You may think me alarmist, but demagogues have destroyed Republics many times. Plato referred to democracies falling to tyranny over 2,000 years ago. The Gracchi brothers damaged the Roman republic allowing Julius Caesar to destroy it. The French revolution was dominated by demagogues. The 20th century saw the fall of so many republics to demagoguery that a world war became inevitable.
The demagogue will always exist. It will be possible to prey on our base nature. We are human.
But, in order for a demagogue to gain power, there must be capitulation. Without Hindenburg's assent, the Reichstag Fire Decree does not get issued. Without a telegram from King Victor Emmanuel III, Mussolini does not become prime minister. At the time, those involved may have thought they had no alternative. Throughout history demagogues have benefited from chaos, violence, and unrest. In some cases, they incited the events, but in other cases they simply rode the wave of unrest to power.
Now, it is 2020 and again a government has capitulated. The Executive Branch of the United States government has claimed that the Legislative branch has no authority. The Legislative Branch has agreed. They have given up their power. They had their reasons, although I can not fathom them.
Many will say, that this is just a "blip". That the government of the United States will cycle and normalcy will return. I do not believe that. I believe that precedent has been set. The fall may not occur tomorrow, but it will come.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Saturday, October 28, 2017
To the Democratic Party
I have read your missives and heard your speeches. I feel the need to speak out. There are many that wear the label of Democrat proudly. I speak not of them. I speak only of a small group of people that one word refer to as "the party leadership".
Let me state you have my vote. As the current Constitution of the United States reads there are really only going to be two sides. I do think this should be changed, but in the interim, the Republican party has doubled-down on its antiquated, misogynist, hate-filled rhetoric; and you are the opposition.
So, please, I beg you, stop trying to be the "middle". Stop being harmless!
The election cycle of 2016 is still fresh in our minds. I registered as a Democrat long enough to vote in the primary. I had done so in 2008 as well. In both cases, I wanted my voice heard. In both cases, I saw an opportunity. A candidate was on the ballot that had passion. A candidate was on the ballot that brought a message. A candidate was on the ballot that was not harmless. In 2008, the end result was what I had voted for. In 2016, it, obviously, was not.
The numbers were tallied and the nomination was given to Hillary Clinton. Many have written and spoken about this. She was a qualified diplomat and I very much think she would have made a good President. However, the Democratic Party ticket amounted to two people who would describe themselves as "boring". The words "Traditional" and "Conventional" were bandied about. That was a recipe for disaster, and I honestly am not certain why more people didn't see it.
"Safe" and "conservative" are words that I do not align with. I claim the labels "liberal" and "progressive" wholeheartedly and I believe the Democratic Party should as well.
I receive request after request for money. You don't need money, and you certainly don't need to start fundraising 3 months after an election. You need a message. You need to point out what could be. People will donate to causes they believe in. Give them something to believe in.
People don't vote for harmless. They may vote against harmful, and that may have the desired effect, but, mostly, they'll stay home.
It has been nearly a year since too many people stayed home. It is time to decide how to move forward. You have my vote. Give me the opportunity to cast it for someone worth voting for.
Let me state you have my vote. As the current Constitution of the United States reads there are really only going to be two sides. I do think this should be changed, but in the interim, the Republican party has doubled-down on its antiquated, misogynist, hate-filled rhetoric; and you are the opposition.
So, please, I beg you, stop trying to be the "middle". Stop being harmless!
The election cycle of 2016 is still fresh in our minds. I registered as a Democrat long enough to vote in the primary. I had done so in 2008 as well. In both cases, I wanted my voice heard. In both cases, I saw an opportunity. A candidate was on the ballot that had passion. A candidate was on the ballot that brought a message. A candidate was on the ballot that was not harmless. In 2008, the end result was what I had voted for. In 2016, it, obviously, was not.
The numbers were tallied and the nomination was given to Hillary Clinton. Many have written and spoken about this. She was a qualified diplomat and I very much think she would have made a good President. However, the Democratic Party ticket amounted to two people who would describe themselves as "boring". The words "Traditional" and "Conventional" were bandied about. That was a recipe for disaster, and I honestly am not certain why more people didn't see it.
"Safe" and "conservative" are words that I do not align with. I claim the labels "liberal" and "progressive" wholeheartedly and I believe the Democratic Party should as well.
