I voted today. I'm ashamed to admit that it's the first time I've voted since I was 18 years old. I frankly didn't even remember how to go about it, although it wouldn't have mattered since it's undoubtedly very different than when I was 18. I also live in a different town now, so that was also a change. I actually had to get online and find out where my polling place was. It was exactly where I assumed it would be -- at a school nearby.
I never used to care about politics. I always figured that I'd let those folks who WERE interested in politics carry the ball for me at election time. I was never informed enough or interested enough to make an educated vote. I guess when you're young, you have the luxury of being self-absorbed and not caring about what's happening in the world around you. I lived like that for many years.
Now that I'm older, I see that it's very important to be a part of the world around you. I'm still not doing all that I should, but I'm proud of myself today for having gotten off my indifferent ass and actually casting my vote. I hope it makes a difference.
I have every intention of voting in the big election in November this year. That is one election where I intend to do my part to make a difference. I know many in this nation of ours have grown frustrated with our country's current administration. I understand that -- it has its faults, just as every adminstration that has ever come before it, and just like every administration that will come after it. But for all its faults, I believe in most of its direction. I strongly believe in continuing our struggle in the Middle East, which is my primary motivation for leaning Republican. I also don't believe in relentless taxation and free hand-outs for those in this nation that refuse to work for a living. The area I live in is rife with those who take horrible advantage of those kinds of hand-outs.
Maybe that's elitist of me. I certainly don't understand the struggles of everyone around me. I've never been so down and out on my luck that I've had to rely on such hand-outs to survive. It is clear to me that the job market right now is absolutely horrible and bleak. I don't blame anyone for being unable to find work. I DO have a problem with those who refuse to even try. The reason government welfare programs exist is to support those who cannot find work, or who are unable to work. It was never meant to support those who are too lazy or demotivated to work. I wish our government agencies could do a better job of filtering out those in need versus those who pretend to be in need. I suspect the Democratic party has no desire or interest to do so since they're very handout-centric.
I used to work in grocery retail, and I have literally seen a woman pay for a large load of groceries with food stamps while wearing a real fur coat, and then request help with her groceries out to her VERY expensive Cadillac automobile. I'm curious how a person can afford fur coats and Cadillacs but cannot afford to pay for their own groceries. It's that kind of gross abuse of the system that really pisses me off.
In the grand scheme of things, I don't really know if my vote today will matter that much. The way our voting and political systems work, it's anybody's guess whether a given vote even influences which people ultimately get into office. It's a pity that our democratic system of government is so convoluted. But I'll take this system any day over Islamic sharia law.
I had a phone conversation today with my significant other that delved lightly into the political arena after I talked about my voting experience. She and I generally don't talk much about politics. Our views are not necessarily aligned on all fronts, so it's not a topic we touch on very much. But it was interesting the way today's conversation stirred up a little colorful dialogue that we would otherwise probably avoid.
The gist of my side had to do with how I chose my candidates based on my unwavering support for the war on terror (in Iraq, Afghanistan, or wherever), and this evolved into me yet again expressing my strong disdain for the Muslim faith. She sort of played devil's advocate and explained her position that she refuses to hate an entire race/culture of people based on the horrible actions of only a few. I can respect that. I'll be the first to admit that it's unfair that I categorize an entire religion as horrible and evil based on the actions of a small percentage of extremists and radicals. Sure that's unfair. No doubt about it.
It's also unfair that an entire race/culture/religion of people hates me simply because I am not a Muslim. Not only do they hate me, but their supposed religion encourages them to convert me, enslave me, or KILL me for not embracing Islam. If I'm fortunate enough to be left in the midst of so-called "moderate" Muslims that might let me live, then I have to live under their collective thumb in slavery and oppression anyway. Did you know that infidels must PAY A TAX to Muslims in order to have the right to live? Actually, "tax" isn't the right word. It's more like extortion, only worse.
My belief is this: the basic tenets of Islam (as I understand them) leave no room for non-Muslims. I also believe that while not all Muslims are terrorists, all Muslims do support the CAUSE of their extremist brethren. That's just as bad, if not worse. It's very rare, almost non-existent, that you'll hear a Muslim denounce terrorism. That should be a tell-tale sign for everyone. And frankly, even the select few Muslims that DO denounce terrorism or extremism are likely lying to us anyway, and are only telling us what we want to hear. That allows them to get closer to us. As the old adage goes: keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. It's their way of slipping into our world and gaining our trust, right before they detonate their explosives.
I know what you're probably thinking. You're wondering how it is that I'm so one-sided and narrow-minded. Well, it can be summed up in the catch-phrase I wrote about in the previous blog: "Everything I need to know about Islam I learned on 9/11." That about sums it up. More days like 9/11/01 are what's in store for us if we refuse to put down Islam and stop it in its tracks. The Islamic cult is a juggernaut that will not stop on its own. It will require us to step up and fight it. You cannot fight Islam by running away from it. Running away from Iraq or Afghanistan will only serve to motivate our enemies to press harder and attack more. Then the fight will be here in our streets. Our families and children will be facing certain death someday unless we make our stand now. I don't know about you, but I like the ability to walk or drive down my street without having to wonder if an IED is going to obliterate me.
