THE PUZZIFICATION OF AMERICA
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In blogging, it seems that the word “rant” is becoming very popular. When someone wants to do a commentary on something they see as a problem, they call it a rant. Call this whatever you want to call it, I’m making an observation, and yes, I get intence sometimes.
I don’t care if you’re a liberal, or you’re a conservative, you can not make me believe that when you were a kid, you sat around and daydreamed about how cool it would be to grow up and be a sissy. That’s what this nation has become thouigh ... a bunch of freaking sissies. How do you know if you're one of the sissies? Here's how you will know. If you agree with the previous statement, you're not a sissy and have nothing to worry about. If you think that statement is false, I'm sorry to say it, but you are a big fat sissy. Now I know that young people don’t like to listen to older people talk about “when I was a kid” but here it is just the same. Go ahead and listen to me, because I’m not a sissy, and if you’re reading this, trust me, I can whip your ass. If on the other hand, you’re saying,” How does he know he can’t kick my ass?” Then you may not be a sissy, and will dig this stuff.
The Boy With No Pants Enjoying His Favorite Beverage
Bottled water.. The water in that bottle sucks. It’s a fashion statement, and a wimpy one at that. When I was a boy, fashion statements were somet5hing like a “Lucky Strike” hanging out of some cool dude's mouth, and the cool guys proudly displayed the pack in the front pocket of their shirt. I know ... smoking sucks. I quit 16 years ago. There is much to be learned from the changed image of smoking, but not now. Oh yea, bottled water ...
When I was a kid, and we got thirsty, we picked up a garden hose out of the dirt, turned on the spigot and suck down the best water that God ever made.
Helmets - Okay, I’m going to take a lot of flack here, but don’t care. You can call me out on it in the comments section. If you do, you are a sissy, and I'm waiting. You may be smart, you may even be right, but once again, you are a sissy. Okay, I'm re-thinking this thing. You may not actually be a sissy. Maybe you just love your kids. But you're definitely showing sissy tendancies. Be careful.
Needless to say we didn’t wear helmets when we rode our bicycles. We would have rather been tortured by wild Indians than be caught dead wearing one of those dumb looking helmets. Now, not just kids, but adults wear the damn things. I took some awful tumbles when I was a kid and so did my friends. And I personally never knew anybody that got not stupid falling off their bicycle. All right, I know there are some head injuries that could have been avoided with a helmet, but considering every thing that goes along with wearing the helmet, the risks were worth it.
Sissy aside, what happened to being cool? Being cool is important. Things that made this country great are written about a lot, but what they forget to mention is that one of the key ingredients which made this country great is the fact that we’re cool. The way we dress, the way we talk ... Man, we are cool. Almost every cool invention came from here. Hell, we're so cool that we invented rock 'n roll! Where would this country be without the Fonz? Life wouldn't be worth living with out that thumbs up "Aaaaaay" Sissy’s aren’t cool, and folks, we’re losing our edge here. More on that later.
Welfare - I’m not sure what’s going on with this. Are people getting sicker now than they used to? Are we being genetically downgraded through some top-secret biological experiment? Our muscles don’t work like they used to? Are our brains getting smaller and weaker? According to science, our brains are getting bigger and more developed. so will somebody please tell me, and you better make a good, why more people are on welfare now than at any time in our nation’s history? Don't say it's because we have more people now. I'm talking percentage goofy.
During the depression, my grandfather was a fireman. He was a giant of a man, and took a second job digging ditches and laying railroad ties during his off time with the fire department. My grandmother had a large garden, chickens, and a cow. My mom and her brothers and sisters all had chores to do when they got in from school, and the family had enough food to share with the neighbors who weren't doing so well. They actually made enough money to open up a small store where they gave food to people on credit. They charged just a tiny bit of interest due when the people were able to pay. This would may off in dividends later on. No food stamps necessary. Charity came from the people, not the government.
My mom raised me by herself. She worked in a bank for crap wages. My father never paid a dime of child support, and my mom learned how to stretch a dime till it was so thin you could see through it. Like the helmets, people would rather have been caught dead, than taking welfare. Let me put it another way. They would rather work hard at a job that was below the pay level which they were used to, and sacrifice luxuries, rather than be on welfare. Not cool.
We're off to screw the Wizzard ..
I started in sales with a fast-growing company and worked my way up the ladder. I worked six days a week, 10 to 12 hours a day for almost 14 years. In all of those years I missed 2 ½ days of work. That half day was the day of my wedding. Eventually, I left that company and fiddle fattled around until my wife whispered into my ear one day ... “We’re broke!” I went from a job making $172,000 a year to getting a paintbrush and a roller and painting people’s houses. I got good at it after a few houses. After a while I hired a few good painters to do the work, and I spent my time selling the paint jobs. Then I hired more painters, and trained some more sales people. Two years later, I was doing almost half a million dollars a month in residential house painting, making my company the second largest painting contractor in the state of Arizona. When I started out with that paintbrush in my hand, we were down to $250 in our checking account.
I know that everyone is not a go-getter. I get that. I know that given the choice, people will, by nature, take the path of least resistance. Politicians sell votes by promising these yellow brick roads. Then our government gets busy building these paths of least resistance. Here's the problem. The paths of least resistance are tempting. More and more Americans are being led down them, but these paths lead to bankruptsy and loss of self worth. Don't react, just think about it. That yellow brick road leads to a land being run by a leader who is a fraud. He hides behind a curtain pulling off a smoke and mirrors act. The happy land of Oz is nothing more than an illusion waiting to fall apart.