I receive request after request for money. You don't need money, and you certainly don't need to start fundraising 3 months after an election. You need a message. You need to point out what could be. People will donate to causes they believe in. Give them something to believe in.
People don't vote for harmless. They may vote against harmful, and that may have the desired effect, but, mostly, they'll stay home.
It has been nearly a year since too many people stayed home. It is time to decide how to move forward. You have my vote. Give me the opportunity to cast it for someone worth voting for.
Saturday, April 8, 2017
What did actually make the U.S. great?
Because, we were. The 20th century truly was a U.S. century.
Please note, I did not say "American century". Our seeming belief that we are the only country over the span of 2 continents worthy of consideration is endemic of one of the problems with this county. We think we own the place. The fact that the rest of the world lets us speaks to our influence. In 1917, we were "The Yanks" and our soldiers "Doughboys". At one time the British thought to simply absorb our numbers into their command. That had all changed by the end of the 20th century.
But fighting wars wasn't what made us great. Wars don't make anything great. Extreme situations do, however, shine a light on what already exists. Germany underestimated our ability to mobilize, twice.
In my opinion, what made us great was our belief in ourselves. Many things were considered impossible until we did them. "You can't fight on two fronts." was actually printed on U.S. propaganda during World War II. We started out the century finishing the Panama Canal. We turned out attention to the Mississippi River and made it navigable in a way Mark Twain would have thought impossible. We went to the moon (no, that is not up for debate).
I think what made us great can be summarized by a story usually used to criticize us. We wanted a pen that could write in zero gravity. We knew pencils existed. We made a pen that could write in zero gravity. We did not take the easy way out. We wanted something and we made it happen. Yes, it was expensive. Yes, it seems excessive. And, yes, that didn't matter.
But now, it is a new century. There was several attempts at electric cars by U.S. manufactures at the end of the 20th century. General Motors EV1 was the most famous, but Ford and Chrysler also built some electric vehicles between 1996 and 2002. All of these models were discontinued without actual production runs. Then something happened that has become common in the 21st century, someone outside the U.S. took the risk.
Toyota launched a production hybrid in 1997. Honda followed in 1999. I particularly remember a commercial aired for the Honda Insight on 1/1/2000. I also remember not seeing that commercial again. At a hostel in Washington DC, I remember the hope that commercial inspired and the defeat I felt as I protested the inauguration of an oil man.
In 2008, work was completed on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), It dwarfs the U.S. Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and is now the center for global experimentation in the area of particle physics.
We still have the drive. We still attract the dreamers. But, something has changed. We as a nation won't take the risk. We have become frightened. We forgot that our economy was built by men like Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk. It was not built by anyone at Goldman-Sachs. It was not built by the people at Apple and Atari that fired their founders. We forgot that technology is what got us here. We forgot that looking backwards gains you nothing. We forgot that the word "impossible" may just be a suggestion.
It is time we remembered. It was time we remembered that progress happens whether you like it or not. It is time to create a solar panel that the world buys in droves, not a coal plant the world mocks. It is time for us to accept the software industry as an industry. It is time for us to be less concerned about milking old patents, and more concerned about filing new ones. It is time for us to be less concerned about steel exports, and more concerned about semiconductor exports. In short, it is time to move into the 21st century. We can still make it a U.S. century.
Please note, I did not say "American century". Our seeming belief that we are the only country over the span of 2 continents worthy of consideration is endemic of one of the problems with this county. We think we own the place. The fact that the rest of the world lets us speaks to our influence. In 1917, we were "The Yanks" and our soldiers "Doughboys". At one time the British thought to simply absorb our numbers into their command. That had all changed by the end of the 20th century.
But fighting wars wasn't what made us great. Wars don't make anything great. Extreme situations do, however, shine a light on what already exists. Germany underestimated our ability to mobilize, twice.
In my opinion, what made us great was our belief in ourselves. Many things were considered impossible until we did them. "You can't fight on two fronts." was actually printed on U.S. propaganda during World War II. We started out the century finishing the Panama Canal. We turned out attention to the Mississippi River and made it navigable in a way Mark Twain would have thought impossible. We went to the moon (no, that is not up for debate).
