I wanted to keep it light today, but real life just does not want to allow that.
It is so easy to lose perspective, and while I have a lot to be thankful for, I also see so many things to pray about.
The world is on fire.
North Korea and South Korea could get us into World War III. The recent incident of North Korea firing stuff at South Korea was an act of war, although perhaps it will come to that. I want to say that cooler heads will prevail, but their is nothing rational or reasonable about Kim Jong Il.
Greece went broke, and now Ireland is bankrupt. Portugal and Spain are on the brink. It was one thing went companies went bankrupt. That was bad enough. Now entire nations are collapsing.
I the 1930s we had bread lines. Men sold apples on the street to try and feed their families. My grandparents spent their lives worrying it would happen again. I still believe in the American Dream and the American people, but of course I am concerned.
Radical Islamists are trying to blow up America and Israel so they can spread a global Caliphate. We are letting our political correctness cause us to turn inward. We have people at the airport choosing between getting a full body scan or being subjected to an aggressive pat-down. These are both humiliating choices. The left does not want to profile people because then the terrorists would supposedly change their profile. That is simplistic, but it has me staying home.
Then on Friday, as the world burns, ladies will kill each other over holiday toys. Maybe this is a good thing, because the economy could use some stimulation.
JP Morgan announced that the dollar is going to be the weakest global currency in 2011. This is frightening. No nation has ever devalued itself to prosperity.
America is broke, and nobody wants to make the necessary sacrifices. Politicians do not want to make the tough decisions.
The tired leftist solutions of raising taxes and cutting defense are not going to get the job done. We need to make drastic changes to entitlement programs. Social Security and Medicare are strangling our economy.
Some people worry that America could become Greece.
We are already there. Student protesters took to the streets to protest fee hikes.
I am really not in the mood today to bash students, but don’t they understand that we have to do this? Also, can we please produce more people out of colleges that know how to actually do stuff? Where are the plumbers, carpenters, and welders? Do we need experts in Transgendered Chicano-Vegan Studies?
I am not saying they are bad people, but the hiring market for these people is not large right now. They could become teachers, churning out more people with specializations affecting virtually nobody.
We need our colleges to get back to teaching people how to do actual things that are skills. We do not make stuff anymore, and we will cease to have Thanksgiving 100 years from now if the Chinese buy us, enslave us, and turn our holiday season into celebrations of dragons or rats.
I respect the Chinese people. They are doing what nations are supposed to do. They are unleashing their people to be the best and brightest. We need to get back to that.
So yes, I pray that somehow, some way, we find a way to dig down deep and solve the problems that could destroy us quicker than we realize.
I know, this is a very depressing Thanksgiving Day message. Yet ignoring the truth will not suppress.
To avoid despair, I thought of the things that I am thankful for. I take so much for granted.
I have two eyes. I am not blind. I can see.
I have a roof over my head, and a nice one at that. I can see the main street from my window. It is right outside. The cars going by at night are like fake ocean waves. It is very peaceful. The weather is warm. I can go poolside and relax whenever I want.
I have two ears, and hear the sounds around me. I have solace when I need it, and plenty of interaction when that is preferred.
When I watch a television program, I am able to see and hear everything. That is no small thing for somebody who cannot do this.
I have two legs and two arms that work fine. So many people are quadriplegics and paraplegics. Some lost limbs serving America in war. Others were just born with debilitating conditions. Others were healthy one day, and then the next day lost the use of their motor skills for a variety of reasons.
I can run across the street without a cane. I can climb stairs. I even play touch football.
Both of my hands work. Simple things such as typing my columns or sending my emails requires this.
I have both of my parents alive. Many people do not have this. Some people never knew their parents. One day I will not have mine. For now I do, and I thank God for this.
My grandparents are gone, but I had all four of them alive when I graduated college. On one side, I was the first grandchild to do this, and it meant a ton to them. At age 30, I still had three of them. The last one departed Earth in 2008, but I was with her the night before she died, and we had a lovely time. She knew how much I loved her.
I lost love recently, but some people never experience it at all. There were plenty of bad times, but the good times will stay with me long after the bad times have faded away. I was truly lucky to have a good human being love me, even if we did not gt married and have children.
I have the best friends a guy could ask for. I am truly blessed. Some people do not know what it is like to sustain friendships. All of my friendships are long-term ones. If something bad happened at 4am, there are a few people in this world I could call. That is a blessing.
I do not have children of my own, but my close friend has an adorable son. I am his de facto “Uncle Eric.” The boy has lit up my heart, ad I am so glad that at age three he is too young to know what his father and his Uncle Eric worry about. We worry so he does not have to. He has no idea how awesome it is to just block out the world and watch him play with his toys. He also gives the best high-fives on the planet.
I am thankful for being able to frequently travel. With me, business is pleasure. I have the best job in the world, and I get to see America. This is an amazing nation, and if I could go everywhere and shake every single hand, I would. My story is so ordinary, which is what makes America extraordinary.
So as I dive into a Swanson Dinner and gorge on football, my favorite hobby, I thank God that even in the toughest of times, there are moments of tranquility and peace.
Peace…maybe it is possible. I wish that for all of you.
Happy Thanksgiving.
eric
“Social Security and Medicare are strangling our economy.”