If your on the left, and I’m making your blood boil, pay close attention. I ama former Liberal. I was a Liberal when being one was cool. I have a lot of Liberal friends who I respect. They know exactly what I’m talking about. They know that I can’t bear to look at any kind of suffering without getting choked up. They also know that I've taken people into my home and helped them get on their feet not once , but several times.
My friends who are Liberals, are not the ones squawking and crying about the unfairness of this cruel world. Yeah, they think that government should be a little bit bigger than I do, but they don’t think that people should just be handed money. So there is a difference my CONSERVATIVE friends, between Liberals, and Liberal freaks. Just like not all Conservatives want to feed the rich and starve the poor, not all Liberals want to be Communists. I don’t want to get into that stuff here, I just want to make a point, that if you are getting uncomfortable right now, you just might be a sissy. There is, however, re-hab available.
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Political correctness, tolerance, and other crap.A friend of mine, Poetvix, who is an exceptional writer, wrote a beautiful piece on tolerance. She’s very smart, and she was very gentle making her point in this hub. I will not be gentle .. I don’t give a damn about being politically correct, and my tolerance extends to the point in which you piss me off. Then I‘m afraid I‘m not very tolerant. As I pointed out in her comments section on this particular hub, if what I’m saying pisses YOU off, then maybe YOU need to take a look at your own tollerance issue. I found that the people who make a big deal about this tolerance thing actually have no freaking tolerance whatsoever. They hand pick the issues they want to be tolerant of, and have no tolerance for anyone disagreeing with them. Don't get me wrong. Human beings should respect one another. Jesus calls for that, but right is right and wrong is wrong. Jesus demonstrates this in the book of Matthew. His tollerance hit the wall when street venders made a mockery of His Father's temple. That probably tells you where I'm at on the building of a Mosque at or around ground zero.
Fear of failing .. There are some people who want to get rid of "F’s" in school. They feel like it may hurt the child’s self-esteem by being told that they failed at something. I’m serious. The same people want to take scoring out of Little League baseball and football. They don’t want the team who loses to feel bad. Awwww .. Let’s not make anyone feel bad. The hard truth is this .. If they don’t like the feeling they get from losing, they might actually get competitive and win. Very few kids commit suicide over losing a base ball game. Don't listen to me. Listen to anyone who's achieved greatness. They'll all tell you the same thing. It was their failures that made them strong.
I work out. I've always been a nut about staying in good shape. There are many healthy reasons to build muscle outside of the appearance thing. I won't go into all that here, that's not the point. However, the only way you build muscle, is by working that muscle to the point of failure. God knew what he was doing. When you tear, something down my working it to failure, it rebuilds itself bigger and stronger. This applies to life in general. This sissy ass notion about not letting kids fail makes me boil.
If you take away failure as a measurement, what do you have to measure success by? If no one fails, then no one succeeds. Crap people, the main reason I got good grades in school is because you got called retarded if you got an “F”. If you try to debate me on that, you will lose. I'm sharp, and I eat intellectual wanna be's for snack. I’m just warning you. Note here: My friend poetvix (Rhonda) happens to be a special education teacher, and she knows more about child psychology than I’ll ever know. There ARE special children who need heroes like Rhonda in their life. By saying give the kid an F, I am not trying to be insensitive to the special children who need special help. I’ll call up on her to help me out with this, because she’s definitely not a sissy, and I trust her. You will no doubt see her in the comments section below. Whatever she has to say on this is the bottom line as far as I’m concerned.
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More on failing. You can fight the law of cause and effect, but you will never win. Our government can fight the law of cause and effect, but it will never win. When businesses fail, the natural process should take place. You don’t give people who have miss-managed billions of dollars, more billions of dollars. That’s stupid. Small businesses employ, many times more people in our country, than big businesses. When we fail, we fail. We learn from our mistakes, and have a tendency to get it right the next time around. Our government spent $1 trillion dollars bailing out car companies, and most of all, failing banks. What did the CEOs of these banks do with that money? What did these dirt bags who did their dead level best to bankrupt this country do with that money? Did they loan it to the struggling small-business people who are the backbone of this country? No, these sissies paid themselves multimillion dollar bonuses. If that doesn’t make you sick, I don't want to know you.
Sometimes Failing Isn't Failing
What would have happened in 2008 had we allowed these auto companies and financial institutions to fail? A lot of people would’ve lost jobs. By 2009 ½, the economy would have been in the worst shape since the great depression. But people, everything recycles. By 2012, we would have been well on our way to being the best we can be. We wouldn't have added $4 trillion dollars to our national debt, and we would have learned from our mistakes. We wouldn't be entering our Golden Age, but we would be on solid ground, and moving up. Instead, we allowed ourselves to be guided down the path of least resistance by our sissy government, which is dead set on making us just as big a sissies as they are.
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Be honest with yourself. Are you a sissy? Are you a sissy in training? Do you want to be a sissy? You don’t have to answer me, just be honest with yourself. If after digging deep, you hear a little voice saying .. “Hey, (your name) . I think we are becoming a sissy!” Then here’s what I want you to do.
Get up from your desk, go find a nice pair of scissors, then run around the house with them in your hands, screaming at the top of your lungs “I’M NOT A SISSY, I’M NOT A SISSY!” Then go outside, pick up the garden hose, turn on the spigot, and drink about a quart of that delicious water with just the right touch of that nice rubbery taste. Then you get into your car and drive around the block, about three times without a seatbelt. After you've knocked all that out, come back here and tell me if you don’t feel more alive than you did just a few minutes before when you were a sissy. Not being a sissy means being bold. It means that you’re tired of being the victim of circumstances, and you find that the mere thought of becoming the actual circumstance is a intoxicatingly rich experience. It means that you have stepped over the line from being a part of the problem, to being a part of the solution to the problem. It means that when you get that queasy feeling in your belly every time a politician opens his or her mouth, that you shoulder part of the responsibility of them being there, and you’re ready to do something about it.
