Thursday, March 11, 2010

PAINFUL LESSONS

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We learn life's lessons only through the experiencing of pain.

There are three different types of pain:

1) PHYSICAL PAIN
2) ECONOMIC PAIN
3) EMOTIONAL PAIN

Although, in a sense, one could reasonably consolidate this list down to just Physical and Emotional Pain since the second form usually leads to the third form. If you've got collection agencies dogging you day and night, it's a sure bet that your Economic Pain is going to wind up hurting you in an Emotional way.

But since not all Emotional Pain originates with Economic Pain, I choose to list them separately and claim 3 different forms of pain from which we learn our lessons in life. Rare is the person who can TRULY learn from someone else's mistakes and thus avoid the need for the pain.

I've pointed this out countless times over the last couple of decades, but I believe this is the first time I've ever made reference to it on either of my Blogs.

In 1750, Alexander Tyler noted the 'Life Cycle of Nations'. Most of the great societies have expired after approximately 200 years, and they have all followed a similar pattern. The great nations went . . .

From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependency;
From dependency back into bondage.

The United States of America - the greatest nation in history - is now 234 years old and She is close to death. I look about me and I see apathetic Americans, a mass of people too lazy to learn the truth and who are dependent upon Uncle Sam - the same Uncle Sam who has deliberately brought this nation to its knees.

I see the American People too entertained and too disinterested to learn how this nation became great and to insist upon a return to genuinely American principles. (That's another way of saying, "a return to STRICT adherence to the U.S. Constitution", for those of you who don't really know what "genuinely American principles" means.)

My brother Napoleon and I were talking the other day and we agreed that the Liberals in this country have more dedication to their flawed world-view than the so-called Conservatives have to their own . Liberals will actually spend the time necessary to read lengthy examinations of the political arena and will then go out crusading for their cause. Too bad that their minds are being filled with un-American nonsense and slogans meant to further brainwash and condition the masses toward Marxism - the antithesis of "genuinely American principles."

But I must at least applaud the Liberals for their enthusiasm and for making time to read lengthy politically-themed articles, even if it is the wrong stuff. That's much more than I can say for those who supposedly espouse Conservative ideas.

Sadly, the handwriting is on the wall and it's perfectly clear to me that America and Her People have chosen to learn their lessons the hard, painful way. America is soon going to feel the fullness of all three types of pain before She has learned, again, the truth of what it means to be free. America is now overdue to experience sharp Physical, Economic, and Emotional Pain. Already, one can almost smell the blood, hear the crying, and taste the salty tears.

As for me, because I love both Liberty and Justice, I say, "Bring it on, God! Give us the pain we need to recall the lessons we should never have forgotten. Oh, yes, Lord, we've got time for the pain. Heck, we weren't doin' nothin' but watchin' TV and playing video games anyway."

* I sure hope this Blog Bit was not so long that it prevented you Conservative Americans with your diminished, short-term, MTV-like sound bite attention span from reading it through and absorbing it. I did attempt to keep it as short as possible because I know how difficult it is for you to concentrate when there are many words. If only we could merge a Liberal's dedication with a Conservative's common sense, boy, what an American Patriot we would have!

~ Stephen T. McCarthy
"I used to be disgusted; now I try to be amused."

YE OLDE COMMENT POLICY: All comments, pro and con, are welcome. However, ad hominem attacks and disrespectful epithets will not be tolerated (read: "posted"). After all, this isn’t Amazon.com, so I don’t have to put up with that kind of bovine excrement.
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11 comments:

  1. My friend:

    Sad, but true. You are somewhat reiterating what I said a while back about the difference between the two camps.

    The truth of your words gave me a chill as I read them as the truth cut to the bone. You succinctly stated the problem, how we got there, and where it's heading.

    What should we do? What can we do? I mean us little guys with empty pockets. Email or letter writing campaigns? Phone calls to the offices of those who represent us? Do they really listen? How do we get of us complacent bastards fired up into action (and yes I do include myself)?

    Or is our fate just written? Do we pray and praise God and let events come to their predesigned conclusions?

    And I do appreciate the brevity of the bit, but you know, on this topic and the way you presented it I could have read more--no other links to click and no convoluted referencing. This was really good, but again I ask who will listen who will help make a difference?

    You are right. I agree. But what can we do?

    Lee

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  2. rLEE-b ~
    My friend Br'er Marc Emailed my last post, "X-Y-Z: The Mechanix Of Amerycan Politicz" to 12-15 "conservative" acquaintances of his and got no feedback from any of them. This led Marc and I to conclude that probably none of them read the entire piece. Then when an old friend of mine, Big Al, told me on the phone last week that he had started reading it but didn't finish because "it was too long", all of these things, in combination with your initial reaction to it, just set me off.

    As in everything, the first step is education. One needs to self-educate (not self-medicate with Reality Television). But how many Americans have even read their Constitution completely, let alone actually "studied" it?

    And I'm fooling myself if I think this is going to change. Not when Lost, Buffy, Survivor, and American Idol are more entertaining and much less trouble than studying the U.S. Constitution.

