Home » A mind is a difficult thing to change: Part One–Intro

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A mind is a difficult thing to change: Part One–Intro — 19 Comments

  1. Change… for me 9/11 was a catalyzing event, one that crystallized my feelings in ways I did not understand. These ways were not unknown to my feelings or thoughts, but had never become firm to me as they did then and are now so. I read hard and fast to understand and picked up on many things, but foremost was the strain of political thought that is not apparent in polite political circles and generally overlooked. I organized that somewhat as of late with the Precepts of Jacksonianism. The more I read the more it spoke to me of who and what I was and why I came to certain conclusions on things. Unfortunately by then the Party of Jackson was no more.

    I have always voted independent of a party, all of them. My upbringing in a socialist oriented family gave me a view into that conception that anyone coming to it as an intellectual activity lacks. And I discuss my problems with socialism elsewhere… but by the time I was of voting age, I chose no party to follow as none went where I thought it should. By the end of the Cold War I was already in the mindset of seeing a Zero Party State and not liking it overmuch.

    9/11 punched that home and left a deep, raw imprint on my psyche. One of my co-worers worked at the Pentagon and an associate was on flight 77. People I knew and respected deeply. One came through ok, having been in another part of the building… the fate of Flight 77 was in plain view.

    I criticized the administration for not speaking the name of what this was and taking it seriously. I later criticized the lack of a foreign policy to help in the limitation and ending of this notion of terrorism to pull down states and put nothing in its place. I support fully the work in Afghanistan and, finally, cleaning up the mess left in Iraq. When the Republic is attacked it must respond… and when it leaves a job undone it had sworn to complete, it must complete it. When the US is brought in to fight tyranny, the only solution is to end such tyrrany and to help those that have been under the heel of oppression.

    Not to *stop* because the fight is *hard* and long. If it were easy the US would not be called in now, would it?

    And so simple and honorable concepts come to the forefront… but they are *never* simplistic in their enaction. I simple solution that is wrongly founded will fail, as will an overly complex one that starts at a good base but goes far from it.

    There is no political party for that… so I needs must found my own. As Andrew Jackson said it, so it is true to this day: “One man with courage makes a majority.”

    Each and every One of Us… We the People.

  2. Newsweek magazine was my primary source for information. My gosh, I actually voted for Dukakis.

    50% of what I’d like is better than nothing. I note that the Republican House is (currently)blocking the RINO Senate from forcing ‘amnesty’ on us- the darn percentages do matter.

    Love the apple- delightful!

  3. These gas prices are truly getting out of control, aren’t they? Wonder if this will upward trend will ever go down. Sure beats going off on some other topic like chi generators energy work chi generators attract women that I know nothing much about. But getting back to the true matter, I’m really concerned. If gas keeps going up any more, I may have to take a second job just to support my driving habit. And does anyone get any real joy from driving far distances. I think not.
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  4. Okay,Here we go. People don’t care whether you are a democrat or a republican. We don’t care why you changed from one to the other either. All we care about is our freedom. Abortion should only be allowed under certain circumstances…Gay marriages are disgusting and they Go against God, So, if you want to go to hell…go ahead and have anus sex with a man… blah blah blah… the only thing that is important here is listning to God…i know right…I sound like some sort of “Bible Thumper” excuse my french…but i am really not. I just don’t see why America has to have arguments within itself. We are a free country and we all would like to stay that way. But, why argue over democratic and republican parties? It s a waste of time. Valuable time that we could be using to become a stronger nation. Our literacy rates are decreasing. But, does anyone care? No all they care about is fighting. More people are getting killed every day. But, does anyone care? No we are too busy fighting. So the next time you blog…why don’t you put the real problems down. Don’t write about being a democrat or republican…Write about being an American and increasing the knowledge and freedom of the people in our wonderful nation.

  5. Another neo con trait: The neo con recognizes the folly of the counter-culture of the 60’s and is moved to rectify the mistakes and harm done to the new generations. Enthusiastic optomism in regard to abortion, animalistic promiscuity, dwindling value on marrage, the defining down of deviant behavior, same sex marrage. My own children think it’s always been this way. Moral decay is one of the sure signs of a declining civilization. I love the neo cons march on the domestic home front.

