As a kid, I wanted to be an oceanographer. I loved watching the Jacques Cousteau show and begged my parents to buy me books on the ocean, sharks, whales, anything on the ocean. For years, my parents knew I had chosen my future. I had it all planned out, first community college to get all the bonehead classes out of the way, then to the California State University at Long Beach for my masters degree, apply and pray to get to spent the summer on the Aurora research ship, then to Scripps Institute of Oceanography for my doctorate. I even remember what my doctoral thesis was going to be. I had an underwater camera and I used to go to Marineland and swim the Baja Reef. I was like a kid in heaven when in the water. I became a member of the Cousteau Society and looked forward to getting updates on adventures of the Calypso and her crew. I remember how disappointed I was when every month, the society letter was nothing more than a solicitation for money. The Calypso needed a new propeller shaft or was in dry dock for an engine overhaul. Every month for a year, the letter begged for money. I got to the point that I thought they should scrap the old boat and just buy a new one. I know the Calypso was a modified World War Two mine sweeper bought and lovingly transformed by Jacques Cousteau himself, but really, begging for money every time…I did not renew my membership and never looked back. Circumstances in life derailed my plans, but that is fodder for another story.
Now, I am a Christian, Conservative, Caucasian, overweight male, heterosexual and I feel like I am a minority. I belong to several conservative grassroots organizations and I feel like I did when I was a member of the Cousteau Society. Only now, the solicitation comes in the form of emails, begging for money sometimes several times a day. My lifestyle is being attacked from so many sides, I can’t keep up. From trying to take my guns away, to allowing ILLEGAL immigration (compared to legal immigration which I support), forcing me to accept homosexuality, telling me drugs are now OK in society, telling me I am a bad parent if I give my child a cookie or a spanking or send him to school with a juice box, telling me I am killing the planet by driving my big gas guzzling American made truck, that I am insulting people if i fly the flag of the United States of America or tell a Mexican that the Mexican flag belongs in Mexico, I can’t open the door for a lady, I can’t say she looks nice today, I can’t eat meat, I can’t take a shower every day because I am wasting water, I have to accept the Muslim mosque and the call to prayer in my neighborhood, I have to let my child be told about the Koran in school and that climate change is a settled science, even though over half the climate scientist disagree with the known and proven lies, and creationism can not be taught in school but evolution is ?fact?
It would be easier to make a list of cans than can’ts and the organizations needing/begging for money out numbers the causes. It is enough to cause political overload. Well, guess what….I have been pushed for too long and far enough. I am standing my ground and pushing back. I matter also. My opinions on religion, patriotism, politics and social issues matter also. Now, I want to paint an american flag on my truck, fly the Confederate flag, drink coffee, eat red meat, drive my truck because I can, go shooting at the range, shower everyday, nice long lavish hot showers, play my bluegrass/country/gospel music loud enough to drown out the Muslim call to arms, er, prayer,… teach creationism, loudly demand real proof of global warming in the midst of a snow storm, pray out loud at the flag pole, recite the ten commandments and the pledge of allegiance and yes, I want to burn the rainbow flag as my first amendment right to protest the supreme courts illegal ruling for gay marriage. The institution that is first talked about in Genesis of the Holy Bible and it does not mention a union of Adam and Steve.
I can be mad at those that continually beg for money via email because I know that evil is encroaching from all sides, but still push back and try to make this country what it used to be, a shining city on the hill, a beacon of freedom and a place where laws meant something and our courts did not legislate from the bench. a place where my opinion counts too.
Imagine it this way…if we were to split America in half, give one side to the liberals and the other to conservatives, your choice but chose now. build a big fence separating the two halves…who would cross over first? Damn right…the liberals would be trying to get across to our side because nobody is working on the liberal side, they could not afford all the social programs because the working people would be on the other side, but guess what, we don’t want them or their cancer called “socialism”. It has never worked in the history of this planet. It is exactly like a pendulum as it swings, but instead of coming back toward center, the liberals are pulling the pendulum too far to the left and as you know, if the pendulum swings too far to one side, the support structure will collapse. We are almost there my friends. It is time to stand our ground because we matter also.