Oh, you make my leaving difficult, you do. You would truly put the "Pied Piper" to shame, of that there is no doubt in my mind.

Just so you know (was there ever any doubt?) with regard to that path you speak of -- I consider I am an island unto myself, no camp of any kind do I claim ANY more -- so to your suggestion of meeting in the middle, "yes, "I" would meet you," and the thought of taking others with us, "probably" somewhat a mixture of fantasy and wishful thinking, but nevertheless, a firm belief do I have that there is still "something" SO innately "good" out there -- worth the effort of making it work, absolutely, with no hesitation!! I see and it is obvious that Tasine sees it -- through your eyes -- the possibility of this meeting in the middle. I'd like to think a seed has been planted.

Yes there is an underlining common ground between most of us.
We need to bring it to the forefront.

Just who is going to show us the way towards a life with less conflict.

I say that if we wish to have things run smoother we needed to have our voices heard clearly. As it is now we are just making noise.

The USA has been the voice of much of what has been good.

But the voices of most have been over shadowed by the few.

If left as it is our voices will soon be but a whisper.

I strongly feel that the path we as a nation are on needs to be changed.

We as being of what I like to say as being the middle of it all need to come together & have our voices & action heard to preserve what it is that we feel is needed.

We need to find that middle ground that is being taken from us. For bottom line much of what we hold dear need not be changed to make things better.

For if we are to leave any thing to those that follow us we do need to leave us United as one. With the view of what is best for most as a whole. Not what is best for us as individuals.

For it can only be good for us as individuals if it is good for most of us.

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Do we agree that individual liberty is the most important thing that can be offered to every American? It gives us the opportunity to make the most of our lives, to make all of our own decisions, to reach for the sky and to fail if that is the result, but to profit if that is the result. It is my view that once our freedoms are gone, we may as well be dead because our lives cease to be ours. We were born with the right to be free of government - something happened on the way to the store, didn't it? I don't see how the common good for all of us can possibly be attained if each of us is not free from government.

I truly, honestly, and humbly suggest that what is needed above all else is either live without government OR live with the limited government our Constitution calls for, specifically one that cannot touch individuals. Our federal government needs to work with the states - NOT against OR for individual citizens or groups. I believe that deviating from that concept is what has resulted in practically all of our problems. Comments?

Yes, we stand divided - that divide is Liberty versus Force. All the other "issues" are secondary.

Always there are some men, whom I swear are blessed with flawed DNA, who create "Nations" with GOVERNments of Force and give themselves absolute powers over all others, who proudly call themselves "Citizens".

Throughout history every government has Failed, but always merely replaced with yet another government which will force new Rulers upon all. Humans may be uniquely "intelligent" while irrationality rules.

We have much about this on our No-Ruler.net where we seek otherwise:

You might start with http://no-ruler.net/essence/

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Thanks, Striker, for sort of making my point. If we can get the federal government out of our hair, we can live relatively free lives. There was a time it didn't meddle in private affairs constantly, but that time is long gone. It would do well to handle affairs of the nation, but NOT affairs of the people. It has seriously and widely overstepped its constitutional and legal boundaries, and when it can do this, it can become tyrannical (which I believe already has become), and I am not alone in that belief. Freedom does not come from organizations, from political parties, from the wealthy, from churches. Freedoms come from our being. There is no one who can take them away except via criminal acts, be those criminals be in private or in government and the acts must be those of murder, theft, conspiracies, etc.

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Of course it would be possible. Practically the only thing really divergent in the beliefs of left and right is the subject of "rights". Rights cover so much that I believe most people don't even understand them. I honestly believe the American public needs some classes on our "rights". Many people think that if they want something it is their "right" to have it. Rights come with us as human creatures. They are birth rights. None of us has a right to an IPod, or a tv, or a hot meal. ALL of us has a right to speak what we believe without repercussion. ALL of us are equal under the law, even though some lawyers, judges, and politicians don't grasp that. NONE of us has a right to a home. None of us has a right to a membership in anything. None of us is entitled to a college education. All of these things are NOT rights, but privileges. And no one is entitled to a privilege.
Etc.

I, too, have changed a bit of my thinking since I started blogging a few years ago. I was a dyed in the wool opponent of legalizing drugs BECAUSE I THOUGHT THEY WERE A BAD THING. Then because of re-thinking, I decided legalization was a good answer to lots of our woes - but more important than that, I came to realize that I have no right to insist others think like I think. Before that, I had praised and defended the Patriot Act because I trusted President Bush would not abuse it. Someone on line asked me if I expected him to be President the rest of my life - thinking about it, I began criticizing the Patriot Act, and particularly now that our government is totally irresponsible.

You and I could, together, find solutions.

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Thanks, Striker, for sort of making my point. If we can get the federal government out of our hair, we can live relatively free lives. There was a time it didn't meddle in private affairs constantly, but that time is long gone. It would do well to handle affairs of the nation, but NOT affairs of the people. It has seriously and widely overstepped its constitutional and legal boundaries, and when it can do this, it can become tyrannical (which I believe already has become), and I am not alone in that belief. Freedom does not come from organizations, from political parties, from the wealthy, from churches. Freedoms come from our being. There is no one who can take them away except via criminal acts, be those criminals be in private or in government and the acts must be those of murder, theft, conspiracies, etc.

I guess you will never see what I see. You chose not to see who really males the rules. It is those that buy the officials.
If you fail to see that connection you will always have the same out look of blaming the weak people that sell out.

There is a never ending supply of people that will sell their souls for a couple of bucks.

The people out there taking the money need to see that we have had it with their actions. If they want our votes they need to clean up there acts.


But what do they care. Why listen to a public that can't get their act together or take the money from some one who knows what they want & will pay for it.

So no matter how pure you are you will never be fit to deal with these people.

Have you ever heard the saying: Good Guys never win.

You will never win against a stacked deck.

Well my dear the deck is stacked by those that don't play fair.

Money is the name of the game & pain is the only gain for those that don't play the game.