Constitutional libertarian Loc: St Croix National Scenic River Way

Constitutional libertarian Loc: St Croix National Scenic River Way

You know u wish that were true but I'm afraid per capita there are probably just as many meth labs in rural settings as there are inner city

ecolady

You asked if my wealthier friends got that way through natural intelligence, a good education, hard work and good parenting. I would have to say "Yes". All of them, black and white, came from what I would call a "middle class" background. They didn't all come from money, in fact, a lot of them did not. But they all had good, strong, loving families, a solid education, including some college, a strong work ethic and native intelligence. Not all were "book smart" but they all liked to read, and they all believed in working hard. Most had jobs starting in high school. All were good students, none had problems with drugs or alcohol. Two of them, guys who attended "trade" colleges, made money the old fashioned way, they worked with their hands, but they were smart, always kept up with the latest technology in their fields and worked very hard. Interestingly, those guys made larger incomes than some of the ones who went to traditional 4 year colleges. The college grads ALL got advanced degrees, either Masters or PhD's. Some earned two advanced degrees. All but two of them are liberals. The two guys who owned their own businesses are more conservative, moderate Republicans. Hope this answers your question. I think you and I probbly agree that it takes most of the factors we've both cited to be a success. Certainly the strong family is a large factor, as is hard work. Education is a close third and native intelligence would be the fourth component in order of importance. What do you think?

ecolady

Interestingly, all of these successful people were raised in a mixed neighborhood of b****s, w****s and latinos. All, including myself went to a public high school in that same neighborhood. We lived in a moderate -sized city of about 50 -65 thousand people in the city proper. The city itself is in Western NY and has a large suburban population, as well. I think that probably 2/3 of these people came from fairly liberal backgrounds. Their fathers were teachers, researchers at the local university, a librarian, a dentist, a physician, a pharmacist etc. The 2 men who were trades people had fathers who were a sales manager and an electrician. Most of the people who were raised as liberals stayed liberal. One did not, and is a Republican. None are libertarians. I know that 3 of the dozen were raised Roman Catholic. Two were raised Unitarian/Universalist, as was I. The rest were raised, either with no religious affiliation,(2) and 4 were members of various Protestant denominations.

ecolady

Not everyone who lives in "the city" sells drugs. or is a prostitute. I've lived in a city (actually various cities) for over half my life, and I never actually "knew" anyone who did either of those things. I knew there were people who did, but I never ran into them, personally. I actually have had a fairly crime-free life in the cities I've lived in. I have never been robbed or mugged, never had anyone stalk me, never felt the need to carry a weapon. Maybe I was just lucky, I don't know. And I worked until 9 or 10 PM in a hospital, so I was walking around in a "t***sitional" neighborhood at night to get to my car. My car was never stolen or vandalized, either. I guess I was lucky.

ecolady

Wow, I now live in the country with chickens, 2 dogs and 2 cats. I worry about the cats, because they want to hunt at night. I don't let either of the dogs out at night, and I try to keep the cats in, as well. We have coyotes around here, and they can be aggressive. My big dog makes so much noise that, so far, the coyotes have left the chickens alone. I also have them fenced in at night. Recently I saw a large, very healthy-looking coyote crossing the road in broad daylight. So perhaps I should fence the chickens in during the day as well. The dogs have a large run that is strongly fenced, and the cats sleep all day, or lay outside near the house. I don't worry about them during the day.