"Liberal" flip-flop

Since I recognized 2 years or more ago what was coming down the pike and what was in store for America if progressive socialist left-wing liberal idealogues were able to gain control of our government, I have been doing what I could to keep my friends and family apprised of what has been transpiring. I did that thru emails that had articles, pictures, or videos; but sometimes I just had to get my own thoughts down and share them. That's what this will be; not a "rant" as some of my email missives have been in the past, but merely a reflection. A reflection and a question; "when did that happen?'. I compose as I type, so I hope this isn't too disjointed to follow.

I spent the first 28 years of my life in Texas, then the next 27 years in Southern California. Yep, that was sure a culture shock. Coming of age in the mid-60's, I saw a lot of changes; but from afar. The Viet Nam war protests were something that happened somewhere else. The sexual revolution was definitely something that happened somewhere else. If you were brave, or stupid, enough to have sex outside of marriage, you just hoped nobody found out. And if it resulted in pregnancy, then the consequences of your actions were your own responsibility. As for drugs, not even happening. I didn't even know what a marijuana joint looked like until I moved to California. Like teenagers of every generation, mine had it's slang, it's buzz words. Things that were good were described as "gear"  "fab" and  "tough".  In my daughter's generation, things that were good were described as "dope". In both generations, we had words flip-flopped to mean good, when the true meaning of the words "tough" and "dope" are anything but good.

Now to the culture shock of moving from Texas, where as a teenager there were 2 kinds of people - cowboys and surfers, and "surfers sucked" (I wouldn't even own up to liking the Beach Boys music for fear of ostracization), to Southern California. It was 1977, and most of the hippies from the 60's had grown up, but not matured. Soon after moving to Oceanside, I found a job at the local K-Mart store and started evening classes in data entry. My typing was rudimentary; that's a whole different story, but can you imagine anybody failing high school typing - well, I did. I worked hard at my data entry classes, until I actually got a good Civil Service rating. Anyway, one day at work, when I had been in California a few months, I shared with some co-workers at lunchtime that I had tested at class the night before and had picked up some speed. I meant typing speed; but I quickly deduced from everybody's reaction, they all thought I meant "speed" drugs, and some wanted me to share. Oh boy, culture shock. It was a time in Southern California that a lot of people from all walks of life at least smoked weed. There was a lot of cocaine around, too. It wasn't uncommon for it to be passed around at parties, lined up on a mirror tile. Even a large number of professional people, who had good jobs and nice homes, had been part of the hippie generation of "sex, drugs, and rock & roll", and held to the mantra "if it feels good, do it". Whereas, I had had it drummed into me while growing up - if it feels good, it's probably a sin and you'd better not do it.

These people I encounted in Southern California, between 1977 and up into the 90's, were "liberals". They lived a "liberal" lifestyle. They didn't get their nose out of joint about what anybody else was doing. That was "their thing". Getting high was alright, it was cool to "party hearty", casual sex and illegitimate children - no problem. What somebody else was doing was their own business, you didn't sweat it, you certainly didn't judge it. People were very "liberal" about accepting every other lifestyle and life choice. To be "liberal" was to be open-minded and non-judgemental. The last thing these "liberals" wanted was any kind of government bureaucratic oversight or control over their freedoms. They wanted to be left alone to do their own thing.

I look around at the "liberals" of today and I wonder when the definition of  "liberal" became so convoluted. Today's "liberals" judge everybody that is not exactly like them, they vilify everybody that doesn't think exactly like them, they demonize everybody that doesn't act exactly like them. Today's "liberals" are some of the most closed-minded people you could ever imagine. Today's "liberals" want government control of every aspect of everybody's lives. They were behind the take-over of Government Motors, the take-over of the banks (TARP), the take-over of college loans, the take-over of our health care choices. They are behind the attempt to regulate the air we breathe, declaring that the CO2 that we breathe out, which is to green plants what oxygen is to us, is a "pollutant". They are behind the attempt to even regulate what we can eat, New York has already outlawed salt in restaurants. They want government to decide just about everything for us, and punish those that don't comply. And they are willing to give up their autonomy in exchange for government support - i.e. "entitlements" for just about everything you can think of.

So, I have to wonder; just when did being "liberal" go from being independent and doing your own thing and expecting others to take care of their own life decisions and doing their own thing: to being "liberal" and wanting the government to be a "nanny state" which controls every move it's people make, from the cradle to the grave. I guess it happened while I was living my life and doing my own thing. I've woken up the last 2 years, my eyes are open now. America, wake up before it's too late; open your eyes!  Don't lose your individualism, don't give up that drive to be your own person, live your own dream. Don't buy into the "nanny-state" lie of living on Easy Street where Uncle Sugar will take care of you from cradle to grave. The hand that holds the purse strings rocks the cradle and digs the grave.

Nanny McState - Not a Pretty Picture