In this country things are what they are, but they don’t have to be what they are in the future. Change is coming. We can smell it in the air. We see what’s happening in Greece, and we see the writing on the wall here. Again, change is coming. Do we want that change to be organized, or do we want that change to be an ugly mess? You have to make your own decision about what you are or aren’t going to do when it comes to these changes. There are some who get highly motivated when I talk. There are others who would get more pleasure out of seeing my forehead in the crosshairs of their hunting rifle. I understand. I’ve lived it all my life, and it’s the price I pay for not being a sissy.
Many of you know that I'm the founder of a grass roots political organization called the Housefire Project. We have some very big goals and are going to raise America's expectations of leadership in Washington. If you want to be a part of something positive, go to our web site and sign up and become a member. We're not taking donations right now, just gathering members, so give us a look. http://www.housefireproject.com/ Saving a nation is a very cool thing to do.
I want to give a big shout out to "poetvix" from right here on the Hub Pages. Rhonda is the newest member to our small unpaid staff of patriots at the Project. She's a hell of a writer, a real live patriot, and truly decent person. Here's a link to her profile page. Give her a visit too. You'll be hooked.
http://poetvix.hubpages.com/
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Rhonda,
First, you’re all that and more. I’m picky with who I hang around with, and you are definitely my bud. Second, I’m going to keep your awesome explanation of the academic thing for future reference. You’re a professional, and as far as I’m concerned, your word is law on this. I know you love those kids. I know the work is demanding, and I know you would not do anything or say anything that was not in their best interest.
It should be interesting to see the range of comments on this little nugget. Whatever the comments are, as long as he got them thinking, I’m cool with it.
Thanks for showing up and given this thing a read. I know that you’re busy working on the new “Obamica” hub, and you put more work into the production of your hubs that anyone I know. So thanks again for taking the time. You are very,very cool girl!
jim
End the Nanny State!
Jim, my friend and neighbor, you covered a lot of ground with this one, and you did it well.
HELMETS: You will no doubt take some heat over this one. Like with you, bicycle helmets had not even been invented yet when I was a kid, but neither had TV. If we can get a law passed that all bicycle riders must wear knee and elbow pads, we can start a knee and elbow pad factory and make it up into the hated 1% bracket. We now have mandatory child restraint seats, some which cost as much or more than we used to pay for a used car. Are they a good idea? Probably they are. Back in my childhood a child restraint was your old man telling you to get into the back seat and shut up. When I think back, it is amazing we even made it to adult age lacking all the safety devices which are now law. Besides, Obamacare will soon be taking care of our every need for medical, so why worry?
EDUCATION - I dang near flunked 3rd grade because I could never get those damn numbers to come together with the correct answer. Fortunately, I had a good teacher who made me stay after school for private tutoring and I passed that grade. I think about all the children today who are allowed to graduate with limited skills in reading, writing, and arithmetic, and how hard it must be for them to compete in the adult world. Could this play any role in the high unemployment numbers and dependance on entitlement programs? No, of course not, it is the rich holding them back. I have a friend who is way high up in the Military. He has often complained they are constantly dumbing down the entrance exams for the military or they would not be able to fill all the required slots. What does this tell you?
LIBERALS - I had a hard core liberal explain to me where we conservatives are going wrong. According to him we are fighting the system. Per him, as long as we have a government willing to hand out money to most anyone who wants some, we should just get in line. I asked what would happen when the well went dry? His answer was not to worry about that until it happened. That is the mentality we are dealing with today.
FAILING - As a small business owner, I paid dearly for my mistakes. Any business willing to take some risks and try new ideas is going to make some costly mistakes. The only hope is to make more good one's than bad one's. But nobody ever suggested a bail out for small business. No, these were limited to big business and the CEO's were rewarded for making more bad than good decisions. The worse they screwed up the larger the reward. I'll have to think about that one for awhile.
Can any of this be turned around? I don't really know. We now have a few generations hooked on "entitlements," and they will believe this way for the rest of their lives. They will most likely teach their children in this belief, so the trend will continue until financial destruction of the country brings it to an end. When the money is all gone, there can be no more entitlements.
Keep writing, and perhaps each hub you write will bring one or two back to reality.
Jimbo - I gave this the 4 Star treatment because somehow what you said wasn't funny but very true. You and I grew up in a completely different era than a lot of folks who think they know everything now. I still don't know everything but I know a lot more than I did when I was in my 30's and 40's. I also know "a corrupt to its core" government and we're seeing it now. These folks make LBJ and Nixon look like choir boys. Part of the needed change is to rid ourselves of career politicians. The majority of them are what you call sissies.
I've failed over the years a few times and see that as part of the growth process. Being a 23 US Army leader, failure usually wasn't an option because of the ramifications of failing. But at times it happens there too and the cost of failure there is usually people's blood. Anyone can read what they want into that but it's true. To fail is sometimes to allow for success the next time around. We're insulating generations now to think that they can't fail. They can and they will. The question is, "What will they learn after years of being told there is no such thing as failing?"
Our government is failing us as we speak. The figure I use on the debt accumulated by chasing windmills the last few years isn't $4 trillion, it is $6 trillion. When Bush left office it was $10.4 trillion which was too much then but look at it right now. Here's the link:
You might notice that the clock moves quickly in the wrong direction.