  6. I, too, came here because of Mr. Simon. I don’t want to create an echo chamber but I know that there are many many of us out here who have discovered things about ourselves, politics and political parties since 9/11. I, too, was a liberal and went to a public interest-focused graduate school because I was “with the people”. I even had a kaffiyeh and wore it proudly. My reaction to 9/11 was immediate and visceral and crystalized my true political feelings like no other event in my life. I’m 39 and grew up in a political haze in so far as I accepted the left-wing platitudes without much thought. What sealed my conversion to the Republican party was when Democrats were holding up creation/passage of the creation of the Dept. of Homeland Security because of civil service protections. I work for the federal government now and know that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to be fired. And I knew the Senators and Representative knew it as well. Placing civil service protections, even for a moment, over creating and sustaining a competent work force to safeguard our country?! Goodbye. I proudly voted for GW Bush although that pride is shared only with my sister. My friends and colleagues seem to have only drifted further leftward, in some reflexive, non-thinking way, since 9/11. I do not agree with every platform of the right but I admire its seriousness on national security. Nothing else much matters to me. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I know I am not alone.

  7. Hello!

    I just found your blog through Roger L. Simon as well. Blueberry makes a very good point. When I took the bold step of “switching teams”, I did so reluctantly. I spent a great deal of time trying to figure out how I had changed. I realized that I hadn’t changed at all. The values I have always held are simply not represented by the Democratic Party. Not anymore. In fact, the “new” liberals frighten me with their odd mix of complacency and complicity when it comes to dealing with tyranny in the world. Anyway, welcome to the dark side. 😉

  8. Thanks for sharing. I’m the same age, also in the mental health field and have reached the same conclusion.

    9/11 was to me what Pearl Harbor was to my mother – that huge reassessment of core values; and more important, I have grandchildren I refuse to compromise to the frivolities of the Democratic party .

  9. Question:

    How much did you change your mind and how much was it simply a matter that the Democratic party no longer reflected your core values?

    Going out on a limb I would say you probably love this country, a lot. And you probably always were an American before you were a Democrat. I suspect you probably believed that their policies were good for America.So did I.

    After 9/11 you began to question if the Democratic platform was really the best thing for the America and the American people. You changed your mind. Not your heart.

  10. I love your blog, and I have made similar changes in my own political beliefs.

    Imagine what it’s like to live on the other side of the Atlantic…

    I wrote about it here:
    http://thatsmell.blogspot.com/2005/01/swimming-against-stream.html

    I recently re-made the acquaintance of someone I hung out with when I was a teenager. He’s now a union organizer. I think it was a bit difficult for either of us to talk to each other about politics. But politics end up being about everything in one’s life. Not just something to debate.

    Good luck with your blogging. I know how you feel.

    One of my all-time heroes is Malcolm X. This is because his entire identity and fame were based upon his political beliefs. But when the preponderance of evidence told him he was wrong, he recanted those beliefs, knowing full well that it would cost him his life. And it did.

    (Luckily, we probably won’t have to pay with our own lives for changing our minds about things.)

    Regards,
    James

  11. Hi there,

    I just saw one of your comments at Roger L. Simon’s blog, and followed the link here. I admire people who have the courage to change politically (like you and Simon), especially if they live in such predominantly liberal areas like Hollywood (Simon) or New England.
    I just added your blog to my blogroll. Check out my little blog when you get a chance.

  12. When people mix Emotions with Politics, what comes out are FANATICS – ill-informed people with warped logics.

    Neo-Con are Oppressive War Mongers, built on the their LUST for World Dominance (America’s) , politically economically and socially, whether others agree with them or not.

    It’s very ironic to see that a country that crys “Freedom” as their no.1 value would be so hell bent on depriving others of their freedom, even their own citizens!

    To support such people is to promote OPRESSION to freedom to the rest of the world.

    Ask your self this : Do you believe in YOUR OWN Freedom ONLY? or EVERY SINGLE PERSON on EARTH?

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  14. The war we’re fighting is Islam’s 3rd Global Jihad… the train doesn’t stop until they can no longer sustain the jihad, they give up on Jihad, or they succede at Jihad.

    Blaming America for the mass-murdering of Muslims done by Muslims is just dishonest. And to speak of “Empire” is just silly rhetoric that perhaps sounds good in an American University but in the real-world reveals just how out of touch you are with the current international paradigm.

    It is no longer 1968, it is 622 AD.

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