Yesterday I went out. It was cold but I went out anyway. The weather wasn't horrible but something else chilled my spine. I went to a small shop I often go to. It is a small. old, neighborhood store but has a few tables for the customers to sit and have coffee and doughnuts. Almost all of the customers have grey hair. This is a small New England town with many old mills. Most of the residents are descendants of European emigrants that came to work in the mills.
The town was evidently founded by people to emigrated from England. Those family names are the ones on the mills and the library, the Revolutionary War monument, and the schools. Those old trust funds are still alive.
There was also an extensive rock quarry in town. After the English came the Poles and the Swedes and the French. Those old family names are represented by the names on the Civil War monument, the Spanish American War monument, the World War One monument, the World War Two monument, the Korean War monument, the Vietnam monument, the list of registered voters, and the people in that little store.
There are a lot of churches in this town. There is one breakfast place, one bookstore, one hardware store, one building for police, fire, and town offices. There is no mega-mall or computer store. There are a lot of schools and farms and land that were donated to the town by deceased residents. There are not many Democrats.
I sat in the store talking with two life-long Republicans that I have come to know and respect. They don't say much but when they do speak, it is time to listen. They are both combat veterans and residents of one of the many senior citizen complexes that have been established in some of the old mills. They were talking about America. It is a conversation that I usually stay out of with them because we have different views and yet the same view. We differ on parties but we have the same view of America. "This is my country. You mess with America, you mess with me!".
The chilling part soon raised its head. Change has come, not just in Washington and Hollywood, but in small town America.
The first one said "This Obama seems to have taken charge. It is about time that someone did. I'm glad that I voted for him.". My ears came alive. I couldn't believe what I had heard.
The second one said "Me too. It was hard to decide as I made a mistake with the last guy. I should have voted for a veteran that saw combat but I voted for the Alabama Air National Guard. The things that they said about Kerry's war record were cheap and disgusting. I was tempted to vote for McCain because of that but then I thought. America doesn't need a soldier now. What America needs is a doctor and an accountant. We need a healer and some new blood. I will never vote for a Republican again. You hurt my country once, shame on you. You hurt my country twice, shame on me!".
I remained quiet as I had never voted for a bush league president. Later on the wheels of my mind started turning and the chill started growing. If this is the sentiment of a staunchly Republican town, what does the future hold? The Republican Party has destroyed itself by incompetance. It has lost the respect of its constituency. These people, whose forebears knew the value of a life time of hard work, saving for the future, investing in the younger generation, and stepping forward when their country was in peril, are disgusted.
I don't think that a Republican could get elected town herder (yes there is one here, he handles cows and horses and sheep that have gotten away but not chickens) in this town. The Republican Party has created a nation of yellow dog Democrats. We are going to have a one party system for a long time. That is the chilling part. A one party system can achieve great things but eventually it will get too confident in its power and institutionalize a system of abuses. Hoover Dam and the CCC put people to work but Trinity put the entire world at risk.
Then came last night. I don't know if it is true but the news reported that President Obama had said "If you criticize the President, you criticize America.". The chill went to absolute zero. That is too reminiscent of "L'etat c'est Moi.".
Later on I watched a program called Homeland Security that is about the new agency that is protecting America. If you ever want to know what happened to Curley, Moe, and Larry, watch this show. They busted two barefoot Fijians and English lady with a cat. The Fijians were already in someone else's custody but eight Homeland Security storm troopers knocked on the door to the holding room and said "Stand back we are going to open the door. Come out please. O.K.?". The English lady was stopped because she didn't have any cash with her. A spanish lady was held because she had too much cash. Boy is she lucky that she didn't have a cat.
I realize that Homeland Security is a big deal. Someone should take a look at what these guys really are. From what I saw I wouldn't let them walk my dog. They were hired in a huge mass effort to staff that agency. They are going to be on the books for a long time. If they ever get body armour, and they will because it is what the big guys wear, the government is going to have to find body armour with a bay window. It turns out that Homeland Security should have been watching the banks instead of the airports. We need an accountant in charge, not Rambo.