Welfare is a hot button with me and I've been penning a few myself about how it has gotten out of hand and has accelerated under Obama's time in office. Drastically accelerated and I ask myself why. Yes, we are in a recession. We are still in a recession no matter how they want to manipulate the numbers. But recessions are part of the economic cycles of life and the present one has really been fed by bad government economic intervention. You don't get people into the mainstream of society by giving them fish, you teach them how to fish.
The government has been dumbing people down and is assisted by the Lame Stream Media. It is by design and not by chance. There are sissies now that are sitting in the seats of power. Why do you think they continue to sit there decade after decade? It's the same thing with welfare. Why do you think they are on the dole generation after generation? Because we LET THEM sit there is why. If you breed entitlement you begat entitlement.
I've been examining "the fear of the unknown" quite a bit lately having just briefly stepped into that space because of circumstances. I was raised to not fear the unknown but to embrace it and step out there and take the risk. Why? Because the risk is where the reward is. You know that Jim, many people avoid it like the plague and then want to berate those who have risked and have their skin in the game. That's a byproduct of dumbing people down and telling them that failure is okay when it is what it is - failure. It's part of improving your learning curve. No one is too big to fail in my mind nor is any company too big to fail. That's why we have bankruptcy courts.
I'll jump down off my soap box now for a while. The other day when we talked we probably could have gone on all day about some of this. How some of this needs to be corrected lies in parenting and what our children are being taught. One day you'll be gone but what are you leaving behind as a legacy? Think about that for more than a little while.
The Frog
The gene pool is tainted, leaving us whit a whole lot of pussies and idiots running this country.
Awesome hub. If I say everything on my mind that this hub evoked, it will be longer than your hub. First and foremost I AM NOT A SISSY!
We have definitely gone overboard these days from how we treat students to how we take care of our own kids. We don't want our children to experience failure, so we make sure everyone gets a decent grade. Now that's a brilliant idea. Little Johnny graduates to middle school without really knowing how to read but he's "happy" and doesn't feel like he failed. That's the dumbing down of America and we have been working hard at it for a long time. In the end Little Johnny grows into a man who is perfectly happy to let big government solve all his problems. Love this topic, Big Bro. You nailed it. Up useful, awesome and interesting.
Failure is part of the learning process. Parents who don't let their kids fail are really making life worse. The politicians who said some companies are too big to fail.Wrong.By suffering failure they learn to avoid the same mistakes in the future. We all learn from our mistakes.
Failure is truly a teaching tool. When we shield children and business from failure we have done them no favors. Someone forgot to tell the real world that little Johnny doesn't understand competition or how to win. Winning has been a way of life for little Johnny because he was always told he was doing great, regardless of his performance. As Jim stated in his hub, No Score baseball and football games make no sense at all. Little Johnnie can forever claim he wore a uniform and played a sport even if he put little effort into the game. His parents will most likely have pictures of little Johnnie in his uniform hanging on the wall.
One of my own grandsons was allowed to just slide through school until graduation from High School. He can barley read, can't figure out how to make correct change without a cash register that does this for him, and wonders why he is having trouble getting a job. Now, two years after High School graduation, he is learning about Failure. It is never too late to learn, but this lesson is better taught during childhood before they become adults forced to compete for a living in this cold cruel world.
Mike,
Thanks for coming by my brother. There are some liberals who live in a make believe world, but not all. They took the yellow brick road and are dancing around in the land of Oz. The curtain is getting pulled back, and were starting to see who the wizard really is. I don't know if anyone picked up on that analogy up in the hub or not.
Wait until that first welfare check bounces. Folks will be leaving Oz in droves headed back to Kansas to find some work.
Jim
Joe,
You just said four words what it took me almost 1500 words to say. Sheeeeit, I’m becoming a politician!
jim
Jim,
Good you mention my legacy. I’m grooming my replacement presently. It’s not enough that they know the procedure, they have to live it.
You gave a very good detailed comment here. Not too many people are as dedicated as you when it comes to making people aware of what’s going on up there in Washington.
A lot of people are worried that it may be too late. I don’t think so, but I don’t have all the answers. God is the only one who knows, and he hasn’t said anything to me about it. Winning this battle is unbelievably important, but what’s even more important than that, is fighting to our complete potential. The rest is up to God.
Jim
JR,
Yes sir, the gene pool is tainted. That, my friend, is what the Housefire Project is all about!
jim
Patti,
Thanks for coming by you little warrior you! Yes, when we were kids, the United States ranked number one in education. Now, were ranked number 17. Sucks.
We are not only on the same page, were on the same sentence, girl!.
bro
Dahoglund,
All of us old-school understand the value of failure. Lack of performance leads to failure. You can postpone that failure for only so long before it catches up with you. It’s catching up with us now.
Jim
Mike,
As we talk about failure and what role failure plays in success, it reminds me of something that I should have put into this hub. You know that working out is a way of life with me and has been for a long time. Building muscle has so many benefit’s the least of which is appearance. If you want to build muscle, you absolutely have to work that muscle until it reaches failure. Then the muscle rebuilds itself bigger and stronger. I think that this analogy carries over into our lives. Perhaps I should go back and put it in the hub.
Jim
In other words other countries wanted to be like us or aspire to us and now we've fallen off the "cool wagon". I agree with all that you're saying- still up in the air about wearing a helmet, but I put one on my kid because if anything did happen to her and she wasn't wearing it I'd never be able to live with myself.
With failing I agree with you 100%. If you don't have failures as a kid, such as sports, then you don't learn how to deal with it or know where to improve your game for when you're older. Because adults fail all the time- the greatest people in history failed all the time. Preach failing as a learning instrument- I'm cool with that. School is such a joke- I failed so many classes, got bad grades and then went to college and aced everything and I don't think I'm dumb but if you looked at my grade school records you might think I was.