I think what made us great can be summarized by a story usually used to criticize us. We wanted a pen that could write in zero gravity. We knew pencils existed. We made a pen that could write in zero gravity. We did not take the easy way out. We wanted something and we made it happen. Yes, it was expensive. Yes, it seems excessive. And, yes, that didn't matter.
But now, it is a new century. There was several attempts at electric cars by U.S. manufactures at the end of the 20th century. General Motors EV1 was the most famous, but Ford and Chrysler also built some electric vehicles between 1996 and 2002. All of these models were discontinued without actual production runs. Then something happened that has become common in the 21st century, someone outside the U.S. took the risk.
Toyota launched a production hybrid in 1997. Honda followed in 1999. I particularly remember a commercial aired for the Honda Insight on 1/1/2000. I also remember not seeing that commercial again. At a hostel in Washington DC, I remember the hope that commercial inspired and the defeat I felt as I protested the inauguration of an oil man.
In 2008, work was completed on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), It dwarfs the U.S. Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and is now the center for global experimentation in the area of particle physics.
We still have the drive. We still attract the dreamers. But, something has changed. We as a nation won't take the risk. We have become frightened. We forgot that our economy was built by men like Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk. It was not built by anyone at Goldman-Sachs. It was not built by the people at Apple and Atari that fired their founders. We forgot that technology is what got us here. We forgot that looking backwards gains you nothing. We forgot that the word "impossible" may just be a suggestion.
It is time we remembered. It was time we remembered that progress happens whether you like it or not. It is time to create a solar panel that the world buys in droves, not a coal plant the world mocks. It is time for us to accept the software industry as an industry. It is time for us to be less concerned about milking old patents, and more concerned about filing new ones. It is time for us to be less concerned about steel exports, and more concerned about semiconductor exports. In short, it is time to move into the 21st century. We can still make it a U.S. century.
Sunday, July 24, 2016
The Third Party... Racists
I was reminded that the Democratic party aligned with the Ku Klux Klan. Many people will simply ignore this as rhetoric. However, we should not ignore this. There are a large group of people that are not aligned to a party but to hatred.
The Dixiecrats, Strom Thurman, George Wallace... they may have been labeled Democrats at one point. They may have referenced "states rights", but it has always been the same. At the moment, the hate mongers have aligned with the Republican party. I need not provide evidence for this, the nomination has already taken place.
Time and again, politicians have made references to stereotypes to further their agendas. The references may have been less obvious in other cases, but the truth is that "the race card" is played by the hate mongers in nearly every election year.
We should not simply ignore misinformation and half-truths. We must call out all direct and indirect racism. The re-emergence of more direct racism is not really surprising. The hate mongers have always been there. They will always be there. We must identify them. We must stop pretending that we are talking about a tiny fraction of the population. Hate is commonplace.
The lines have been drawn. Open racism has again reared its head. We must all now choose how to react.
The Dixiecrats, Strom Thurman, George Wallace... they may have been labeled Democrats at one point. They may have referenced "states rights", but it has always been the same. At the moment, the hate mongers have aligned with the Republican party. I need not provide evidence for this, the nomination has already taken place.
Time and again, politicians have made references to stereotypes to further their agendas. The references may have been less obvious in other cases, but the truth is that "the race card" is played by the hate mongers in nearly every election year.
We should not simply ignore misinformation and half-truths. We must call out all direct and indirect racism. The re-emergence of more direct racism is not really surprising. The hate mongers have always been there. They will always be there. We must identify them. We must stop pretending that we are talking about a tiny fraction of the population. Hate is commonplace.
The lines have been drawn. Open racism has again reared its head. We must all now choose how to react.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Political translation
I was about to preface this blog post with words like "unpopular" and "view as". In truth, I have the great benefit of living in the United States. I do not have to preface anything. Others in much of the world are free to read it, comment on it, be angered, be bored, be disinterested. This is the beauty of freedom.
Communication (and perception in general) is subject to interpretation. We all interpret things differently. I felt it was only fair to give others a glance into my own interpretations.
Someone says: "I'm not racist but..."
I hear: "I'm about to make a racist comment. I'm trying to apologize for it. I am actually a racist, but I'm apologetic. Deep down I know that doesn't make it better."
Someone says: "Big Government"
I hear: "I have no problem with fascism."
