My Thoughts by Rick Stephens

My oldest son will be 40 in a couple of months, but I still consider him part of the younger generation. Still, we often have some very stimulating and spirited discussions regarding life and the circumstances we live in.

Although he will not admit it directly, my son leans toward the liberal side of thinking, while I am very much a conservative. Therefore, many of our discussions revolve around capitalism vs. entitlements.

Over the years I have come to believe that those who think with a liberal bias must see life through a gloomy set of eyes. For them the glass is always half empty. It seems that the younger generation (at least in this country) fails to understand the importance of free enterprise and how capitalism has been the foundation for what they now consider entitlements.

For instance, on one occasion we were discussing the new health care legislation. I pointed out that the government had no business mandating that I buy health insurance. My son countered with, “They require us to buy car insurance.” Of course, my response was that car insurance is not mandatory unless you want to drive a car on public roads. His response was that a car is a necessity to life and therefore car insurance becomes mandatory.

I just can not seem to explain in a convincing enough way, that a car is not a necessity. A car is simply a product of our choice. He argues that it is impractical to believe that a car is a choice considering the requirement to be so mobile in our society. But the reality is that we can make the choice, though it may not be a very pleasing or convenient choice, to live without a car. We could live on a farm, take a bus, call a cab, let friends drive us or, heaven forbid, walk.

Our most recent discussion revolved around the Internet. In his mind, the Internet has become so pervasive in our lives that it has become a necessity. Again, I believe it is a choice we make to enhance our lives, but far from a necessity.

When the FCC recently began regulating the Internet with its “Net Neutrality” rules, I completely rejected and disapproved of the move. According to my son, we need to prevent the ISP from becoming a conduit to the web just so they can “grab money from our pockets.” This is exactly the type of comment that makes me believe that our younger generation sees life through gloomy eyes. It seems they believe that big corporations exist only to steal or rob us of our hard earned money and prevent us from enjoying the luxuries that we have come to know as necessities.

I believe that The Unites States of America is the greatest and the most benevolent and generous country to have ever existed on this planet. We give more to the under privileged people in this world than any other country, not only as a nation, but as a people. We believe that the individual has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and as such we give so much, that our own people are now beginning to believe that this out pouring of compassion is somehow a necessity and something they are entitled to.

Let us remember that there are only 3 things in life that we need; Food, Shelter, and Clothing. Everything else is either a luxury or a choice. No one is entitled to a job. No one is entitled to a guaranteed retirement or even health care for that matter. But as a nation, our compassion for the welfare of our human brothers is so great, that we are willing to contribute a portion of our wealth to help those who are less fortunate.

But to all who feel entitled and believe that corporations are a bad thing, please understand that had it not been for capitalism you would not have the luxuries you now enjoy. It is because of big business that this country has become so well off and prosperous compared to any other nation. Yes, some have not benefited as much as others. But still, every person in this country has the opportunity do better by making the right choices, not through entitlements.

And if you are not as well off as I am, please remember that my money is not your money. I worked hard to earn what I have and yet I am willing to pay my fair share of taxes and to contribute to charitable causes to help you when you are down. But I fully expect that you will also work hard to achieve a better place in life, make the right choices, and stop expecting that you are entitled to my money.

When people stop expecting life to be handed to them on a silver platter, and instead begin to appreciate the generosity of those more fortunate then they, this country will begin to pull itself out of the debt we are in, be able to help all of those in need, and once again achieve the respect and stature that we know has been given to us only by the grace of God.

To Your Success,

The passage of the Health Care bill has ignited a nationwide rift between the liberal left and the conservative right, to say the least. Lets get this out right away, so there is no misunderstanding form where I speak. I consider myself a conservative, a Regan conservative to be more precise.

With that said, I believe we have a few things to consider with regard to the media attention, both positive and negative, that is surrounding this debate. Clearly there is great passion on both sides and unfortunately some have gone “Over the Top” in attempting to get their voice heard.

This country has been built on, and is grounded in, the concept of “Peaceful Dissent”. Each of us has a 1st amendment right to freedom of speech as part of our heritage and citizenship. But the operative word here is “Peaceful”.

Unfortunately, there are really 4 distinct groups in this country. Those who believe the Health Care Bill is bad for our country (The conservative right), those who believe it is good for our country (The liberal left), those who don’t believe anything about the bill or are undecided (The apathetic middle), and finally the crazy loons who think spitting, throwing bricks, threatening congressmen/women, and advocating violence is an acceptable way to voice one’s opinion (The criminally insane).

Notice that the crazy loons are, in my opinion, neither liberal, conservative, or apathetic, but in a group by themselves. We need to stop associating the actions of this group as being part of any of the other groups. True Americans in this country believe in the right to peacefully voice opinion and do not retaliate against those with different ideas and beliefs with criminal actions and violence. If you think violence is the only way to get your point across you are weak minded, uneducated, deranged, a citizen of another country, or all of the above.

I support the efforts of the “Tea Party”. Perhaps you don’t. If so, I believe you have that right as a citizen of this country. But the media seems to be focusing its attention on the loons who claim to be on the conservative right when in fact these idiots have no idea of what the conservative right really stands for. Although less attention is being given to the loons who claim to be a part of the liberal left, those idiots also have no idea of what the liberal left is all about. So lets position these violent dissenters in the group they really belong to, neither left, right, or neutral, but the criminally insane.