A while back I was going to do a hub about inventions and what it took to be an inventor, etc. (inspire by the late Steve Jobs who was more a reiventor). Anyway...grades and those types of measurements are silly because not many straight A students or academically outstanding kids invented anything. It was usually the drop-outs or nobodies.
I think along with being cool, it seems we want to be like each other and copy everyone else. Back when I was in school the coolest kid was outside of the norm- did crazy and weird things but had tons of friends. He always thought outside the box. Now we want to be like everyone else and it's stunting our growth as a country and it's stunting out bank accounts trying to keep up with everyone else.
Laura,
First, let me say that it’s good to have you back. I know that you’re busy with the new baby, but when you get an opportunity, I would appreciate you writing me a nice long letter and getting me up to date. Crap, it’s been over three months since we’ve talked. Okay, you don’t need any lectures.
Cool: you’re exactly right about cool. Being cool is not being like everyone else. Yet there are people who would like to see yes, becoming carbon copy of the Europeans. Screw that. A lot of things have made us different than other countries, but one thing is the fact that when it comes time to do business because of a national security threat, this country has a hair trigger, and doesn’t hesitate very long before pulling that sucker. This crap about worrying what these guys are those guys think is bull. I could go on forever, but I won’t.
Thanks for coming by Laura. I’ve missed you, and I know a lot of other people have too. Write or call when you can. I’m in the middle of putting together something pretty exciting concerning the Project, and I want to hear about that new baby, and see some pictures. I’ve had a couple of new grand kids pop out since we last talked myself!
jim
Words have no meaning with a writing as great as this...thanks for posting it to Face. Voted up, and shared on my Face page. Let us see how many sissies are actually out there.....Loved this....Have a Blessed Day
WMH,
Thank you so much girl! Where you been? Call me man! I've been worried bout you!
jim
Excellent hub, voted up and all that, I have never worn a helmet on a bike and have had some hairy crashes when we used to ride forest trails as a kid, still here and thats a fact.
Agree 110% with you my friend, keep telling them!
John
Jim, you're a bold and brave soul, and I am often in awe of what you're willing to say. Since we talked last, I've been really trying to put together in a cohesive sense what I believe about politics and the state of our nation today. I'm a Christian, so most would assume that I'm part of the religious right. I'm not. I'm far more liberal than the average Christian. I confuse lots of folks. But, I'm in agreement with virtually everything you say in this hub - with the exception of bottled water. LOL Our water tastes funny, so I will only drink it from a bottle. YES, I am a water sissy. (And will accordingly hang my head in shame.)
Helmets - natural selection, that's all I have to say. ;)
Failure - this is a HUGE one for me. Everyone fails at some point. A true failure is someone who finally just gives up. A true success is someone who gets up after every failure and tries again until they make it.
Before I finish the day, I'm going to try to email you about HFP.
Well said, as always, brother.
The thing about failure is the ability to learn from it, to overcome it, not to repeat it. Our President needs to understand that lesson.
I have said for years all we are doing is making ourselves stupider all in the name of getting a good grade and making teachers look good. To all teachers, despite doing a good job overall, kids need to fail. Failing is one of the best ways to learn what not to do. How can the kids today face the adversities of the world if they cannot deal with failure and make changes. Great hub and hopefully you have save or converted some sissys with this. Up and awesome
BTW, of course poetvix is awesome, she is a fellow Texan
aguasilver,
Thanks Pal! I DID end up with some severe head injuries, but they came at the age of 19, when I was involved as a passenger in a head-on collision after a night of drinking. Maybe instead of forcing kids to wear helmets riding a bicycle, they should force drunks to put on helmets before they drive. It wouldn’t do much to help the poor souls in the other cars who weren’t drinking, but it would make it really easy to spot. a drunk driver. Now that’s using the old noggin!
Thanks for coming by and lending the support. You ain’t no sissy bro!
jim
Motown,
Thank you for coming by my friend. Thank you for your kind words of support, but I don’t think I’m as much bold as I am just plain fed up. I’m really only interested in true friends, and I’m not into writing a bunch of fancy stuff that people want to hear just to attract followers under false pretenses. I’d lose them all anyway once they met the real me. (laughing) I was thinking about you, and I hope that you, your husband and your family are all doing well.
Jim
George,
What’s happening ace! . I know you, you know me, and we are both acutely aware of the value of failing. We were fortunate in the fact that we both grew up hard and learned our lessons early on. Symbolic of our lives, we rode our bicycles wide open without a helmet. By the time we were old enough to go from bicycle to car, our heads look like the surface of the moon, but we had a keen understanding of how the world really works.
Yeah, Texas women are special, and she's really something. Makes me proud of my state!
Thanks for coming by my friend.
Jim
Jim -- quoting David Carlton: "Border to border, Texas can boast more quarrelsome characters than any other state." I'm among this group and damned proud of it -- and a subscriber to every word you wrote in your Hub. Standing up and being counted is now critical to this country. Losing and failure is part of life and hiding that from children is starting them out with a lie -- and increases the chances of more "sissies" with apathy to everything going on around them and the idea that they're special enough for everyone else to take care of their welfare. What we need is a "can do" attitude -- kind of like get up and run and try to win this race or get out of the damned way. Amen to this Hub and voted up! Best/Sis
AB,
(laughing) Yep, I guess us Texans find it hard to keep our mouths shut when we find a few dumb asses are trying to railroad us.
I appreciate your coming by giving this thing read. It was pretty long. But yeah, I don’t know any other way to put it, but this country needs a good “bitch slapping” kiddo.
Thanks for coming by and giving me this support. It’s always good to find out that I’m not the only one who feels this way.
