Author Archives: shagc1

Where Have You Been?

It has been almost six years since my last entry.  I didn’t stop writing after three blog posts because things dramatically improved, nor because I like the direction my country is going any more than I did six years ago.  I haven’t written because I wanted to make my blogs more meaningful by researching and by providing references to cite historical evidence supporting my perceptions, reflections, and assertions. I realized long ago that I don’t have the time (or won’t make the time) to be a good journalist as a blogger.  Even so, I still desire to express myself and to sharpen my positions (or change them, as necessary).

Rather than continuing to avoid the risk of exposing my ignorance and misconceptions, I will now embrace the opportunity to say something new and meaningful from time to time. I hope others will read and comment to correct me when my logic on issues or recollection of history is hopelessly at odds with reality, or to praise me when I say something that seems true and meaningful.  I thank you in advance.  In any case, I will stop hiding my positions and perspectives from the internet.  I plan to post a blog at least once every two weeks.  As such, they may be a little raw.  I hope to improve with experience.

I realize I am exposing myself to one of the cruelest mediums, but I assure the readers of my blog I will try to be honest and open minded.  I will also not take comments personally even if they are meant that way. This is my chance to stand on a box in the town square and make my opinions known.  Feel free to (virtually) throw fruits, vegetables, and rotten eggs at my posts.

I will retain the perspective of a candidate running for President of the United States as a writing device since it should be one requiring thought and careful articulation.  I have (mostly) refrained from making political postings on social media because most of the things I read are not balanced and fair, and the language is not well chosen.  The posts and accompanying comments seem reactionary and closed minded (tribal).  So much so, I feel any comment I might make would be a waste of time.

Finally, I expect to alienate some readers with each issue I explore.  The current political climate is polarized and tribal.  The “base” wants to hear some things, and it doesn’t want to hear others.  Furthermore, each side has highlighted instances in which opposing political leaders have shown themselves to be intellectually dishonest by changing their positions on issues as a result of positions taken by their opponents.  They expose themselves as political opportunists because they do not select their positions as a result of any virtuous or sincere philosophy.  Rather, they are guilty of political expediency as they pander to their base in order to retain power and control.  I hope I can live up to the standard I am creating here.

The journey begins anew….

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Two Parties

    Post 2013-03

The US Federal government is currently dominated by two political parties.

One of the parties is identified as the Democratic Party and described as liberals, socialists, progressives, leftists, and statists. If you listen to their opponents you would hear that they hate…
the military, guns, Christianity, Israel, the wealthy, employment, free speech, corporations, the country, and humanity.
The other party is identified as the Republican Party and described as conservatives, and rightists.
If you listen to their opponents you would hear that they hate…
women, old people, minorities, the poor, and Muslims.

If you are a member of either party you might be offended by the accusations against your party, and yourself. There seems to be little tolerance, and both sides say that those who don’t agree with them are closed minded. Since one party appears to represent the poor and disadvantaged, and the other appears to represent the wealthy and over-advantaged, I want a party that represents the middle class, average person who is willing to contribute to society through their employment, yet are mostly interested in enjoying time with their family and friends. This is the group the other parties are burdening to support their constituencies and to impose their social engineering.

I don’t like the labels given to the two parties. They are inaccurate, pejorative, or have lost their original meaning. I prefer to think of them as “Pears”. Let’s call the “left” the Bosco Pears, and let’s call the “right” the Bartlett Pears. The intent is to find names with no pre-conceived meaning or connotation.

For now, I am the candidate for President of the United States of America from the Orange Party. Again, the intent is to find a name with no pre-conceived meaning or connotation. So, it is the Oranges versus the Pears.

Eligible Voters

    Post 2013-002

The eligible voters can be segmented into three categories…

  1. Those that would blindly vote for one of the two major parties
  2. Those that would vote emotionally based on the stated goals of the party with the best marketing
  3. Those that are aligned with the unstated goals of one of the parties.

There is little chance I can receive the votes of those in categories one and three.  I must hope that I am able to convince more of those in category two to vote for me, than those in categories one, two, and three who will vote for any other candidate.  So, I must make a compelling argument for the virtues of my positions and a compelling argument for those inclined toward that position to actually vote.

This blog is the beginning of the adventure and its challenges.

Conjecture: There are many people who would disagree with the unstated goals (aka hidden agendas) of the two sides.

When in the course of human events….

    Post 2013-001

The United States of America is a country in which the populace appears to be increasingly divided between two political ideas.  It also appears that citizens are members of nearly equal sized groups depending on their political positions.  The debate is characterized by strong opinions and harsh rhetoric.

As a citizen, I am concerned about the consequences of this division.  I am unhappy with the bickering, and I would like to develop better insights into the future of my country.  At present, I am not optimistic.  I carefully listened to both sides and came to the conclusion that the stated goals of the two sides are not incompatible.  As such, there appear to be potential solutions that could satisfy both sides.  Unfortunately, when I pursued this approach with friends, I found that neither side was interested in these solutions.  Upon further probing, I discovered strongly desired “unstated” goals precluding the acceptance of these solutions.  The good news is that the majority of the populace may not agree with the unstated goals, precisely the reason they remain unstated.

I am primarily concerned that if one side prevails, the frustration of the other side is likely to be expressed through regrettable actions, further alienating each other with unfortunate consequences for my country and for the world.

In this web log (blog) I intend to characterize the debate from my perspective and to explore ideas for avoiding unfortunate consequences and regrettable actions.  In this way, I hope to evolve my perspective and to better articulate it.

Rather than creating abstract, academic posts, I choose to post positions and revelations to this blog based on a candidacy for public office currently having a low probability for success.

So, with this blog I am announcing my candidacy for President of the United States in the 2016 election.  I invite you to join me in this adventure.