Dear Conservatives

I realize that you have been told that all Democrats and Liberals are evil. The power players within the conservative culture have told you on a daily basis that all the world’s problems are the fault of a society that has been corrupted by Liberal philosophy. It’s time to open your eyes and realize that you’ve been lied to. The games that have been played with a pseudo social conservative appeal are all a farce and a sham intended to distract you from the real issues. Please take a look in your wallet and in your bank account. If you find enough money for you and your family to live comfortably for the next 50 years, then the republican party is for you but if you struggle to survive, don’t have adequate insurance coverage and don’t believe in discrimination, you’re in the wrong party. You are a pawn on a board for the rich and powerful. They know that they can control your vote by pretending to be Christian and sympathetic to the average person. The moral majority married the church and conservative politics and the result was an entire voting block of people who are convinced that Jesus cares about who you vote for or that Christianity requires being republican. The heroes of the conservative faith are guilty of greed and are in the business of making money by saying anything that you want to hear. Rush Limbaugh may be many things but a moral religious person isn’t one of them. I can’t understand how Southern Christian people can oppose drinking, smoking, divorce and foul language but support political figures that are guilty of all of these and worse. At one time, there was an honest debate in this Country and although we had different approaches, both sides wanted what was best for the Nation and pulled for us to succeed even when the other party was in charge. Conservatives believed in smaller Government but not in demonizing it or privatizing everything so that their cronies could get richer on the backs of the American People. Democrats have never been communist or pure socialist but we do believe in providing for the basic needs of all People. Social programs were put in place largely through Democratic Leaders and history has proven them to be correct. A portion of the republican party has never liked the fact that the Democratic Party gets to play Santa Claus to those in need including the poor and elderly and have always wanted to stop these programs. The Democratic Party believes in uniting and accepting various viewpoints and the republican party has become the party of division and non acceptance unless your viewpoints sync up. Liberals aren’t going to hell and God doesn’t require you to vote for a certain party. Morality and politics are not the same and no one political party has an exclusive hold on patriotism or truth. The next time you listen to fox news or conservative talk radio, please notice how everyone seemingly agrees with the host and notice the lack of any alternative views allowed. If your product is really good and pure, there’s no need to fear competition. The “hate” of the government that is essential to conservatism is not at all an attempt to kill government but rather an attempt to steal the jobs and services offered and maintained by the government. If you believe that doing away with the department of education would save you money or make education better, you’d better think again. The department would simply be replaced by private contractors who would charge you a profit to educate your kids and the outcomes would be worse without any recourse. The more correct way to phrase the reality of the conservative agenda would be replace or privatize for profit. This is also one of the biggest misunderstandings about healthcare. Medicare for all would eliminate the greed and profit margin that makes insurance and health cost skyrocket now. It would also do away with companies being able to deny claims. In a for profit healthcare system, the large companies make money by denying healthcare and allowing people to die. The real beauty would be that if you wanted your own private coverage, you could still have it but for the masses, universal care would be a blessing straight from God. Believing and subscribing to conservative ideology produces bitterness. Ask yourself if you ever feel better after watching fox or listening to conservative radio? The time has come for you to stop believing everything that you’ve been told. It’s time to do the hard work of thinking for yourself and developing your own opinions. Now is the time to break free from the constant cloning process and shock jock culture of the right wing of American politics. Walking in the same footsteps never takes you to a new place but the entire world is waiting to be explored. If you own a gun, stop letting the NRA control your actions and use fear to motivate you to do their bidding. If you’re a Christian, stop allowing abortion, homosexuality and guilt to force conformity and blind loyalty. Intelligence and higher education are not the enemy. This great society can only survive when we are willing to be honest and work toward the common good of all humanity.  If you find strength today, cut the strings that cause you to act without thought. 

The Voice of Reason?