Bro
I sent you an email and pic of new baby. Maybe you didn't get it. Anyway...yes cool to me is being different, being a leader, not caring what the others think and not apologizing for it. Ever since we (U.S) put being politically correct at the top of our priority list, we've been an ever-sinking ship. You can't please everyone all the time and yet we're still trying. How silly!
It was nice to get a little ramped up by one of your hubs- thanks for that. And I'll be be back. I've got tons of ideas for hubs, but time...oh how I need more time....
Sis,
Glad I could get you a little ramped up. I used to be able to get you real ramped up. I must be losing my touch, and had better get to work on it. I will. I’m going to write a piece on The Tax War, and will see if that gets your motor running.
I know that time is a special commodity with you right now, but I wish you would get your ass to work writing something. That’s why my stuff only gets you a little ramped up. I haven’t had you writing stuff to inspire me. See, it’s all your fault.
I sent an e-mail. Read it dudette!
jim
We're all well, thanks for asking. :) Hubby went to ER just before Christmas. Puppy went to ER last week. But, for now, we're all home and healthy and happy.
M2C
Okay kiddo. Hope puppy and hubby are in good shape now. God bless you and yours and keep in touch with me. Your my friend.
jim
Jim, talk to Mike for news will be back online soon I hope....am at work now....Have an awesome day!!!
gotcha!
Pounding my chest baby! Yea I said baby and I aint no sissy! Single mother till I was 3, mowed grass to get my first bike, started a business with 200 bucks, and got my first vacation 16 years later, I missed my childs first 5 birthdays because I was working, I learned to love Thanksgiving and Christmas because I could get so much work done at the office without the phones ringing!
They are sissies because they all get trophies now! They get A&B honor roles! They grow up in a socialist school environment where everything is equal and handed to them, then they are dumped into the real world where only winners survive and they begin to starve! Next they join OWstreet and learn to spew rhetoric to get what others have in the name of charity and greed............thats what you and I call wealth distribution or taking from me to give to some lazy worthless human being that isn't willing to sacrifice to get it the American way!
I am headed into the bedroom to...........uh give my wife..........uh OK OK settle down, whew, I got a little pumped up here!..........hey honey daddys coming better getaholt! LOL! ......yea I know that was wrong but only sissies will hate it! haha
AR,
That’s my boy! Beat that freaking chest because you are a MAN , my friend. I’ve always liked you dude. You’re a no PC can be a butt head kind of patriot. Got me a twin brother!. Think I’ll go into the bedroom and start pounding my chest like a freaking ape until Amy wakes up and throws a lamp at me. whOo rah!
jim
Jim -- didn't get an email from you -- ????? I answer all of 'em -- so where's mine? I'm tryin' real hard to get out of the political writing business -- my two cents doesn't amount to that much and there's a bunch of you guys out there carrying the torch and singing my song much better than I can. I'll be your back-up support (like any of you need it!) Gonna be out of touch for a week or so (on the road again) but when I get back we need to continue this conversation -- it's not nice to pick on helpless old ladies! LOL! Love it, just love it! Best, Sis
Sis,
Hit me up when you get back. If you find some Internet, give me a little progress report. Going to need help putting this show together in October, and I look forward to hearing what you have to say about it. If I pull this off, which it looks like I’m going to, this will put the Project on the map.
Hell yeah I need backup. Don’t stay gone too long!
ps Don't have your e-mail. Take care of me there!
jim
Jim! I hope to have the opportunity to meet you in person someday. Hub after hub, you challenge me to think about things, reassess and move forward.
Admittedly, I have been a sissy at times during my life. But, after awhile, you get tired of getting beat up. Thanks for a great reminder to stand tall - and keep fighting.
Dexter,
No, no, my friend, anyone who can say that they have been a sissy, is no sissy. We’ve all acted like a sissy. at one time or another, but were not sissies. You’re a good man, and you show everyone respect, whether or not you agree with them 100% or not. That makes you a stud .my brother.
Jim
TheManWithNoPants,
Excellent hub! The challenge in life is that God does not distribute talents equally. Unfortunately, some people will be sissies, no matter what. Not everybody can be a lion in the jungle. Sure, being able to kick somebody's ass is great and all, but intelligence has kicked more ass than physical strength.
Conservatives vs. Liberals: Conservatives say, "survival of the fittest and to hell with the weak". Liberals say, "survival of the fittest, but not everybody is the fittest, so let's help them out."
What is the difference between Bill Gates and a homeless man? If you believe in God, then the difference is that God smiled on Bill and crapped on the homeless guy. If you do not believe in God, then the difference is that Bill got lucky, as he was born with more intelligence than the homeless guy.
Wearing helmets and drinking water out of a hose: In this country, capitalism drives human behavior. Helmet companies are driven to sell their products. If they do not point out the dangers of not wearing helmets, then they will not sell any. Now, bottled water is the epitome of capitalism. In the United States of America, Inc. people prefer to buy water when they can get it for free out of their sink. Bottled water is capitalism at its best.
The fact that you do not like helmets or bottled water is contradictory to your stance as a conservative. Conservatives are all about consumerism.
If a = b, and b = c, then a = c. If conservatives = pure capitalists, pure capitalists = those who sell bottled water. Then conservatives = those who sell bottled water. So, how can you be against marketing products to this society when being a conservative is all about squeezing the most money out of resources?
You should be pushing the use of helmets and the sales of bottled water. After all, it is the conservatives who run the corporations, and it is corporations who sell helmets and bottled water.
