Ping
My sincere thanks to Jim Robinson and staff for providing the best forum on the internet for the free exchange of Conservative thought.
Insanely awesome post. In the name of “spreading the wealth around”, I’m ENTITLED to my “fair share” of your talent.
You are one gifted writer, to say the least. Bravismo!
Excellent. Most excellent.
Bravo! Well written and I could not agree with you more. I went through the same period of time on Active Duty, and believe me it was one hell of a lot better to be in Ronald Reagan’s Navy than it was to be in Jimmah’s...
Part of the problem we have today is that we constantly play to the lowest common denominator, to the point that we are becoming a Nation of lowest common denominators. Any kind of success is sneered at while we celebrate the most perverse “accomplishments” of people who are famous for being famous.
Another problem is that we have become far too tolerant of the fringe among us. A perfect example is the babe in Kallyfornea who is behind the effort to ban circumcision...who actually identifies herself as a “lactation expert”...apparently people actually pay her money to teach mothers how to nurse...but that’s a different rant...
Because people were shocked when they saw the movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, we have dismantled most of the mental health facilities we used to have (instead of improving them) and transferred mental health care to the Communities, and made Police Officers the first point of contact for mental patients.
We tolerate the State putting convicted sex offenders in our communities, including those who are statistically most likely to re-offend, and then lament when yet another child is sexually assaulted and/or killed.
Vicious gangs are running many neighborhoods, and the violence they inflict on one another is treated as being more preferable to residents, as opposed to cooperating with the police to investigate, capture and incarcerate the worst offenders. We tolerate repeated drive-by shootings and dead teenagers in the street while self-appointed volunteers groups dog the police every step of the way and question their every motive and action, no matter what.
I don’t know where we are heading but it is not a good place, and I really do fear for the future of the Country if this nonsense continues for much longer.
When I reflect on the 1980s, I think of all the policy measures and political currents of the Reagan years that helped to facilitate the strong economic growth of the next 15+ years. Items of note include: (1) tax reform, (2) deregulation of the telecommunications industry and various elements of the nation's transportation system (the airline trucking and railroad industries in particular), and (3) an unbridled sense of forward-looking optimism in so many aspects of life.
Contrast that with what we've seen since the late 1990s, where so much of the "energy" for that growth dissipated and was replaced by an ongoing shell-game involving illusory growth and con artists in all walks of life.
Well said and well done, my FRiend.
I sometimes find myself wondering if we are just in some Dark Ages period of US history or if this is the end.
The optimist in me says we can still correct this and perhaps it’s taking these Dark Ages to spur us back to the light.
Outstanding, dear shibumi! Thank you!
Great essay.
Your lips to God’s ear.
Great work, Shibumi!
Excellent essay, shibumi.
When Ronald Reagan was elected president I was still a little over a month away from birth. As a child I knew my parents liked him, but that was the only perspective I had on that time in our country’s history.
As I got older, and more informed, and better acquainted with who President Reagan was I began to appreciate him immensely, probably because to me he is more of a legend. It helps that I’ve been to his presidential library a few times (and it’s awesome, if you haven’t been there put it on your bucket list).
I was too young to watch, much less understand, speeches like the one where he demands Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.” I can’t view it now without getting chills.
What I wouldn’t give to have such leadership in my lifetime. Leadership that doesn’t just inspire us to be better, but makes us feel compelled to be better.
I would give even more to have a leader again who finds success by seeking God...and not after the whole world has sniffed him out to be either Muslim or atheist like a certain sitting POSOTUS (not a typo, think about it).
Thank you for sharing this with us Shibumi. I share the sentiments of praise you’re receiving for this piece. I loved it too. :-)
Great post sir- this tepid environment for entrepreneurs is what makes socialist Europe feel so stale economically, there’s simply not all that much new going on... be it retail, net startups, what have you
Great job!!! (as always).
It’s funny, but when Reagan was in office he was chastised as a poor leader. Looking back, he is now held in high esteem as one of the greats.
Twenty years from now, how will we view Obama? Will the next President lead the nation from it’s current turmoil, only to have Obama credited as being the one to start the wheels in motion?
I think history teaches us a lesson, and as we move intot he future, we should be careful how we write that history.