    The real sad fact is that Americans have lost and will continue to lose more of their Liberties and they fully, fully DESERVE to lose them. Most Americans are not worthy of what their Founding Fathers did for them.

    Self-education; educating others; voting solely for sincere, devoted Constitutionalists; impeaching and removing from office Representatives who transgress the Constitution; incarcerating judges who break the laws, and ignoring their sorry-assed rulings when they're wrong (and wrong they usually are) - these are some ways of restoring our Republic.

    If We The People would vote only for the true Constitutionalists like Ron Paul, regardless of how many times the media and the leaders of the two political parties insist that the Ron Pauls have no chance of winning, it is a mathematical certainty that the Ron Pauls would win.

    But no... I'm not going to kid myself. We The People will continue to watch that slop on TV and continue to vote for the Barack "USAP" Obamas, the John McCains, and the Sarah Palins. And We The People will continue our slide into Tyranny.

    I won't presume to speak for God, but I get the sense that He is not going to look favorably on the person who took the attitude that it was OK to do nothing while a country founded on His principles was overtaken by a bunch of Godless tyrants.

    ~ Stephen
    <"As a dog returns to his own vomit,
    so a fool repeats his folly."
    ~ Proverbs 26:11>

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  3. I did not receive notification that my comment and your reply had published-- so that's why I asked..

    Sounds kind of hopeless in reality. I guess I don't know of anything else to say. I just wanted to let you know that I read your post and I was concerned about the message. But I have no real answers.
    Lee

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  4. By the way-- looks you got the hang of the HTML thing with the italic, links, and all. Isn't it cool? I was wondering how people did that too and was so glad that I found that post.
    Lee

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  5. Cowboy -

    "Wrong again, bar-rag-breath", as Carson said to McMahon.

    If I DO start reading the FFFF blog religiously (pun intended), we'll either have to agree to disagree about some things or fly into either Phoenix or Seattle and kick each other's asses. Or both, just for fun.

    Maybe I'll change your mind.

    Liberals don't read ANYTHING. They feel. They emote. The only thing they DO practice is how to use logical fallacies (should I say phallusies?) in argument.

    What the hell has Obama read except Saul Alinsky, Marx, and maybe Mein Kampf? These people don't read... they watch Oprah. And they plan ways to steal other's money and redistribute it, because of their "feelings". " Life isn't fair. I can make it fairer. I know: I'll commandeer the entire health care system and drive the economy into utter ruin. I'll steal from the rich and give to the poor. Robin Hood is my hero."

    Robin Hood was the most evil character in all fiction.

    Conservatives generally DO read, and - I think - they generally "get it". But people like Bush and McCain are NOT conservatives, not even close. That F*****R would sell out his own G'ma if he could appear to be compromising his principles by doing so. "Aren't I reasonable???"

    There are many factors that go into what makes up a personality, personalities who later go into politics. These factors range from emotional ones like "fitting in", "wanting to be liked", "independence", "courage", etc., to factors such as education and the ability to reason. How we were raised and what we were exposed to is huge.

    Obama was exposed only to liberal pap and anti-American propaganda his whole life. He grew up in Chicago, so he is willing to break thumbs and toss enemies in the river (politically only, I think) to get his way. He'll say anything. He is a liar.

    We live in a time of everyone - except you and me - wanting to fit in and be liked. You have to have a strong personality - or a weird "temperament type" - to be willing to spit in the face of the emotional bent of society today and say: "no, I'd rather people die than let them have my money". That is how liberal society - the whole world, at this point - characterizes you if you are against some great, altruistic public policy.

    The conservatives read. If you tested the American public on the Constitution, conservatives score MUCH higher than liberals. Those surveys have been taken. But what people are NOT taught is how and why to STICK to principles. Why it was worth the Founders pledging their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor for their country.

    So, what we have now is that 100+ years of liberalism has created a body politic of unprincipled bastards on the left trying to take our money, some unprincipled bastards on the right that want to take our social freedoms, and some principled people on the right that - when pushed - give up on the principles. And then we have Ron Paul.

    I think if you asked Ron Paul (and I may be wrong here... though it would be a first), what he would say when given a choice to vote democrat or republican, he'd say vote republican. Of course, he'd say to vote for him first over the other two in the Presidential race. But if the choice is Chuck Schumer or ANYONE, then vote ANYONE. If the choice is Nancy Pelosi or ANYONE... you know.

    You know I am right.

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  6. Prodigal Paul the 6thMarch 26, 2010 at 12:23 PM

    Oops. I'll bet you are either mad, or trying to think of how to respond in such a way that you disagree without telling me how completely full of poop I am.

    Two out of three of my comments you've not commented on... and the other was just three words.

    I've not yet gotten thru the really LONG blog bit, but I have skimmed it. I think our differences on these issues are minor in comparison to the overall picture... but you may not think so. If this is the case, it will undoubtedly be for the same reasons that I LIKE Beck for saying 97% of the same things I would, but you DISLIKE him for missing the 3%.

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  7. Not mad, Paulboy VI, just haven't found the time yet to reply to the more detailed comments. But I will.