Welfare: Welfare has existed for thousands of years. Welfare is a tool that those in power use to appease the poor. The less people there are trying to be rich, the more wealth that is available to those who want it. So, why not maintain poverty? If you are in power, you do not want the masses to come after your wealth. Maintaining poverty allows for the accumulation of wealth and power. In Roman times, emperors would hand out grain to the poor. Handing out grain soothed the masses and allowed those in power to continue amassing power and wealth.
Power exists. You can pretend to not believe in it, or you can accept that even here in our mighty "under God" nation, there is a proliferation of power. Call it liberal or call it conservative. At the end of the day, amassing power and wealth is what drives welfare.
R
Ron,
Glad you like the hub. Wish you could have found something that you agreed with. lol. I'm going to hold off on addressing your comment's. Are you sure you want to do this bro? You left yourself wide open on every single thing you said. Not just one or two of the things you said are flawed, but every single one of them are. I'm just thinking that you had a bad day, and after rereading your comments, you'll prefer that I just let this thing go. I hope so.
I do want to clear up this thing about me kicking ass. I didn't get lucky on this one. I got sick of being bullied and watching what bullies do to others. I worked out real hard, and got myself some very special training a long time ago so that I could quit being a victim and help others who were victimized by bullies. You managed to get yourself a little twisted around here, but understand this ... There is nothing I hate more than thieves, whiners, excuse makers, and people who prey on those weaker than them. Because someone is weak, doesn't mean that they are necessarily a coward or lazy. Know that.
Again, if you take a real look at your comments, I think you'll realize that I'm going to shoot what you said so full of holes that you can look through it like a window. I'm just trying to be polite. We all have bad days, and everybody deserves a second chance.
Jim
Jim, you always tickle my funny bone:) I love your "rant." I wrote one of my on today, no holds barred, I'm definitely no sissy,lol.I do believe in helmets for children because they are still learning, so to me that's an appropriate preventative measure, but I wouldn't be caught dead in one,lol. I am right with you on the bottled water, we drink from the tap in this house. We are American by birth and southern by the grace of God:)The tally of broken bones in this family hits double digits. I broke my nose three times before I was 12, which made me a power house short stop. Grades are imperative, who wants to try to achieve A's if there free? Which leads to entitlements. You know my stance here, we should give a leg up to those in need, no lifers allowed. When I divorced my first husband food stamps fed my kids while I worked for 6 bucks an hour to pay rent and utilities and went to college on a pell grant and graduated top of my class. I have heard on the news recently that they are going to start drug testing wel-fare recipients, now that's what I'm talking about, that will massively improve the system, that's regulation and reform at it's best. You know I'm a big softy and I want our country to take care of those that can not take care of themselves, but not those who refuse to take care of themselves. I really wish we lived in a country that charitable donations could take care for those in need but lets face it, many wealthy people are wealthy because they are greedy. So my stance is the wealth of this country insists that all are fed, clothed, and are able to seek medical attention. And let me say here, being someone who received wel-fare,it's no picnic. They don't just hand you some money. You are given enough to survive on a card that will only purchase food items, no paper products or toiletries, only food. Anyone who would choose to live this way rather than climb that ladder is disturbed. But again, no lifers allowed. Well I could just gush on and on, you know I love you, keep up the good fight cuz:)
I have often had a vision of two guys passing the afternoon at their local watering hole, and enjoying several of their favorite beverage.
Guy Ones says: "Hey, I have an idea how we could makes some big money."
Guy Two says: "OK, what is it?"
Guy One says: "We can start filling bottles with water and selling them at all the convenience stores and super markets."
Guy Two starts laughing so hard he falls off his bar stool and cracks his head open.
I'm not real sure that is how this started, but I'll bet the person with this idea was laughed at a few times before he made it happen.
The main thing I learned as a kid was not to drink out of a RED hose, those made the water taste funny. GREEN hoses were on the OK to drink outta list.
CUZ!!!
Dang girl, where have you been!!?? When you get a chance, catch me up.
We agree on a heck of a lot more than we disagree on, and our bedrock beliefs line up almost perfectly. No, you are no sissy. No way. When you received assistance, it was because there was no alternative. It wasn't a matter of convenience. My fear is that the fraud and abuse, which is so widespread, will deplete the fund's for the ones who are unable to help themselves. In fact, it already has. I have a member in my own family who is raping the system, and there's not a thing wrong with him except laziness. I have a friend in Dallas who has a disease where he can't even walk except for small distances like going to the bathroom, and after screaming and begging for a year, they cut him a check for $30 a month. This guy was a New York City firemen who risked his own life, pulling people out of the twin towers. This disease is a result of what he sucked into his lungs doing it. Rich people don't bother me in the least. I'm writing a pretty good piece on that right now. But these lazy, no good, leeches, burn my behind.
Sorry, I get hot every time I think about this. Anyway, I have wondered what you've been up to, and I'm glad to see you. I haven't gotten any notices about you publishing anything, so when you do I wish you would send me a link. I'll go look for this one, though. Be sure and read my next one. I definitely want your input even if you don't agree with me kiddo!
jim
Mike,
I never tried the red hose. The people with red roses lived over in the Country Club area. If they had seen a kid out there drinking out of their hose, they would've called police anyway. Yep, the green hose gave you a very light but slightly brisk taste of rubber, especially on a real hot day. That rubber taste was just right. Not overpowering like the red hose. No way. Ahhhh .. Those were the days. Poorer than a church mouse, and oh so happy. Green rubber hose water, and all the fruit you could grab off the neighbors trees. They never cared because we never got greedy, and would be happy giving them a hand if they ever needed help with something. Flattening out cardboard boxes and riding them down a grassy hill like a sled. Making tree forts, and digging holes so deep that the family pet couldn't get out. Yep, those were the days!
jim
Not to worry, No Pants.... The damage has been done to America and because we refused to stop it before now - the persistent class warfare - the envy of materialism - the refusal to be productive - the acceptance of immorality - the embrace of multiculturalism - the loss of the work ethic - complete corruption in the legal courts - lack of employable skills because of our lousy education system - and the insatiable lust for entertainment - have all insured the collapse. No matter who wins in politics - we have lost our integrated culture, a new paradigm is coming. We are Greece II. Obama and the radical Czars promised 'change' and delivered, We just didn't think it was Recto-Cranial Inversion.