Someone says: "welfare reform"
I hear: "I am about 15 years behind the times. The program I am mentioning no longer exists, but if it did, I would let them all starve."
Someone says: "welfare state"
I hear: "I am about 15 years behind the times. The program I am mentioning no longer exists, but if it did, I would let them all starve."
Someone says: "You should need to take a drug test before..."
I hear: "Let them all starve."
Someone says: "Tea Party"
I hear: "The criminally insane"
Someone says "DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act)"
I hear: "Legislated hate"
Someone says: "Conservative"
I hear: "An individual who has no problem with fascism."
Someone says: "Partial Birth Abortion"
I hear: "I have no knowledge regarding actual medical procedures. I listen to whatever hatemongers are spewing at the moment."
Someone says: "The breakdown of the American family"
I hear: "I listen to whatever hatemongers are spewing at the moment."
Someone says: "Family Values"
I hear: "I listen to whatever hatemongers are spewing at the moment."
Someone says: "Protect Intellectual Property"
I hear: "Several ridiculously large organizations have paid me a great deal of money."
Someone says: "Internet Piracy"
I hear: "I'm looking for some lame excuse, but in the end I have no problem with fascism".
Someone says: "ObamaCare"
I hear: "Let them all die of easily treatable diseases."
Someone says: "Super PAC"
I hear: "The first step to fascism"
Someone says: "This is a Christian country"
I hear: "I have no idea where I live and am completely unfamiliar with the history of my own country."
Someone says: "Waste your vote"
I hear: "I have no problem with fascism."
Someone says: "I don't vote"
I hear: "I have no problem with fascism."
Someone says: "A simpler time"
I hear: "The McCarthy Era"
I do realize that my remarks may seem harsh. However, pretending to ignore the repercussions of certain policies is inhuman. Pretending that lowering taxes will only reduce the bureaucracy and waste (which I fully admit is a matter of concern) is to walk through life with blinders on. Pretending that large corporations will "reinvest" more money if their taxes are reduced is to claim you live in a world without greed. Pretending that not voting has any effect other than allowing the votes of extremists to carry more weight is denying that 0 is not equal to 1. Pretending that "Family Values" is anything but a euphemism for "enforcing my limited world view on others" is to deny most of modern history. Idolizing the 1950's is to idolize nuclear proliferation, witch hunts, segregation, dumping of toxic chemicals without any knowledge of their long-term effects, and the treating of women as a permanent underclass.
There are sides. The game cannot be avoided, it is the price of citizenship in the Untied States. If you do not choose a side, you lose.
I now walk away from the soapbox. It was never that effective a communication tool anyway.
Communication (and perception in general) is subject to interpretation. We all interpret things differently. I felt it was only fair to give others a glance into my own interpretations.
Someone says: "I'm not racist but..."
I hear: "I'm about to make a racist comment. I'm trying to apologize for it. I am actually a racist, but I'm apologetic. Deep down I know that doesn't make it better."
Someone says: "Big Government"
I hear: "I have no problem with fascism."
Someone says: "welfare reform"
I hear: "I am about 15 years behind the times. The program I am mentioning no longer exists, but if it did, I would let them all starve."
Someone says: "welfare state"
I hear: "I am about 15 years behind the times. The program I am mentioning no longer exists, but if it did, I would let them all starve."
Someone says: "You should need to take a drug test before..."
I hear: "Let them all starve."
Someone says: "Tea Party"
I hear: "The criminally insane"
Someone says "DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act)"
I hear: "Legislated hate"
Someone says: "Conservative"
I hear: "An individual who has no problem with fascism."
Someone says: "Partial Birth Abortion"
I hear: "I have no knowledge regarding actual medical procedures. I listen to whatever hatemongers are spewing at the moment."
Someone says: "The breakdown of the American family"
I hear: "I listen to whatever hatemongers are spewing at the moment."
Someone says: "Family Values"
I hear: "I listen to whatever hatemongers are spewing at the moment."
Someone says: "Protect Intellectual Property"
I hear: "Several ridiculously large organizations have paid me a great deal of money."
Someone says: "Internet Piracy"
I hear: "I'm looking for some lame excuse, but in the end I have no problem with fascism".
Someone says: "ObamaCare"
I hear: "Let them all die of easily treatable diseases."
