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I Am Confused

Okay I admit at my age it is not hard for me to be confused, a fact my wife and kids remind me of regularly. I tell them that my brain is like a glass and after 56 years it is very full so when I am given more information to add to it I have to be selective. Accordingly anything trivial or irrelevant to my days priorities gets dumped. This explains why I never remember social engagements, stories about other people's life's, shopping or sports that I don't like.

Despite this malty I am actually in full control of all my faculties and relatively acute. So it concerns me when I become confused. This whole government shut and debt ceiling debate has done just that. So help me understand less I become fed up and dump it from my already full glass - as I suspect most Americans have done already. If you believe the apathetic polling results.

So the Republicans won't fund the government (the 17% that is shut down) because they want to defund Obamacare. I think I got that right. And the President says he won't negotiate anything with them. Sounds like we have a Mexican (American) stand off. Obviously, it is apparent to me that the Republicans once again have poked the loosing side. We have to fund the government and they will have to give in soon. Heck they are already floating compromises after just 10 days. The President is not going to do anything to his landmark healthcare law especially now when it has just launched. He also has the backing of the Democrats and most Americans so the Republicans are only doing further damage to their already anemic party.

My advice to the republicans:
  • Fund the government
  • Let Obamacare fail on its own
  • Offer a sensible alternative to Obamacare that actually will decrease healthcare spending
  • Fight on the debt ceiling and the runaway spending
  • Stop all the silly rhetoric -  you look like fools
The Democrats are also confusing. They have all this power and yet they are incapable of doing one thing that makes any fiscal sense let alone is really helping the economy in its meager recovery. You are the ruling party- act like it. Those with all the power don't throw their weight around, they don't bully and they don't threaten - that is not prudent or professional. I know you are the party with no decorum but show a little class? Is that too much to ask?

We have a massive debt problem and your wild spending is doing nothing to help the country. This administration will go down in history as spending more than any other. It reminds me of a shopaholic getting hold of a Centurion American Express card. It is time to take stock and look at what you are doing, not just how much you are beating up on the Republicans. You are elected officials with a massive responsibility to the citizens of this country. This despite how it might look, this is not a benevolent dictatorship.

My advice to the Democrats:
  • stop and take stock of where we are
  • Don't increase the debt ceiling without major cuts in spending
  • Be aware of the weakness of our economy above all
  • We have enough social programs to last a lifetime - be fiscally responsible
  • There is a breaking point to all this - you are awfully close to it
  • Stop being bullies - show your maturity - compromise once in awhile
  • Stop creating more artificial ways to win - you already control the country
Why am I confused? I don't understand how neither party can't see the issues and in many cases the glaring solutions. Why does one party have to win? Is a win more important than a great solution for the country? Why can't they work together? Why has the polarization reached this point? Don't the Democrats recognize that they can be removed just as easily as they came to power and that history would say it will happen soon? So why act like abject idiots when in the majority? Does that not beg for retaliation when the shoe is on the other foot?

America is poised to fail more significantly than it ever has. It could easily become a 2nd tier economy. This is not a political statement it is just based on irrefutable facts. We are on an economic precipice and while we can still avoid falling off we must act quickly. It will take a lot of compromise and smart minds from both sides of the aisle to solve these problems. Yet all I see is childish fighting. finger pointing, politics, division and hatred.

Isn't this the greatest country on earth? Are we not the Democracy that all envy and want to aspire to? We are supposed to be the brightest, most motivated, innovative and dedicated people in the world. We used to care about making this a better place for our children and the next generation. We used to care about the common good - at least to some extent. What has happened to us? I am confused.

What is the cause of this downfall? Is it politics? Is it technology? Is it the demise of the American family? Is it plain old fashion greed? Is it the complete lack of morals and values? Have we become so selfish that no one else matters? Or are we just a bunch of hypocrites?

I think it is all of the above and more. We have to take a real honest look at who we have become. Is it any wonder most nations hate us? And few want to be anything like us. Even our allies are distancing themselves from us. What do we stand for America? Since clearly we don't know anymore how can we expect anyone else to respect or agree with us?

Perhaps we will go the way of so many greedy self centered societies before us that lost their moral compass and imploded. Are we a modern Roman Empire? The similarities are striking.

Well it is time for me to figure out my "honey do" list and listen to the stories of the day separating the wheat from the chaff in my already full glass of life. I feel all I have left to do is pray - for as long as that will allowed. God Bless America and good night.

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