First Word

I have finally decided to leap into the world of blogging. This foray into another time consumer is not done lightly. I have plenty of things on my plate to keep me busy. Nor am I in need of a creative outlet. I have plenty of those. Rather I need a means to express myself regarding my political and social observations that so often cause mumblings and mutterings that many of my family and friends probably assume are signs of early onset dementia.

Even as a kid I have always been fascinated with the news, world events, history and politics. Never in my 53 years; however, have I been so concerned about the fate of my country. The United States is on edge of a transformation into a society rigidly controlled by central authority whose goal it is to control most aspects of our economy and more importantly control the everyday choices we make as individuals. This is not a sudden transformation. Rather it has been on going for over the past 100 years. With the last national election, progressives / socialists/ statists (whatever the flavor) have finally gained power. The political leadership is attempting to erase what it is that makes America exceptional in its quest for a egalitarian utopia in which everyone but leadership are equally mediocre and equally without hope for something better.

I will always remember a train ride I had in Germany in the 1970s. A member of the German Bundestag was riding in our compartment with us. As we talked about the world the Soviet Union came up. The German parliamentarian expressed his preference for living in West Germany rather in Soviet dominated East Germany. He said that he preferred the illusion of freedom that the west offered compared with the reality of oppression under Soviet rule. While I agreed with him that illusory freedom was better than real oppression I felt sorry for him that he was so cynical about the real freedom that he had. As an American then, I had a hard time relating to his cynicism. I really believed then that I had real freedom or perhaps liberty. America is a unique land in which the people grant its government limited authority rather than in other lands where the state grants limited freedoms. That is a critical fundamental difference in the United States that I think is often not known or forgotten.

Therefore, the purpose of UnCommon Sense (to steal Thomas Paine's title) is to vent my concerns about the current state of our nation. I can promise no original thoughts in this blog and most certainly you will see echoes and concerns that are reflections of commentary from folks much smarter than I. However, I think we all need to be engaging in political conversation at a time when the course of our nation is at a fateful crossroad.

Please feel free to vent as well.