There are probably several other blogs and websites that you read on at least a semi-regular basis. Among those sites are undoubtedly discussions of the many political issues facing our country, the erosion of traditional "values", the perception that America is changing - but not in a manner that many feel is positive.
In addition, you may or may not listen to conservative talk radio during the day. I'm in and out of a truck for 12 or more hours every working day - so I'm more or less tuned in a large chunk of that time. To that, you can add the books that "we" read - like Mark Levin's extremely good book "Liberty and Tyranny" (HIGHLY recommended, btw.)
The end result of this barage of information (hopefully) is a clarification in our own minds of several things:
1. What exactly is going on in our country, and in the world, beyond what an obviously tainted mainstream media would put forward.
2. What exactly are the things that we feel are important as individuals. Not what some talking head somewhere says we should believe, be they conservative or liberal, but what WE as American Citizens want to preserve and protect for our kids and grandkids.
3. And lastly, what is the best way to go about stopping the erosion - so that we can turn this bus around before the current nutty driver takes us all the way over the cliff.
A side effect of the above can be, at least for myself, moments where you focus too much on the negative. It's easy to be overwhelmed by the crush of current events and the changes that are coming so hard and fast these days, without any apparent way for us as "little guys" to stem the flow.
It's incredibly easy to think the battle already lost.
It's easy to think that the America that we grew up in is gone forever, amidst a sea of "change we can believe in". Mean-spirited class-warfare and a sense of entitlement over shadows the tradition of working hard to get somewhere in life. Political Correctness elevates the desire to "not offend anyone" over the need to speak the actual truth. Every viewpoint and opinion in the world has to immediately be given equal footing, regardless of how off the wall it is - and failure to respect those ideas is seen as "closed-minded" or even bigoted. The desire to be "liked" by everyone is deemed paramount to any actual good we could do in the world.
And, most frighteningly, our detatchment from the hard truths of life make it impossible for us to see that measured, thoughtful, respectful extensions of the olive branch of peace in some instances, serves only as an opportunity for the other guy to stab you with it.
Yeah... I do feel that way at times. But I've got some news for you if you've read this far and find yourself occasionally thinking that everything is uniformly bleak.
It's not.
Take a breath. Take a step back from the websites, the blogs, and the news. America is still out there. She's everywhere around us, just waiting for us to get our shit together and sweep out the rats that have infested the halls of government in Washington, the State Capitols, and your local governments.
No place is that truth clearer than at one of our favorite events - The Rodeo.
Picture from Blue Ridge Texas Rodeo - 2008
We go to rodeos throughout the summer. These generally aren't the gigantic, televised PRCA and PBR events that you see broadcast from arenas - although we hit those once in a while too. Mostly, the rodeos we attend are small town affairs. Lots of the small towns around here have them, but you won't hear them advertised on the radio or TV. We find out about them mostly by accident. A flyer at the Tractor Supply store, a banner viewed by the roadside as we pass through some small town on a weekend adventure.... or maybe just by word of mouth.
If you get your impression of America, from people who hate America, your vision of our country will obviously be blurred. You know the people I'm talking about. They are the same people Dean Koontz describes in his novel "Relentless":
.. "boisterous and free-spending egotists taught since infancy that self-esteem matters more than knowledge, that manners and etiquuette are merely tools of oppression. They like the sound of their own braying, and they seem to be convinced that the louder they are, the more desperately every onlooker wants to be in their clique."
I'm hear to tell you that those people ARE NOT IN THE MAJORITY!!!!
They just make more noise than the rest of us, most of the time.
Want to see someplace where the people are unapologetically patriotic? Want to be around folks that aren't afraid they'll "offend" someone by standing and removing their hat when the flag passess by? Want to be in a stadium with hundreds or thousands of people who aren't afraid to sing the National Anthem out loud... Or bow their heads and pray in public? Want to spend time with folks who understand what it is to live by the sweat of your brow, and create things that last with their own hands?
Spend some time with the hard working people who frequent events like small town rodeos. You'll be among friends.
We go to rodeos throughout the summer. These generally aren't the gigantic, televised PRCA and PBR events that you see broadcast from arenas - although we hit those once in a while too. Mostly, the rodeos we attend are small town affairs. Lots of the small towns around here have them, but you won't hear them advertised on the radio or TV. We find out about them mostly by accident. A flyer at the Tractor Supply store, a banner viewed by the roadside as we pass through some small town on a weekend adventure.... or maybe just by word of mouth.
If you get your impression of America, from people who hate America, your vision of our country will obviously be blurred. You know the people I'm talking about. They are the same people Dean Koontz describes in his novel "Relentless":
.. "boisterous and free-spending egotists taught since infancy that self-esteem matters more than knowledge, that manners and etiquuette are merely tools of oppression. They like the sound of their own braying, and they seem to be convinced that the louder they are, the more desperately every onlooker wants to be in their clique."
I'm hear to tell you that those people ARE NOT IN THE MAJORITY!!!!
They just make more noise than the rest of us, most of the time.
Want to see someplace where the people are unapologetically patriotic? Want to be around folks that aren't afraid they'll "offend" someone by standing and removing their hat when the flag passess by? Want to be in a stadium with hundreds or thousands of people who aren't afraid to sing the National Anthem out loud... Or bow their heads and pray in public? Want to spend time with folks who understand what it is to live by the sweat of your brow, and create things that last with their own hands?
Spend some time with the hard working people who frequent events like small town rodeos. You'll be among friends.
This past Friday, my Wife and I did just that. We hopped over to Weatherford, Texas to catch the 62nd Annual Parker County Sherriff's Posse Rodeo. It was a beautiful early summer Texas evening. Cost us a grand total of $20 for a pair of tickets. The rodeo started at 7:30pm and we headed home around 11:00pm. In between was a ton of classic Texas rodeo action.
Here's a highlight video that I shot while we were there:
4 comments:
You are so correct...great post. Wish we had rodeos in Florida.
Stephen-
I don't know where you're at in Florida, but if you google "rodeo florida" you'll get several possibilities.
Maybe one of them would be close enough for you to check out?
Great, great post, Paladin.
Thanks :)
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