No they’re not. Why do you say that? A little tweaking and they’ll be fine. They are funded by dedicated taxes. Besides, the Baby Boomers are not going to live forever. The military, on the other hand, is the single largest US expenditure, and it comes from discretionary spending. Why do we still have troops all over the world? Why are we still in Europe? WWII ended 65 years ago! The Cold War, 20! At what point do we end this military empire? Instead of building roads and schools and new sources of power, instead of putting our kids through university and taking care of our health, instead of ensuring the safety and security of our people and their prosperity, we’re BLOWING 26% of the taxpayers money on DEFENSE! Why???
Could you imagine if you lived in a house, even in a bad neighborhood, and you spent 26% of your annual income, every year, on guns and ammo and electric fences and training and security cams and mercenaries and friggin’ missile launchers! People would think you are a DANGEROUS PARANIOD DELLUSIONAL. That is what this almost fanatical religious support for our ridiulous military is – dangerous paranoid dellusion.
If you believe the Muslim world poses an existential threat to America, then you truly must believe we are a weak, pathetic, unarmed, incapable, incompetent country.
Why is it that our working and young and elderly and poor have to suffer conservative austerity, but we can’t rein in that ridiculous military, the rich can’t pay just a little more in taxes, we can’t make our trading opartners trade fairly? Why is that? I know why. But I’d love to hear the conservative response.
JMJ
“No they’re not. Why do you say that? A little tweaking and they’ll be fine. ”
Yeah, you can collect after you die
Micky, Social Security is solvent for the time being, and Medicare has some problems coming soon, but these are easily remediated. Remember, like I said, the 76 million Baby Boomers aren’t getting younger. Eventually, they’ll be mostly gone. The system will be under a lot of stress for the next couple of decades, but there are ways to mitigate that as well…
Legalize working aliens. Have them and their employers pay all the same taxes they should be paying. About one third of undocumented workers do not pay FICA taxes, and while I’ll grant that we’d allow a lot of those folks to collect later, it’s far more important that they pay now for the sake of keeping SS and Medicare in tact.
Lift the cap on the SS tax. It’s only a couple of percent, and it will cover the vast majority of costs without really hurting anyone.
End the military empire. Please, guys, why are you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo paraniod?
Make Free Trade into Fair Trade. “Trade,” afterall, is by definition something of equal value given for soemthing else of equal value. At what point will you ostensibly-economically literate conservatives realize that?
JMJ
I here ya, but upping the age really screws up present retirement.
were paranoid because we need to be.
Lack of paranoia got us 911 and every attempt after that.
I think the most recent N. Korean bombings should be enough to wise you up.
N. Korea could be b*tch slapped in an instant. But theres the other players involved and the last thing China wants is millions of refugees flooding their borders.
They just want stuff again, thats obvious. But, like liberals, at some point they have to realize money does not grow on trees and they’re going to have to open to trade with the world.
That would destroy the monarchy elite.
This sht has to stop and that time is here. In the present world economic status they know that the last thing any major player wants is war.
Were all tired of being extorted. Theres nothing left to extort
Agree we spend far more on the military than what is justified… Absolutely need a strong defense mechanism, but we have contracted so much of it out that we have created the “self licking ice cream cone”… A program I ran several years ago on a $5 M budget was designed to enhance readiness of reserve component Soldiers so they didn’t have to spend so much time and money during post mob training… My fear 9 years ago was that the program would be successful and become an entitlement…my worst fears have happened…as I am looking to enter the civilian market next year, I was informed of many opportunities within this program…that has over a $20 M budget now…and more structure and hierarchal “leadership” than needed… in the Army we have Colonels and Generals coming out the ying yang…I felt I accomplished something in Afghanistan, but I was doing a job a Major should have been doing…having said that, the validations went from 20% to 100% under my direction, and since I left, they have yet to validate… not saying I’m that good because I’m not…but I AM old and have dropped the gunslinging attitude that is so prevalent and does not work in COIN environment.
As far as our social programs, I recall paying about $342 per six months for auto insurance. When we moved to GA, we jumped to over $800 – no tickets, accidents, changes in autos – the difference was GA had a No Fault law, so we subsidized the bad drivers, illegals, and those who couldn’t afford insurance. Same way with health care – a few years back, several republicans sponsored a federal mandate for national health care and used logic that volume would reduce costs…the problem is the baggage – those who can afford cigarettes, alcohol, cell phones, cable TV, internet, and a dog but can’t afford their own rent, food, or insurance…so we subsidize the sick, lame, and lazy ignernt masses, and it costs more. We champion group rights, but our Constitution is all about individual rights. The muslims are my enemy. I’ve been fighting them up close and personal for several years in their countries…so they have freedom to worship and live as they please…yet they come to my country and try to impose their rules on me…my neighbor signed a contract when he bought the house that he would follow the neighborhood covenants – but he leaves his trash in the front yard and parks his two cars on the grass in the front yard…and because he’s a Muslim, he thinks this is ok. He is my enemy. The War on Terror was a job I took seriously when overseas, and I followed the COIN doctrine and respected my Iraqi (Arab and Kurd) and Afghan counterparts – letting them take the lead, hiding my religion, being sensitive to their customs…but they want to come here and trash my way of life. The Muslim movement is the most obvious sneak attack on record… and they are following the principles of group rights advocates who made it possible for free college monies for minorities, special rights for Indians, special rights for illegal aliens, and special considerations for many other “groups”… Our war is right here in the US, and we must build our “core” muscles from within and start celebrating what makes us unified as opposed to our diversities… sorry for the rambling…been busy…