And a Happy 4th to all!

@ozzy62 

I wrote a response to your last comment, but haven’t sent it yet.

Do you want the truth?

Other choices include saying nothing, and pretending that this country is in a normal and safe mode.

It’s your choice.

Emptying the browser cache should get rid of the spammy McAfee ads. 

This was a sarcastic response to the post just ahead of mine with the stupid King reference and rant. Ok.  The ridiculous post was apparently removed.   
 

Happy 4th of July to my fellow Agoners! I am thankful for this country and yes even the fact that we don’t have a king.  Enjoy family and friends this weekend. 

Imho nothing to celebrate. It’s all a lie and I’ve recently decided to do something about it. I’ll be writing a blog and/or substack column very soon about this country from beyond the Overton Window. 
 

I hope to have the first one ready this week. 
 

I thought politics was not allowed here. ?

It is disheartening to me that a celebratory thread on this forum turned into an "us vs. them" rant.  However, not entirely surprising given that the folks here represent the near 50/50 split in ideologies within our country at this time.  Whatever your beliefs, the one thing that makes America great is our ability to elect our officials – we get to choose our own destiny! 

To those who don’t like Trump, consider that if the last four years had been utopia, and/or if the Democrats had nominated a more viable candidate, Trump may not be the president now.  He is certainly not perfect, either as a man (too thin skinned) or as a leader (too divisive), but none of us are perfect, even our presidents.  As a voter, I mostly hope that my candidate will deliver about 80 percent of the stuff I voted for and I expect to put up with about 20 percent of stuff I don’t agree with.  However, as well-said by @ozzy62 , “You would think we could all be proud of this country and how awesome it is.”

I have a pendulum analogy about American politics. Historically, when the pendulum has swung too far in one direction, the voters have always caused it to swing back the other way.  The best times seem to be when the pendulum is closer to the center, not too far one way or the other.  However, it could be argued that the most change occurs at the extremes.  If you don’t like the way things are now, then take constructive action to facilitate change by backing candidates who better match your beliefs, lobby your elected officials, and/or become a candidate yourself.  Fear mongering, name calling, and fighting with your fellow Americans will not get it done, and only expands the divide.