Sometimes I meet people who say that both political sides are wrong and that we need a voice of reason. The argument sounds good and is easy to believe until you consider the facts. Both sides are not the same and they are not on equal playing fields. Consider a visual of a teeter totter with a balance in the middle. On the extreme right side is virtually the entire conservative and republican establishment. This mass of white humanity includes, the Koch Brothers, Rush, Hannity, religious leaders, fox news and anyone willing to listen and believe the lies and propaganda being spread by all of these. The Left side doesn't really have anyone at the extreme end of it. There are a few weights spread over the entire left side but the greatest mass is just left of center. The most extreme occupants are not vile and the entire spectrum is diverse and concerned about others. The Left does not share a common voice or desire to spread misinformation. We also do not want to tilt the balance so far to the Left that the mass on the right ends up on the Left side. Despite the ranting from the Right side, Obama is located just right of the center. In order to have a "voice of reason" or a balanced voice, we would have to have equal weight on both sides. The vast majority of media in the Country is conservative and therefore, we can never truly have an equal opportunity. In my own mind, when I get together with Democratic and Liberal friends, we are the voice of reason. We do not operate with any hidden motives or agendas but are constantly searching for truth and a better way forward. The right can never have a credible voice as long as they coddle racism and lies and wink at brutality and violence in the political process. If anyone tells you that both sides are guilty, please ask them to give you examples because there are plenty of them to point to on the right side. It's my belief that there are many in the South that should be Democrats and just don't know it. If you have decided that discrimination is wrong, that everyone deserves access to quality healthcare, that we need social security and medicare, that it's not a sin to obtain education and that science is not voodoo, then the Left side is for you. Democrats don't want your guns, we just want to defend humanity from the attacks of the rich and powerful. We don't want to take money from some to give to others, we just believe that when all contribute on a fair and progressive basis, we can provide for everyone's needs. Unless you are an extremely wealthy person and like being used for the political gain of the overlords, you can't afford to side with the conservative masters. I will never have enough money that it would blind my heart to the plight of the working class in America. I will never be so closed minded as to allow the demonization of science and intellect because it conflicts with a religious leader. The voice of reason speaks to us all and in my opinion, it sounds an awful lot like the opinions and beliefs that we on the Left already share.

TSD - 10/23/2011

Why Christian Music Sucks

Let me preface this article by saying that this is from the perspective of a Southern Guy born in the 70’s and raised deep in Pentecostal circles. I did everything I could to remain in the faith but after while, it just became hard to fit in at school and in life while clinging to odd rituals while being convinced that all others were headed for eternal damnation. I made my own ways and became involved in music, especially guitars, drums and playing bass. Metal music was my favorite and I just couldn’t get enough of it. I had a few bands and played in several others and my dream was to be in a major band and make it big. The music industry is a cruel business and unless you’re just pure lucky and willing to sell your soul, the odds of making it are not good. The whole time that I pursued my dream, my Mom and others were praying that I would come to my senses and turn back to God. I have music in my blood and it is a large part of who I am. In 1984, I was at a friend’s house and he was also the drummer for my band. My buddy had an album from the group Stryper and we gave it a spin. It seemed that I had found a true calling and could combine my love of metal music and a Godly path. Needless to say, I quickly adapted a new lifestyle involving changing my ways, clinging to the church and mixing in every possible angle of Christian rock music. I made new friends, many of them involved in Christian rock and metal bands and the music was fresh, lyrically strong with Godly messages and was a pure art form focusing on music quality. The sad part was that I eventually got removed from a church position teaching youth because Christian rock music was considered to be too radical and I was told by the pastor that it would be better to have the kids listening to country music with warped messages than to promote any Christian rock or even contemporary Christian music. I continued headstrong into all forms of heavy Christian music until my first child attended some concerts with me at around 8 years old. There began to be a change or a turn in the purity of the art. One concert that we attended was for a group called Bride. The opening act was another group called Disciple. The concert involved one lead singer screaming that Santa Claus is dead! The line was repeated over and over again and it made for an interesting conversation with my son. I began to communicate with the lead singer for Bride and his emails became obsessive about the abortion issue. It seemed that all of the Christian groups were on the same bandwagon and it went from this issue to a hard turn toward republican politics and the emphasis was that if you are a Christian, you also have to be a republican. Through my correspondence, I relayed some concerns about the direction of Christian music being away from God and toward politics and political issues. It became painfully obvious that I was involved in a losing battle. This issue more than any other was a catalyst to defining my political views as non conservative and I was able to admit to myself that I truly am a Liberal and a Democrat. My grandfather was a Democrat and so is my Dad and although I had watched politics from a distance my whole life, I was now enlisted in the battle. I spent much time trying to define and splice together Christianity and Politics but the truth is these two things should remain separate. Today, I am far removed from Christian music and will not even listen to it because it is synonymous with right wing politics. I have yet to find even one artist that does not use their platform as a means to spread the gospel of conservatism above all else. I do want to make one caveat. One group that seemed to always hold their ground and not sell out in Christian Music was Petra. The version that featured Greg Volz as the singer was that way at least. The best way that I know to describe my relationship with Christian music and to a large degree, the church is that I trusted the system and poured my heart, soul and mind into them and for my efforts, I feel as though I was carried out into a dry and lonely desert place and left there to die. In response to this, I am dead to Christian music and to any and all church systems that believe in hate, racism, political action and brainwashing. In my own mind, I’m a good person and a moral human being who cares greatly for society, my parents and my children more than I could ever convey in words. I hope someday to be able to be open and honest about these issues but at least at this point, I remain in silence to some around me for fear of causing them worry over the state of my soul.
http://www.stryper.com/
http://disciplerocks.com/
http://www.myspace.com/bridemusic
http://www.petraband.com/jekyllandhyde/index.html