HBL
We agree on just about everything except for being too late. I have spent the last year and a half. Building the foundation for a very unique political organization. Without going into a great deal of detail, we are going to quite frankly "bitch slap" Americans. Remember my friend. There are 330 million of us and 535 of them. As long as there is still a pulse, we can turn this thing around. The Housefire Project is going to hook up the jumper cables and remind Americans that we are owed excellence. It belongs to us, and all we have to do is claim it. Our motto is ... "It's AmericaCAN not AmericaCAN'T" go to our web site and get signed up while membership is still free. We haven't taken in a dime of revenue yet, but we are growing steadily. I've got a plan, and that plan has no condition for surrender in it. You love your country. Otherwise you wouldn't be taking this thing so seriously. This country is worth fighting for, and I want you to put those feelings of despair to the side, put on your war paint, and let's get busy.
Jim
Manwithnopants,
You answered my comment by not answering. Very clever. You should go into politics.
R
R.
I AM in politics.
First, it's hard to respond to those comments without writing a book, but I'll try. Yes, there will always be sissies, but this wasn't about individual sissies. It was about the United States becoming soft as a whole.
"Conservatives vs. Liberals: Conservatives say, "survival of the fittest and to hell with the weak". Liberals say, "survival of the fittest, but not everybody is the fittest, so let's help them. I'm not your average conservative out."
You lost me right there. This crap that conservatives don't care about the little guy is a bunch of bullshit. I'm a conservative, and I believe in free market capitalism, but I care more about the little guy than you'll ever know. I bully bullies. I've taken people into my home to help them get on their feet. I hired a street guy named Randy and put him into my installation department. He did so well he ended up with a company truck and nice apartment. I'm sorry to say, this story had a sad ending, but I did everything humanly possible to help Randy out.
Yes, you lost me because you have a vision of what conservatives are, and you put them all in one giant pot. I don't do that. I have a lot of liberal friends. I don't lump them all together. I don't say all liberals want to save trees at the expense of bankrupting our nation. I don't believe in giving lazy people a free ride, but I do believe in charity. Many Liberals think that charity comes from the government. Conservatives believe that charity comes from the people. There is an extreme right and extreme left. I don't like either one.
My question to you is this .. Do you think that capitalism is bad? Do you think that greedy capitalist are the problem? If so, you're dead wrong, and I can prove it. Capitalism in of itself cannot hurt anyone. Of course, there is a thin line between incentive and greed, but it takes crooked politicians to connect the dots for that greed to hurt people. I know that was rather brief, and if I wasn't clear, get back to me. I'll draw it out. I debated, an economics professor from the University of Houston on this last summer, and I got a standing O, which included the professor himself on this subject. I know my stuff bro.
I don't see people as black or white or liberal or conservative. I see people as individuals, so as I said, I can't really get any further with your comments, because we differ here, and nothing I said would make any sense to you.
Yes, I am in politics. I'm the founder of a very unique political organization called Housefire Project, and our mission is to clean up corruption on both sides of the aisle in Washington. We're new, but we have a plan, we believe in ourselves, and were going to bust some ass up there in D.C. . http://www.housefireproject.com/ Thanks for taking the time my man!
jim
poetvix Level 7 Commenter 3 months ago
Oh, my gosh, Jim! You are too kind, way too kind. I'm not all that and a bag of chips. I'm just a lady who is worried about America, where we are headed, and the fact that freedom is in the cross hairs.
Now, to the important stuff. I can't agree more with the spirit of this hub! We are becoming a nation of pansies. Being female I'm not going to use your word but have no qualms about you doing so.
I would like to address the student failure points. Failure is required for many reasons. First, a grade should be an accurate depiction of where the student stands in regards to mastery of content. Secondly, when applied to special needs students many factors are taken into account other than just correct answers on test and essay production. For instance, a student who suffers from developmental disabilities will typically have effort included in the scoring criteria. For student's with learning disabilities in reading or math again other factors are also taken into account. One thing that drives me nuts is how someone can say, and they do, that a student with an ED or ODD label can't be failed. Emotional disturbance and/or Oppositional Defiant Disorder have zero to do with intellectual ability, but rather everything to do with a willingness or lack thereof to put forth effort on assignments they don't like or agree with.
In high school I didn't really like math. I grew to love it later. The point is, I had to learn it and so should everyone else. It's required for a good chance at adult productivity.
Social promotion is the trend in education. I don't agree with it. In many a district any failing assignment must be followed up with a chance to redo said assignment for a minimally passing grade. That should be more than enough. I can't tell you how many students won't even take a retest yet their parents are the first ones to have a literal hissy if they fail a class, Heaven forbid a grade level.
Regular education students that tend to coast by are often actually failing but given "grace" so as to pass. And people wonder why our youth can't read?
Ok, I have rambled on for too long. God bless you, Jim. You are a great American. Be sure the PC bug never bites you! Your total lack of it is one of the things I like best about you, that and your devotion to country. I hope more will check out the House fire project for it is a truly worthy project. This hub gets the award of the month for big bal_s!