If I only had the....

I heard this story about Winston Churchill:

At some point between the wars, someone approached Mr. Churchill (this is before he became Lord Churchill) and informed the future Prime Minister that his son had joined the Communist Party.

Churchill told the man that if his son had not joined the Communist Party at that point in his life, he would have no heart. Churchill then pointed out that if his son still belonged to the Communist Party when he had reached the age of 30, he would have no brain.

To a degree, there is a certain shift of attitude all of us have politically as we get older. Certainly we have seen this happen to some degree in the past 30-40 years. It seems as if some of the old "hippies" have sold out and have become part of "the system".

Admittedly, I have shifted some of my own ideas in the past couple of decades. At this point I am puzzled as to how Texas Republicans/conservatives are able to justify their own opposing viewpoints within their political dogma.

For instance, I wonder how conservatives who holler about reducing the size, reach and scope of government (to the point of having a blue stinking fit about such things) can rationalize neighborhood associations. Move into many subdivisions here in the DFW area and one of the first things you are asked to do - nay - required to do is to join the neighborhood association. You pay dues (taxes) for the privelege of having someone troll around to see you if you have broken one of the many rules (laws) imposed by the association. If you are in violation of one of the rules (at times capricious), you can be fined, or even have your house taken away from you. Some poor schmuck in a neighboring community found himself about to kicked out of his neighborhood last Spring for having the gall to park his relatively new Ford F-150 pickemup truck in his driveway! Honest! The neighborhood associations have that much power. All it boils down to is another level of government, more taxes and less freedom. The Republican (conservative) legislature and the Republican Governor have had ample opportunity to shut this practice down, but instead, whine about Washington and make noises about seceding from the Union.

While the secession talk was being bantered about this round, our Governor was soundly rejecting funds allocated this past Summer for jobs creation. Then, while no one was looking, he applied for a Grant to help build the burned out Governor's Mansion.

I can point to any number of policies which cause me to puzzle my puzzler, including support of Capital Punishment while guarding the sanctity of life by attempting to ban abortion, which would in turn drive that barbaric practice underground causing further problems which would require more policing. Want an example of what happens when a nasty activity goes underground? Try the Volstead Act, or look at what's happening just south of our border in Mexico. (Not to suggest that an abortion ban would cause machine gun fights, but the criminal element would become involved none the less.)

Which brings me to health care. Common sense tells me that if a wage earner is healthy, that wage earner will be happy and productive and would be putting tax money in the public pot to pay for things like schools, libraries and wars. Were I an employer, a conservative employer, I would want the people working for me to be happy and productive. To be happy and productive, I would insist on preventative care for my drones. I would know that if my drones work until they are no longer able to do so due to an urgent health situation which could have been prevented in the first place, it would cost me much more in lost productivity - and the drones would not be putting as much tax money into the public pot to pay for things like schools, libraries and wars.

Mind you, we are already paying through the nose for health care in the form of increasing fees and insurance premiums for those of us who are fortunate enough to have insurance. The increasing fees and insurance premiums are partly because the aforementioned drones descend on our hospital emergency rooms needing immediate care for ailments which could have been treated for much less $$$ had they had access to preventative care in the first place. We could be saving billions without Doctors losing their lifestyles if only there were affordable preventable health care available to everyone. Call it Communism, call it Socialism, call it whatever you like, but all in all, a true Capitalist would see a health care overhaul (including a public option) as a boon to his business and to this country.

At least that's the way I see it. A bit simplistic, perhaps, but it would make sense. And that's what being a conservative is about. Making sense. At least that's the way I think being a conservative is about. Maybe, instead, I should label myself as having become pragmatic at this stage in my life. Yeah. That's the ticket! Pragmatic. Not so much of a political view as it is an outlook on life. I have the brains to know that a little invested now will pay dividends down the road, and the heart to be able to know that this expense will show that we have the capacity to demonstrate a vast amount of compassion to drones looking for a better life.

Well, time to get off of my soap box. Guess I'm going to be branded a lllllliiiiibbbberrrrallll by some. So be it. At least I know that I still have both the brain.... and the heart. (Already have the nerve!)

Be Seeing You!