As I thought about what to post for the beginning of the new year, I quickly passed on photos of parties and people with silly hats and glasses. Not that there is anything wrong with celebrating. It just didn't strike me as right as we end 2013 and look forward to 2014.
Well, ok....one gratuitous photo of fireworks.
It has been a challenging year. My deepest concerns lie with the state of our country. I fear we continue down a slippery slope. Rather than gaining our footing, we are sliding ever more quickly toward a micro-managed and spied upon, over-legislated, politically correct, and deceitful future.
Our own government lies to its people. Elected officials openly perjure themselves before Congress. And, someone who raises his hand to talk about a crime against the American people, a crime of massive government surveillance and secret courts, has been labeled a criminal. Whistle-blowers should be protected. But, our own government, which passed the whistle-blower protection laws, cannot see the hypocrisy of their own actions.
We criminalize all manner of behaviors so that, at this time, we incarcerate a higher percentage of our population than any other civilized nation. This is not freedom.
We continue to see massive spending from our legislative branches with no concept of responsibility. On a related note, we continue to see punishment of those who are successful with increasing taxes, transferring dollars to those who become increasingly dependent upon those payments. This is not sustainable. This system will ultimately fail. We have seen it before in other countries. It looms before us as our own impending implosion. And, I don't see a responsible party capable of making the hard decisions that are needed to stop it.
With that...I need a photo, or photos, for this post.
I settled on these:
These aren't the best photos I have ever done. They were taken on a bus trip, in -4 F, at about 7:30 AM. Several of my peers from other companies were on our way to discuss privacy. We met the bus at 7:15 and were shortly on our way to our destination.
The sun was just coming up. And, I shot the images through the window of a moving bus. Certainly not ideal.
But, for January 1, they will need to do. They aren't perfect. Our nation isn't perfect. We aren't perfect. But, maybe there is hope for the new year. Maybe, it will warm up. Maybe the sun will peek above the trees for yet another day. Maybe we can win some of the battles looming before us. Maybe we can help the younger generation see HOPE...in freedom and privacy rather than increasing political micro-management, coercion, incarceration, taxation, and bureaucracy. Maybe, just maybe, we can get people to understand that our political leaders work for us. And, we can demand that they act like it....or we vote them ALL out of office.
Well, I am looking over this post and have decided it isn't very good. I have the feeling it is sort of rambling. But, I am not sure what more I can say. Be strong, my friends. Be brave. Stand up for your rights. And, VOTE.
Well, ok....one gratuitous photo of fireworks.
It has been a challenging year. My deepest concerns lie with the state of our country. I fear we continue down a slippery slope. Rather than gaining our footing, we are sliding ever more quickly toward a micro-managed and spied upon, over-legislated, politically correct, and deceitful future.
Our own government lies to its people. Elected officials openly perjure themselves before Congress. And, someone who raises his hand to talk about a crime against the American people, a crime of massive government surveillance and secret courts, has been labeled a criminal. Whistle-blowers should be protected. But, our own government, which passed the whistle-blower protection laws, cannot see the hypocrisy of their own actions.
We criminalize all manner of behaviors so that, at this time, we incarcerate a higher percentage of our population than any other civilized nation. This is not freedom.
We continue to see massive spending from our legislative branches with no concept of responsibility. On a related note, we continue to see punishment of those who are successful with increasing taxes, transferring dollars to those who become increasingly dependent upon those payments. This is not sustainable. This system will ultimately fail. We have seen it before in other countries. It looms before us as our own impending implosion. And, I don't see a responsible party capable of making the hard decisions that are needed to stop it.
With that...I need a photo, or photos, for this post.
I settled on these:
These aren't the best photos I have ever done. They were taken on a bus trip, in -4 F, at about 7:30 AM. Several of my peers from other companies were on our way to discuss privacy. We met the bus at 7:15 and were shortly on our way to our destination.
The sun was just coming up. And, I shot the images through the window of a moving bus. Certainly not ideal.
But, for January 1, they will need to do. They aren't perfect. Our nation isn't perfect. We aren't perfect. But, maybe there is hope for the new year. Maybe, it will warm up. Maybe the sun will peek above the trees for yet another day. Maybe we can win some of the battles looming before us. Maybe we can help the younger generation see HOPE...in freedom and privacy rather than increasing political micro-management, coercion, incarceration, taxation, and bureaucracy. Maybe, just maybe, we can get people to understand that our political leaders work for us. And, we can demand that they act like it....or we vote them ALL out of office.
Well, I am looking over this post and have decided it isn't very good. I have the feeling it is sort of rambling. But, I am not sure what more I can say. Be strong, my friends. Be brave. Stand up for your rights. And, VOTE.
No comments:
Post a Comment