you can try. Reddit, DU, etc. Good luck.

 

I appreciate that. Perhaps with some substance interjected in lieu of partisan one upsmanship, maybe we can coax some thinkers back on board.

 

Randy???

 

Literally the most civil thing I've heard you say since I joined.

 

Yes sir. You got me.

 

Nice to see ya

 

What say we shake this place up a bit and see if we can't get some critical thinkers on board so you and I can correct all our nations woes?

 

I'm doing what I can! Maybe ask a mod for permission try to recruit some people from CT in the Gen Disc. thread? Hell Ill do it for ya

 

An attitude like that does not help anyone. You are angry about the results of the 2016 presidential election. It's been almost three years. Get over it! Think about 2020.

I did not care for Obama's policies, but I had to knuckle under and put up with them. A mature person realizes that you can't can't tell people got to #%^$# and think that is going to get you anywhere.

 

Me = Member since 2012
You = Member since today

I think I know what I'm talking about when it comes to this forum. By the way, there used to be loads of Right-wing cowards here attacking Obama daily. When Trump won, they all decided that they couldn't defend him and scurried back under their rocks and back into their mother's basements. Oh, you'd have to have been here to know that.

 

If you think I am intellectual coward, you have another thing coming. I’m 70 years old, so you could probably beat me up physically, but if that’s your idea of winning, I’d suggest you join Antifa.

I might be run off by boredom, but I won’t be run off by you. Until you can make some informed arguments and points about the issues, you are just one more cyber black shirt with mask on, setting fires and beating people up because they don’t agree with you.

 

You really go off on some weird tangents. I have no interest in fighting or arguing with you.

 

This is my thread so I am going to address this as unpopular as it may be in our current political climate.

My personal purpose here is to understand why our political process has become a quagmire of finger pointing. Nothing is getting done and folks, there is some real work that needs tending and expeditiously too I might add.

Yet here we are in a friendly appointed thread squaring off and hurling personal insults at one another. We are blessed to live in the greatest social experiment in the history of our planet. Yet we as civilized men fail to accomplish anything better than this? Call me an eternal optimist if you wish, however I know we can do better.

 

I have studied a lot of British history over the past couple of years, and one of the great things about the history of this country is that the passing of power from one presidential administration to another has been orderly and civil.

That is something that often did not happen in England for centuries. Deposed kings were almost always killed soon after they left office. Most people who have studied history know that the English had one civil war in the mid 1600s, but there were several others that don’t get as much notice.

The worst problem we ever had here in America was when Lincoln was elected in 1860. That resulted in the southern states leaving the union and the Civil War. Other that that, the passage of power has been quite civil. The losers accepted the fact that they lost and the winners tried to reconcile with the losers.

After this last election all of that changed. There are a group of people who cannot accept the results. They have done all they could to reverse them, and they have done all they could to make the current president fail. With the exception of 1860, this is unprecedented.

If it continues, I’m not sure if we will be able to keep a democracy or even a nation. The two sides are so angry at each other, and it’s hard to tell how can be reconciled.

 

I fully agree with you. The current climate in our nation is a deadly cancer. I am but one voice. But healing has to start somewhere. I’ll not hand off this mess to my grandkids without fighting to make it right.

 

The best thing you can do for your grandkids is to encourage them to think for themselves. I graduated from undergraduate school in 1971. The process of indoctrination had begun then, but it was nothing compared to what it is now. I had liberal professors in class, but they were classic liberals who only advocated an end the Vietnam War, civil rights and larger government programs. They made me think, and that was great. They did not openly advocate socialism at the state school which I attended. I know it was different at places like Columbia University where I attended a high school press association convention in 1967.

Today the social and academic pressures are huge. Maybe I would flunk out of college today because I would not tell them what they want to hear. It seems that academic freedom is dead at many universities.

 

Thats hilarious! As soon as anyone here begins to support anything of the republican party or conservative views, you'll be name calling and bullying just like you always do.

 

Praise be to Allah.

 

My faith in Jesus Christ will always endure