The Southern Donkey Blog- 09/04/2011

Rush Limbaugh Planned Parenthood Klan | Limbaugh Abortion | Mediaite

Rush Limbaugh Planned Parenthood Klan | Limbaugh Abortion | Mediaite

We are living in the age of political shock jocks. Back in the day, Howard Stern liked to push the limits and draw fire from the FCC. This was all in the name of ratings and marketing in order to make money and attract a larger audience. Much of what Stern did was over the top because there wasn't anyone else that was vying for the same attention. The conservative media market is flooded with talkers and politicians and in order to stand out, each must do and say nastier things and have more radical opinions than the next. Just like we are all supposed to know that wrestling is fake and contrived but a segment of the audience believes it to be real, a percentage of the conservative audience is unable to separate fiction and marketing from reality. The true danger in all of this is that the audience of the insane is waiting to act in support of their speakers and they also spend large majorities of their time recruiting new members into the fold. The Democratic and Liberal politicians and media might inspire their audience to march, organize or boycott some products but there is zero danger of violent behavior. This is why we see fox news and conservative and republican leaders hoping for and lying about violence from the Left. They know that their audience has acted and will act violent again and unless there is violence on both sides, they will have blood on their hands be be guilty of stirring the ugly pot of racism, hate and bigotry.

TSDB

The Peacemaker

The life of a peacemaker is seldom rewarding and often painful. There are people who live life in ways that cause havoc and heartache and there are people that try to keep the pieces together. I am now and have forever been a peacemaker. I prefer to not cause or deal with conflict and work hard to avert the problems. Growing up, my family stood together and always had each others back. Blood is thicker than water was more than just a saying at our place. Being thoughtful before you speak and never being too proud to say you are sorry were common teachings as well. One thing I have never been able to get a grip on is the lack of consistency in relationships since I left the home of my parents. No one seems to be able to simply exist and assume the best when dealing with the people that they love. I am an artistic person and my mediums are music and the written word. In my early dating time frame of my wife, I was often moved and inspired to write songs for her. The truly odd thing is that although I am a rock and metal fan, the songs had more of a folk sound to them. I keep most of these songs locked in the mental vault and it's been many years since I have written any new material or been inspired. One morning, I woke up and felt very musical and could remember each song. The plan was to travel to church and then return and put the songs either on paper but maybe even on the computer or recorded media. After church, the wife made a statement and I thought out loud and voiced a contrary opinion. I endured a verbal barrage of epic proportions and all of the wind left my sails. I have yet to regain the inspiration that I had felt. I posted a short note saying that some people have the unique ability to take you from happy to crappy in 2.1 seconds. There is noway to be a self peacemaker. When dealing with kids, I have always tried to bring the peace to our household. Many times I have put myself in between the kids or the kids and the wife and made a play for a peaceful resolution. The assumption has always been that  family just understands that I always have their best interest at heart and I would lay my life down for them to have a better one. Conflict seems to be inevitable and hurt feelings will flow from time to time. If we could ever learn to reserve the verbal warfare and stress for the battles that are dire in our lives, we would be better off for it. If your wife has a set schedule of spending a few hours per week working out or shopping or eating with some female friends and the kids are covered and the schedule does not interfere with the budget or responsibilities, there should never be a point that you decide to complain or cause conflict. The schedule is established and you should be happy that she has found something that makes her happy and brings her joy and you should also be awarded the same opportunity to have similar activities. The problem comes when one party becomes jealous of the other having a stress reliever or enjoying the company of friends. To exist peacefully on set schedules and then cause conflict when nothing has changed is a recipe for disaster. Not to say that any personality trait is superior to another but this writing is just an expression of the role and thoughts of one peacemaker. I conclude further that for the above reasons, I care much and my personality and drive lead me into Liberal and Progressive paths for the exterior of humanity.

TSDB