Complacency and ignorance of what's coming our way are inexcusable. Our Democratic candidates would have you believe that pulling out of Iraq and Afghanistan will solve all of our national security problems. I hate to tell you this, but that would only be the beginning of the most serious national security problems we would ever face. Islamic fascism is not going to stop if we run back home and hide. Islamic fascism will not cease if Israel gives back every last square inch of land they've claimed as their own. Islamic fascism will only get worse unless we squash it now while we have the upper hand. Right now, the extremists don't have the weapons required to put up a worthwhile fight against our military. If we don't keep the pressure on the enemy, they WILL acquire the kinds of weapons that we cannot compete with. Why on God's green earth would you pull the plug on the war NOW and sit around waiting for the next attack to just happen to us?
My girlfriend's stance was that (and I'm paraphrasing here because I seldom ever remember conversations verbatim), "If they're going to kill me, they're going to kill me. I'm not going to hate an entire religion, or a culture of people I don't know, or encourage killing people I don't know, simply because a few extremists attacked us." I simply cannot fathom how someone can live that blindly and carelessly -- God bless my sweetie for being able to be so forgiving. For me, life is far too precious to so flippantly disregard it like that. This ignorant bliss seems to be the stance of many Americans who have no real concept of what looms just over the horizon. Much of America seems to be in this state of denial. We've all lived such a protected and sheltered life in this nation, that we've let ourselves come to expect that life is always like that. I'm unclear how everyone in America was all in the same state of mind in the days that immediately followed 9/11, but now it seems like everyone has forgotten the seriousness of what we're up against.
While I certainly don't WISH another attack upon us, I almost can't wait until it happens again just so all of the blissfully ignorant in this country will wake the fuck up again. We had unity of purpose after 9/11: to never let something like that happen again. I don't know how we fell off that universal purpose in the years that followed. I vividly remember countless Americans asking, "How could this happen? How could we not see this coming? Why didn't our government do more to prevent this?" I'm telling you now, you ignorant motherfuckers, it's coming again. The writing is on the wall NOW. READ THE FUCKING WRITING. ABSORB IT. LET IT SINK IN. If you think the way to prevent more attacks is to run away, hunker down, and wait for them to happen, then you're just asking for another 9/11 to come your way. Best of luck to you. Maybe the bad guys won't have nukes by then. Maybe they will. Rest assured, Iran is working diligently to obtain nuclear weapons as we speak. It won't be long before the people I'm bitching about overseas will have those weapons at their disposal. The damage that four jet airplanes did on 9/11 will be small potatoes compared to what the enemy is TRYING to do next.
Hey, I'm all FOR the concept of "live and let live." But Islam doesn't want you to live, and therein lies the problem. If they want me dead, I want them dead first. Sorry, but they chose the stance, not me. I'd have been happy to live side by side with them if they could reciprocate. But no amount of dialogue or negotiation or diplomacy is capable of changing the basic tenets of Islam. Islam wants you dead. Get used to that concept, people, because it's real. Muslims worldwide will relentlessly argue that this is a falsehood, and will claim that they are not all extremists. They will tell you this until they're blue in the face, all while they're trying to figure out the best way to kill you and everyone around you. If they're not exploding bombs themselves, they're funding the cause behind the scenes. They're slandering our way of life and our beliefs just as surely as I'm slandering theirs.
I've seen it written on a bumper sticker that, "WAR doesn't determine who's right or wrong, only who's left." The intent of this sticker is obviously to denounce war, and to somehow illustrate how "futile" it is. It's ironic that this very sticker supports my point to the letter. I support war not because I'm interested in who's right or wrong in the "Islam vs Everyone" debate, but rather I support war because it's been declared on us by Muslims, whether we wanted it or not. Like it or not, only one side or the other is going to be left after the smoke clears. Which side would you prefer to be on: the dead one, or the living one? War DOES determine who's left. That's the point.
I prefer to keep living, and to keep living freely. I prefer to be left standing when the smoke clears. If you've resigned yourself to a premature death, then so be it. Let the Muslims come and kill you. It'll happen in due time if we choose not to fight them. We all have to die from something, right? I hear that from smokers all the time. Is it coincidence that a lot of smokers I know are anti-war? Hmmm...that could be another interesting philosophical discussion. But that's outside the scope of this rant.
War doesn't determine who's right or wrong, only who's left. Maybe those who choose to fight Islam now will die prematurely, sure, but at least they will have fought for what they believed in, and will have died so that others could live. All of you who think that not fighting is the solution, good luck with that. I guess I'll have to take this discussion up with you again in the afterlife, since you've already given yourself up for dead. My goal is not to get to the afterlife too soon, so bear with me while I catch up with you later. I happen to be enjoying life down here right now.
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