Quote:
Originally Posted by dividebyzero
Perhaps I've been misunderstood. I didn't feel like my response was "high-horsed grandstanding" or off-the-cuff sarcasm, so please accept my apology if it was interpreted that way. I have nothing but the utmost respect for the QPs, servicemen and women (and their family members) who post here, and don't intend to convey anything otherwise in my posting.
As far as me "getting my bearings" with regards to who's posting here, I registered in August 2007 and lurked for well over a year before posting. I guess I'm the odd man out given that I'm an Obama supporter, as I've noticed there's a plurality of McCain supporters here. I respect the reasons that many of you have for wanting McCain, and I won't try to dissuade anyone from those. My point is: if this were the other way around, and this was from a small business owner who supported Obama, I'd think the objections I raised would have been resoundingly agreed with.
As far as "Chosen Soldier" goes, no, NYU doesn't have a copy. I bought my own last year, found it a fascinating read, re-read it several times and now it's resting on my bookshelf right in front of me. 
Again, I mean no disrespect or condescension. If I'm still coming off as a jerk, I'll retreat for another year or so. |
dividebyzero, you know I can see how you would think this was un-American, I don't agree with you but I think I at least understand your view, further I have a theory that I think explains why you think this way, and I don’t think I’ve shared it before on this board so I’m going to.
I call my theory “Everyone gets a trophy”, and it’s based on my observations of sporting events for young children today and how it's effecting present day society. So when I was a kid, even in the 1st grade in both “ant ball” soccer and T-ball the team who scored more goals or runs won the game and the other team lost. Now at the end of the respective seasons the teams who had won the most games got a little trophy, the rest of the teams were told try harder next year. Now fast forward to today, at the end of those same seasons everyone gets a trophy, there is no first or second, because some of the parents of the losing kids thought that not getting a trophy makes their kids feel bad and that’s somehow not fair, so instead they collectively have taken away the accomplishment from the team who actually worked harder and or had more talent to give to those who didn't earn it, see where this is going? What we have done is created a society of people who feel entitled, and feel like if they show up they should get the same thing as those who have not only showed up, but worked hard and excelled. Another side effect of this phenomenon is that personal responsibility has been pretty well discarded in our society of loop holes in lieu of perceived fairness, this has happened to the point that everyone feels like they aren’t responsible for anything even their own actions, there’s always an excuse they want to get off on. Look at nearly any murder trial, the suspect inevitably claims to have been abused, not bee hugged enough, blah blah blah, and that because of these things they’re not responsible for their actions. It has become so pervasive today, that we are indoctrinating our youth to believe they can do anything and they’re just not responsible. In today’s world if your parents didn’t make a concerted effort to teach the dying concept of personal responsibility then you truly probably don’t understand why others on this site have criticized your “un-American” statement.
Now I don’t mean to be harsh to you, but here is how I view the topic of this thread, if the business is hurt by Obama’s tax raises and must lay off workers, that is an effect of an action, the action is the tax raise that Obama levied on these businesses and HE WILL RAISE taxes that’s a fact, he can’t pay for all his socialist policies without doing so, further he has told you and everyone else he’s going to do so. The new taxes are a secondary effect of voting for a left wing uberliberal tax and spend socialist who has already SAID he WILL raise taxes, it's not like he's fooling ya if you're paying attention.
Now while no one can tell you what to think or who to support that does not mean that you do not have to accept the responsibility and repercussions for the actions that come of that support. You say it’s un-American to punish the BHO supporters for their beliefs, is it somehow more American or fair to punish those who voted against BHO and his new taxes? They didn’t want what he was selling, why should they have to pay for it? How is that fair? I would argue it’s very fair to lay off the BHO supporters first, they wanted this “change”, and voted for higher taxes and the hand outs, those votes in this scenario caused the harm that forced the businesses to have to lay people off, the responsible parties i.e. BHO voters should stand at the front of the line to pay for it, that's called personal responsibility and I hope it happens that way because that actually would be fair.
The truth is that no matter how many teachers, politicians, parents of looser kids, or Dims say it should be LIFE IS NOT FAIR , and it never will be, but taking from those who have to give to those who don’t is not only not accomplishing the fairness the above want, hell it isn't even American, it’s Socialism, and it’s one of the things we in the military have fought against since this countries inception, so if you come in here as a proponent of it, guess what you've just painted a target on yourself. That's a choice you made either intentionally or unintentionally, if it was unintentional you might want to keep lurking until you understand those here a little better.
Now your take is exactly what I expect from a Democrat, they want everyone to get everything as long as they don’t actually have to pay for it, look at BHO’s family, he wants to spread the wealth around in the rest of America, yet I haven't seen him spreading his own wealth around to the members of his family living illegally and in poverty in this country, I call that hypocrisy, but I digress. At the end of the day I think this business owners theory is a great lesson on responsibility.
My last point, your above statement is if the shoe were on the other foot we would be the ones bitching, well if the business owner was going after the McCain supporters he’d be punishing them for his own choices not punishing them for theirs, how is that the same? Apples to oranges IMO.