When I was growing up, when to use 'I' and when to use 'me' was drilled into me. And whether you used 'I' or 'me', if you were talking about you and someone else, well, that someone else came first.
Somewhere around the Reagan years that began to change. That was when the government started to become the enemy, and teachers, who are government employees began to lose respect. And the one wage earner family began to disappear. Working was no longer a choice for women, it became a necessity. So after school the kids went to some kind of day care and then became latchkey kids.
Parents had less time to help with homework, or even make sure it was done. There was too much to do just to make sure food was prepared laundry was done, and all the other tasks associated with running a household were taken care of. Many tried, but there are only so many hours in the day.
And another thing happened. There was a shift in attitude, the every man for himself attitude. A generation has grown up believing that they are entitled to have it all, not because they earned it, but because of how special they are.
So the next time you hear someone saying 'me and him', well that's where it came from.
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Sunday, September 9, 2012
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
The Horsey set, Mitt Romney and attitudes
For several years I had horses, and I hung out with horse people. I had one, and then two horses, but my first was special to me. She was like a cantankerous old lady. She would try to take a bite out of your side when you tightened the girth on the saddle, but you could put a young and inexperienced rider on her back and she would take care of them.
There were all different sorts of riders in my circle. There were people like me who just enjoyed the feelings of freedom and connection when riding a horse through the woods, trotting on a switchback trail. There were the endurance riders, who would enter the Tevis Cup every year, a 100 mile race though the mountains. The were those who were into 3 day events, dressage and jumping. There were those into roping and rodeo type riding. It was an eclectic group of people with one common interest, horses.
Now most of these people were middle or lower middle class. They had to struggle to maintain their hobby, it is not cheap. And most of these people were pretty conservative. The group tended towards white and a little redneck. Although I have not been in touch with them in years, it would not surprise me if most of them intend to vote for Mitt Romney.
There was a subset of these people who had a different attitude towards horses than most of us did. To them a horse is sporting goods, a piece of equipment and nothing more. they were not in the majority, but they were present in the group. And it is this attitude that this whole rambling post is about.
Mitt Romney does not hate you. He does not even think of you as a 'you'. To the Romneys, you and I are tools. We are not people, we are votes, and we are units of labor and we are consumers of product. We are no more important than the rusted hammer in an old toolbox in your garage.
He seeks power the way he seeks return on investment. Does not matter how he gets it, does not matter what he does with it. It is about having it, because he is entitled to it.
No matter how they try to disguise it, not matter what language they use, if you look beneath all that they stand for, this is the philosophy of the American right wing. This is not the philosophy of the old line conservatives, Barry Goldwater is probably turning over in his grave at the though of what has become of his Grand Old Party. But that is what you have today.
It is really very simple. Are you a human being or are you a tool?
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There were all different sorts of riders in my circle. There were people like me who just enjoyed the feelings of freedom and connection when riding a horse through the woods, trotting on a switchback trail. There were the endurance riders, who would enter the Tevis Cup every year, a 100 mile race though the mountains. The were those who were into 3 day events, dressage and jumping. There were those into roping and rodeo type riding. It was an eclectic group of people with one common interest, horses.
Now most of these people were middle or lower middle class. They had to struggle to maintain their hobby, it is not cheap. And most of these people were pretty conservative. The group tended towards white and a little redneck. Although I have not been in touch with them in years, it would not surprise me if most of them intend to vote for Mitt Romney.
There was a subset of these people who had a different attitude towards horses than most of us did. To them a horse is sporting goods, a piece of equipment and nothing more. they were not in the majority, but they were present in the group. And it is this attitude that this whole rambling post is about.
Mitt Romney does not hate you. He does not even think of you as a 'you'. To the Romneys, you and I are tools. We are not people, we are votes, and we are units of labor and we are consumers of product. We are no more important than the rusted hammer in an old toolbox in your garage.
He seeks power the way he seeks return on investment. Does not matter how he gets it, does not matter what he does with it. It is about having it, because he is entitled to it.
No matter how they try to disguise it, not matter what language they use, if you look beneath all that they stand for, this is the philosophy of the American right wing. This is not the philosophy of the old line conservatives, Barry Goldwater is probably turning over in his grave at the though of what has become of his Grand Old Party. But that is what you have today.
It is really very simple. Are you a human being or are you a tool?
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