I am coming late to the table and probably missed the main menu. Thanks Ben for your courage to say what the majority of the people in this country really feel. No need to apologize.
Kevin, heard your song and liked it, and it was nice to see you participate in a political forum that you might actually wish had not been started.

You had a great Dad, Polly, very similar to my Dad and Uncles - who were true and appreciative patriots. Bill, those were very good quotes, not only funny but they show the truth below the veneers of some of our politiicans. Be nice to counter-balance with some good words on both sides, you know, the Kennedy - "what you can do for your country" idea and Reagan's "government is not the solution, but the problem" and "tear down these walls".

I wanted to make some comments stimulated by some of the things that people said here:

1. Criticizing the government is not un-patriotic and it does not mean that the person doing it does not love his/her country.
Love or Leave it, is not the answer, it just stops free speech.

2. I do know people who attend T-Party rallies. They are all honest, hard working, and patriotic citizens who love their country and the consitution. They are blue collar workers, doctors and other professionals, soldiers, unemployed, etc. They are democrats, republicans, independents, libertarians, catholics, protestants, etc.. Despite what the liberal media tells you, they are blind to racial and religious differences, they are not Klansman like fanatics, and you would be happy to have them stand by you if you ever really needed help.

3. I do not think anyone mentioned the adverse impact of a very progressive-liberal mainstream media, side by side with a similar public education system, which constantly misrepresent the truth and avoids facts; tries to remove God from our minds, and has helped create a large population of people who are self-victimizing and more socially dependent upon others.

3. The country's future does look bleak, but this pendulum swing has been predicted before. It occurs when more people become dependent upon government and taxation than the number paying in - and when the majority of the non-payors vote for more taxes and government control - thus increasing socialism.

I do not think we have lost the America that we all want back, but that it has stumbled. We have to vote out the clowns, and get more people working, and more kids studying and learning the truth about history, and how the present changes taking place will affect their future. They may have to put their cell phones down for just a little bit!

Doug

http://members.soundclick.com/heartthumper
http://www.heartthumpmusic.com/index.html