Someone says: "Super PAC"
I hear: "The first step to fascism"
Someone says: "This is a Christian country"
I hear: "I have no idea where I live and am completely unfamiliar with the history of my own country."
Someone says: "Waste your vote"
I hear: "I have no problem with fascism."
Someone says: "I don't vote"
I hear: "I have no problem with fascism."
Someone says: "A simpler time"
I hear: "The McCarthy Era"
I do realize that my remarks may seem harsh. However, pretending to ignore the repercussions of certain policies is inhuman. Pretending that lowering taxes will only reduce the bureaucracy and waste (which I fully admit is a matter of concern) is to walk through life with blinders on. Pretending that large corporations will "reinvest" more money if their taxes are reduced is to claim you live in a world without greed. Pretending that not voting has any effect other than allowing the votes of extremists to carry more weight is denying that 0 is not equal to 1. Pretending that "Family Values" is anything but a euphemism for "enforcing my limited world view on others" is to deny most of modern history. Idolizing the 1950's is to idolize nuclear proliferation, witch hunts, segregation, dumping of toxic chemicals without any knowledge of their long-term effects, and the treating of women as a permanent underclass.
There are sides. The game cannot be avoided, it is the price of citizenship in the Untied States. If you do not choose a side, you lose.
I now walk away from the soapbox. It was never that effective a communication tool anyway.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The players converge...
It is time. It is far past time. I am never going to claim that there are easy answers or that I have the answers. The battle has been going on for centuries. It is not a battle of epic forces. It is not a battle between an ancient tyrannical order and the populous. That would be far too simple. It is a battle of the human spirit.
Power has continued to shift from group to group throughout our history. There is not some strange Illuminati that has been able to maintain it for millennia. Some dynasties have lasted longer than others, but in the end we are humans and can be thrust from power or gain it.
We now stand in the center of the empire. An empire of abstracts. Although many will disagree, we have created a system wherein privilege is synonymous with wealth and wealth can be obtained.
Here is where the battle lines form. Some would read the statement above and assume I was saying the playing field was level. Those individuals clearly have not read my other blogs but the possibility of acquisition is not a reflection of probability.
If anyone wishes to know how likely it is for a child from the ghetto to accumulate power, I leave you to the math. Calculate events such as NBA, NFL, and MLB contracts awarded by income bracket or neighborhood, winning lottery tickets based on former socioeconomic group, record contracts that went platinum compared to familial income, etc. You will find ridiculously low odds, but you will not find division by zero.
By and large, your socioeconomic status at the end of your parents will be the same as your own. This has been true from the dawn of time. If it is slightly less true in the United States in the 21st century, it is an indication of how far we have come.
Yet, here we are assuming that a very small segment of the population has the power and always has. Only the first part is true. We also assume that those with power are corrupt and must be dethroned. This is part based on the first assumption. Whether or not power does actually corrupt, the simple fact is that in any group there will be individuals that are corrupt. If you took those at opposite sides of the economic system and switched them, you would have an initial period of great upheaval some positive, some negative. This would be followed by leveling out and eventually a situation that was basically the same as the current situation.
And this is where we arrive at the ultimate confrontation. Does each of us seek more power? Do we have a particular limit on how much power we seek? If given the power, how easily would we relinquish it? And can we say the same of future generations? If we were to actually be able to choose a group of people that did not seek power, would they be able to wield it successfully? If we gave the power to those that did not seek it and they could wield it well, would we have to find another group when they began to retire? Would they be able to look upon their children and wish a worse life for them than they currently have?
This is, unfortunately, the set of hypotheticals we are actually investigating. If you actually believe that it is possible to find said group of people, simply extend the scenario to the next generation. The simple truth is that for better or worse humans have always been either predators or prey. Those who would relinquish their power will never acquire any. My fellow predators were able to fight back the other predators and provide a safe place for those that would prey.
Yes, I referred to myself as a predator. Choosing not to hunt and/or kill does not make one prey, it simply indicates an intelligent predator. Homo sapiens have never been a prey animal. We are consider a "super predator" and one of the most successful species this plant has ever seen.
And so, it is time. It is time for those who wish to overthrow power to choose. They must choose leaders. They must choose the predators they feel comfortable unleashing. This will not be the final struggle. This will just be a power shift. Human nature will guarantee that over time another power shift will be necessary. All predators will eventually hunt.