    FU#K BECK!
    It's no coincidence that the 3% he leaves out is the MOST IMPORTANT part of the truth. And he's not ignorant; he does it by DESIGN. It's to keep the "Conservatives" on his side without ever telling them too much truth that they really start striking at the root of evil rather than hacking at its branches.

    Beck isn't "really" less informed than I am. FU#K HIM!

    ~ "Lonesome Dogg" McMe

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  8. That is pretty crabby, my friend!

    I think that perhaps you give people too much credit for their brains and knowledge and consistency.

    I know you usually generously grant me too much. I am much more of a chowderhead than you tell me... at least to my face!

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  9. Part 1 Of 2:

    Paulboy VI ~
    Well, Bro, I'm only crabby during those very rare moments when I'm not loving all of my Brothers and Sisters with an inexpressible, open-hearted, almost Divine sort of love. [Cough!-Cough]

    >>[we'll either have to agree to disagree about some things or fly into either Phoenix or Seattle and kick each other's asses.]<<

    Now, now - violence isn't the answer. And besides, as I just said, I'm a lover not a fighter. I love everyone too much to fight with them.

    >>[Liberals don't read ANYTHING. They feel. They emote. The only thing they DO practice is how to use logical fallacies (should I say phallusies?) in argument. Conservatives generally DO read, and - I think - they generally "get it". But people like Bush and McCain are NOT conservatives, not even close.]<<

    If conservatives do read and “get it”, then please explain to me how we got here. And while you’re at it, Brother, please explain to me how pseudo-conservatives like Reagan and W got not just elected but reelected.

    You’ve got to remember that the Conservative circle in which you find yourself is more informed and more intellectual than the norm. The average (so-called) “Conservative” is little like you and your closest Conservative friends; you and your associates don’t represent “the common Conservative.”

    While I do agree with much of what you say, I must dispute a couple of points. It’s not true that Liberals don’t read. They read and I think they probably read more than so-called “Conservatives” do. But they read crapspin like Saul Alinsky and Howard Zinn and Michael Moore and the Existentialist Cowboy. And being idealists they then base everything on personal “feelings” (just as you said), not on facts, and damn sure not on Constitutional principles.

    Some so-called “Conservatives” read too, but not as much, because they are not as dedicated to realism as idealists are dedicated to utopian dreams. The “So-Called Conservatives” (S-CC) read Ann Coulter and a few other Neocons. But how many of the S-CC do you think have read the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers? How many have studied their Constitution? That’s right, “a big, fat FEW.”

    S-CC are a lot like “Christians” (and much of the time they are one and the same). Just as many Christians rarely study their Bibles and most have never even read God’s Book even once all the way through, so S-CC also don’t study their country’s founding documents. The Christians would rather go to church one day a week and listen to “ministerboy” yak for an hour about what’s in The Bible and listen to him tell them what they should think about it, rather than read it and think about if for themselves. Just as the “Conservatives” would rather listen to and/or watch Rush Limboob and Glenn Beck yak about what’s in the Constitution and tell them what they should think about it, rather than read it and think about it for themselves. Of course, since these two groups primarily consist of the same individuals, the pattern is understandable. The bottom line is that the two “Cs” (Christians and Conservatives) are pretty lazy when it comes to the trouble of reading and thinking for themselves. Liberals are dumber but also more dedicated.

    And if you want to know why Liberals are more dedicated, it’s because the Communists are much better at inspiring and manipulating potential converts than are the Christians and the Conservatives. This truth is beautifully illustrated and explained in the excellent little book ‘Dedication And Leadership: Learning From The Communists’ by former Communist newspaper editor Douglas Hyde.

    Continued below . . .

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  10. Part 2 Of 2:

    Paulboy, you and I primarily differ in that you believe “some principled people on the right, when pushed, give up on the principles”, whereas I think there are very few principled people on the right to begin with – to few to even mention. I argue that they don’t have the principles in the first place to “give up on.” They only pretend to have principles in order to get elected. It’s just talk, Bro.

    >>[You know I am right.]<<

    I’d prefer to think you’re “Constitutional”. The word “Right” just leaves such a nasty taste in my mouth.

    If forced to side with either Alex Jones or Glenn Beck, I’d choose Jones in a heartbeat:

    Alex Jones Vs. Glenn Beck

    Glenn Beck Is Not Your Friend!

    An Open Letter From Jones To Beck

    The Double-Forked Tongue Of Glenn Beck

    ~ Stephenboy
    <"As a dog returns to his own vomit,
    so a fool repeats his folly."
    ~ Proverbs 26:11>

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  11. >>[I've not yet gotten thru the really LONG blog bit, but I have skimmed it.]<<

    Ah-Ha! I see, Mr. Paulboy, I see. You have read all of my shorter Blog Bits but you've only "skimmed" the really long one, eh? Mmmm-Hmmm... But I'm sure that has nothing to do with Conservatives and their habit of preferring radio and TV to extensive reading. Right?

    If I were a Liberal ass (instead of just an ass) and you were a Democrat, do you think you would have done more than just skim my long post then?
    ;o)

    The prosecution rests.

    ~ "Lonesome Dogg" McMe

    ReplyDelete

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