I think there are a couple of things we can do as a nation to get this country back on track. First, if you support the Health Care bill and want to voice your opinion in a big way, create a liberal movement similar to what the conservatives have done and “peacefully” demonstrate in a way that will rally the folks who support that position to action. No sincere and honest conservative will criticize you for doing that. In fact, they will openly support the opportunity to have constructive debate on any subject you support, including the Health Care bill. But the weapon we have available to us is not a brick, but a vote at the ballot box. And if you choose not to exercise your right to vote, you give up your right to complain (well not really, but you know what I mean).

And Secondly, lets get behind an amendment that will create term limits for Congressmen/women and Senators. It seems that making a career out of politics is causing many of our elected officials to be obligated to too may deals, lobby groups, campaign supporters, etc. resulting in their inability to clearly vote their heart, and most importantly for their constituents, for whom they represent. I’d like to go on explaining why I feel this is important, but this subject is really for a different blog.

We have reached an historic milestone this year. Good or bad, Health Care is now the law. If you want to keep it, get off your behind and vote when the time comes. If you want to get rid of it, get off your behind and vote when the time comes. Stop the nonsense and lets get on with the debate, respectfully and peacefully!!

To Your Success,

Okay, let’s agree that Toyota, the number 1 car maker in the world, made a few errors in the manufacture of their vehicles. But I think this is now getting a little out of hand. Every day the news is reporting a new story on the latest vehicles from Toyota that are being recalled. Now today, I guess the press has decided that Toyota has had enough brow beating, and its time to move on to Honda, the # 2 car maker.

I believe that this is a plot to destroy the strangle hold that the Japanese auto makers have on the American auto industry and to provide a boost to the American auto makers. And, I for one, think it is atrocious action by our media with, I believe, encouragement from our administration.

It wasn’t enough that GM, Ford, and Chrysler ignored the public for 30 years and continued to make inferior cars, but when the economy crashed, our Government decided that it would not be in the best interest of the country to let them fail. So our Government gave them huge amounts of our money to prop them up. But guess what, sales are still not acceptable. So what do we do now? I know, let’s destroy the reputation of the top 3 auto makers and see if the public will be wooed into returning to the American auto makers. Yeah, yeah that’s the ticket!!

Don’t believe me? Come on, have you seen any of this in the news:

• Ford is recalling 4.5 million vehicles for cruise control malfunctions which could cause a fire
• GM is recalling 950, 000 Chevy Cobalts for Power Steering problems which have caused 11 accidents including 1 death
• Another 857,000 vehicles for short circuits on a printed circuit board that could cause electrical failures
• And still another 277,000 vehicles for shift lever problems
• Cadillac is recalling 27,000 cars for fuel system problems
• Another 12,500 vehicles for failing to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety standards regarding crash protection
• Chevrolet is recalling 31,000 Corvettes for roofs that may fly off
• Chrysler is recalling 24,000 vehicles due to defects in the braking system
And this list goes on.

Let’s get off this road and get back to getting our economy back on track. Almost all of the vehicles sold in America by Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, are built right here in this country. So destroying these companies do nothing but contribute to more unemployment and trouble for our economy.

Let the American car industry pay for their failure to deliver on what the American public wanted. Let them struggle to regain the leadership role they once had. Let capitalism work. Let them once again compete to win.

The American people are not stupid. They will always put their dollars where the value is. That’s why capitalism works. When American car manufactures begin delivering value, they will rise again. Until then, enough with giving them my money and creating artificial demand for inferior products.

To Your Success,

Source: LemonAuto.com

He never sold a single record. He never performed in concert. He never made the headlines of Entertainment Tonight, and he was never placed in the public spotlight for questionable acts of morality. Yet he truly did bring the people of this world together. He broke the racial barriers like no man or woman has ever done before bringing all races, religions, and nationalities together. He caused people to listen and to respond simply by the words he spoke.

He was respected for his honesty, integrity, willingness to challenge the norm, for his compassion in times of difficulty, and for his pride in country when great achievements were accomplished.

He never moonwalked, but he did proudly walk on the moon with all of America on July 20, 1969. He never wore clothes with flashy military imagery, but he did wear the fatigues of Army green while reporting his findings of the Vietnam war effort. He was never called the “King” of anything, but “Uncle” Walter was a predominate news voice in America and will be remembered for his faithful reporting of such events as the Cuban Missile Crises, the Assignation of President Kennedy, the moon landing of Apollo 11, Watergate, and so much more.

We lost a true American icon this week. Walter Cronkite was like no other celebrity in my life time. There were times when I disagreed with him, there were times when I cried with him, there were times when I cheered with him. And when he spoke, I listened, as did all of America and the world.

I, for one, will miss the integrity, professionalism, honesty, compassion, and moral compass that Walter Cronkite brought to Journalism. His death was not surrounded in pomp and ceremony, national television did not preempt all other broadcast in favor of covering his funeral, and tickets were not sold on Ebay to attend the visitation, but his legacy will endure for many centuries to come. Good bye Walter.

And that’s the way it is, July 21, 2009.

To Your Success,