They can choose to be a random collection of individuals. They can choose to fight a battle without commanders. In a word, they can choose to accomplish nothing.
In the interim, we will stand by. Those that are part of the system and successful. Those that have not forgotten where they came from. Those who love this country and are grateful for our successes. Those who realize that success can not be won unless it is won honestly. Those who realize that we have what the current power base wants. We will await a call to act. We who yield the swords will protect you with our lives, but we also have a lot to lose. We have no interest in losing it unless we think it will make a difference.
We are harsh. We are pragmatic. We are not some sort of strange middle ground that has no thoughts on the subject. We do not lack belief. We believe that the system has merit. We believe it can be improved. We will not just throw it away. If you wish to have us on your side, just let us know what side you are on.
Power has continued to shift from group to group throughout our history. There is not some strange Illuminati that has been able to maintain it for millennia. Some dynasties have lasted longer than others, but in the end we are humans and can be thrust from power or gain it.
We now stand in the center of the empire. An empire of abstracts. Although many will disagree, we have created a system wherein privilege is synonymous with wealth and wealth can be obtained.
Here is where the battle lines form. Some would read the statement above and assume I was saying the playing field was level. Those individuals clearly have not read my other blogs but the possibility of acquisition is not a reflection of probability.
If anyone wishes to know how likely it is for a child from the ghetto to accumulate power, I leave you to the math. Calculate events such as NBA, NFL, and MLB contracts awarded by income bracket or neighborhood, winning lottery tickets based on former socioeconomic group, record contracts that went platinum compared to familial income, etc. You will find ridiculously low odds, but you will not find division by zero.
By and large, your socioeconomic status at the end of your parents will be the same as your own. This has been true from the dawn of time. If it is slightly less true in the United States in the 21st century, it is an indication of how far we have come.
Yet, here we are assuming that a very small segment of the population has the power and always has. Only the first part is true. We also assume that those with power are corrupt and must be dethroned. This is part based on the first assumption. Whether or not power does actually corrupt, the simple fact is that in any group there will be individuals that are corrupt. If you took those at opposite sides of the economic system and switched them, you would have an initial period of great upheaval some positive, some negative. This would be followed by leveling out and eventually a situation that was basically the same as the current situation.
And this is where we arrive at the ultimate confrontation. Does each of us seek more power? Do we have a particular limit on how much power we seek? If given the power, how easily would we relinquish it? And can we say the same of future generations? If we were to actually be able to choose a group of people that did not seek power, would they be able to wield it successfully? If we gave the power to those that did not seek it and they could wield it well, would we have to find another group when they began to retire? Would they be able to look upon their children and wish a worse life for them than they currently have?
This is, unfortunately, the set of hypotheticals we are actually investigating. If you actually believe that it is possible to find said group of people, simply extend the scenario to the next generation. The simple truth is that for better or worse humans have always been either predators or prey. Those who would relinquish their power will never acquire any. My fellow predators were able to fight back the other predators and provide a safe place for those that would prey.
Yes, I referred to myself as a predator. Choosing not to hunt and/or kill does not make one prey, it simply indicates an intelligent predator. Homo sapiens have never been a prey animal. We are consider a "super predator" and one of the most successful species this plant has ever seen.
And so, it is time. It is time for those who wish to overthrow power to choose. They must choose leaders. They must choose the predators they feel comfortable unleashing. This will not be the final struggle. This will just be a power shift. Human nature will guarantee that over time another power shift will be necessary. All predators will eventually hunt.
They can choose to be a random collection of individuals. They can choose to fight a battle without commanders. In a word, they can choose to accomplish nothing.
In the interim, we will stand by. Those that are part of the system and successful. Those that have not forgotten where they came from. Those who love this country and are grateful for our successes. Those who realize that success can not be won unless it is won honestly. Those who realize that we have what the current power base wants. We will await a call to act. We who yield the swords will protect you with our lives, but we also have a lot to lose. We have no interest in losing it unless we think it will make a difference.
We are harsh. We are pragmatic. We are not some sort of strange middle ground that has no thoughts on the subject. We do not lack belief. We believe that the system has merit. We believe it can be improved. We will not just throw it away. If you wish to have us on your side, just let us know what side you are on.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)