I haven't been on in a while and it's time to get back at it.

With the current political season on us, I have been watching Facebook a lot and there is something that is bugging me. Whether a person is right or left of center(and I have friends on both sides of the aisle, you know who you are, and some on the extreme fringes), the venom and hate being spouted is getting ridiculous. One side accuses the other of stupidity or racism while oblivious to or outright ignoring their own bigotry and arrogance. Both sides have forgotten a very important fact, We are Americans First! Sit down and talk like adults, don't automatically assume you are right and the other guy is wrong just because of your political leaning. This country came to be what it is because people of all colors and creeds worked together and fixed the problems and mistakes along the way.

I grew up in a conservative household where I learned not to expect life to be handed to me on a silver platter(or welfare checks) so of course when I got into my twenties I became pretty liberal.  As life rolled on, I ended up living, not in the suburbs but in the city where a good portion of my neighbors were on the government dole. This was when I learned to quit listening to the pretty speeches and actually watch the results of those policies that gave away money without expecting people to work. The people getting free money all the while complaining about how badly they were treated by "The Man" pushed me to the right. Where I can't agree with all the positions of the conservative right I do believe the government should provide a hand up to those that need it.
Benjamin Franklin said it best, "The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself. " and "When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."

Our country is broken and the fix is going to be painful. We have to work together. The out of control spending has to end. No longer can our representatives throw money at what ever pet project they want just to buy votes. If they cannot learn this simple lesson it is time to change our representatives.

Okay got that off my chest, I feel better now.