The town was evidently founded by people to emigrated from England. Those family names are the ones on the mills and the library, the Revolutionary War monument, and the schools. Those old trust funds are still alive.
There was also an extensive rock quarry in town. After the English came the Poles and the Swedes and the French. Those old family names are represented by the names on the Civil War monument, the Spanish American War monument, the World War One monument, the World War Two monument, the Korean War monument, the Vietnam monument, the list of registered voters, and the people in that little store.
There are a lot of churches in this town. There is one breakfast place, one bookstore, one hardware store, one building for police, fire, and town offices. There is no mega-mall or computer store. There are a lot of schools and farms and land that were donated to the town by deceased residents. There are not many Democrats.
I sat in the store talking with two life-long Republicans that I have come to know and respect. They don't say much but when they do speak, it is time to listen. They are both combat veterans and residents of one of the many senior citizen complexes that have been established in some of the old mills. They were talking about America. It is a conversation that I usually stay out of with them because we have different views and yet the same view. We differ on parties but we have the same view of America. "This is my country. You mess with America, you mess with me!".
The chilling part soon raised its head. Change has come, not just in Washington and Hollywood, but in small town America.
The first one said "This Obama seems to have taken charge. It is about time that someone did. I'm glad that I voted for him.". My ears came alive. I couldn't believe what I had heard.
The second one said "Me too. It was hard to decide as I made a mistake with the last guy. I should have voted for a veteran that saw combat but I voted for the Alabama Air National Guard. The things that they said about Kerry's war record were cheap and disgusting. I was tempted to vote for McCain because of that but then I thought. America doesn't need a soldier now. What America needs is a doctor and an accountant. We need a healer and some new blood. I will never vote for a Republican again. You hurt my country once, shame on you. You hurt my country twice, shame on me!".
I remained quiet as I had never voted for a bush league president. Later on the wheels of my mind started turning and the chill started growing. If this is the sentiment of a staunchly Republican town, what does the future hold? The Republican Party has destroyed itself by incompetance. It has lost the respect of its constituency. These people, whose forebears knew the value of a life time of hard work, saving for the future, investing in the younger generation, and stepping forward when their country was in peril, are disgusted.
I don't think that a Republican could get elected town herder (yes there is one here, he handles cows and horses and sheep that have gotten away but not chickens) in this town. The Republican Party has created a nation of yellow dog Democrats. We are going to have a one party system for a long time. That is the chilling part. A one party system can achieve great things but eventually it will get too confident in its power and institutionalize a system of abuses. Hoover Dam and the CCC put people to work but Trinity put the entire world at risk.
Then came last night. I don't know if it is true but the news reported that President Obama had said "If you criticize the President, you criticize America.". The chill went to absolute zero. That is too reminiscent of "L'etat c'est Moi.".
Later on I watched a program called Homeland Security that is about the new agency that is protecting America. If you ever want to know what happened to Curley, Moe, and Larry, watch this show. They busted two barefoot Fijians and English lady with a cat. The Fijians were already in someone else's custody but eight Homeland Security storm troopers knocked on the door to the holding room and said "Stand back we are going to open the door. Come out please. O.K.?". The English lady was stopped because she didn't have any cash with her. A spanish lady was held because she had too much cash. Boy is she lucky that she didn't have a cat.
I realize that Homeland Security is a big deal. Someone should take a look at what these guys really are. From what I saw I wouldn't let them walk my dog. They were hired in a huge mass effort to staff that agency. They are going to be on the books for a long time. If they ever get body armour, and they will because it is what the big guys wear, the government is going to have to find body armour with a bay window. It turns out that Homeland Security should have been watching the banks instead of the airports. We need an accountant in charge, not Rambo.
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