Posted on 07/21/2019 3:38:05 PM PDT by DGravalloni
Hello to the people of the Free Republic.
This is in two parts. In Part One, as my first post here, I want to tell you a little about myself and it leads into an issue I want to discuss: A lifelong (for 36 years) Democrat, I did what I could for my beliefs and my country. I did research and gave talks on the far-right groups who I felt wanted a theocracy and blah blah blah. I had several ex-Communist-country friends and they told me how the economy and the media worked and disinformation and so many things. Like all Americans of either party, I was totally against that. While I was disturbed by some directions in my party, you never agree with anyone ALL the time. I did learn to respect some Republicans and Right-Wing people that I felt showed great integrity. Who wrote, spoke, or did things not from ideology but from sticking firmly to facts as they saw them, to thinking and not emotion.
When Trump announced I mocked. But then it got weird His slogan was "Make America Great Again" and always it was in context of economics and military. I was not thrilled with the idea of a ton of money to the military complex but I figured he didn't have a chance anyway. But the mainstream media (MSM) began to say he wanted to go back to Jim Crow and subjugated women. I knew THAT wasn’t what he meant from his own words and yet the whole mainstream media immediately said it. Then videos were spliced together making it appear he praised white supremacists in Charlottesville. And I heard a live speech where Trump said that "These countries release criminals to come to the country with the immigrants, and 95% of them are the violent ones, racist and murderers" or something to that affect. The MSM spliced it to say "Illegal immigrants, 95% of them, are rapists and murderers" and then the commentators were all "He said HISPANICS were rapists and murderers." They did the same thing with his comment that "MS-13 aren't humans, they are animals" to say “illegals are animals” and then they said "He said Hispanics are animals." Because of my ex-communist friends, I began to realize I was seeing very standard-issue communist-style disinformation. I independently researched and pretty much, when the MSM claimed Trump did or said anything, I knew and confirmed he hadn't done or said that.
Holding my nose, I started watching FOX and found, as much as I hated so much of it, that they were more accurate in their news. At the same time, Bernie's commie platform was gaining strength. This obscured just how lefty Hillary was. When she was finally the sole candidate and I heard what she was saying, without Bernie to compare it to. I could see now how much further (way to the left of standard-issue Socialism) she had gone. I still was going to vote for her, but after staring at my mail ballot, getting up, thinking, going back, staring, for hours, and actually moving my pen toward her spot to fill in for her, my hand felt physically dragged to vote for him. Since his election, for 2 1/2 years now, the MSM has never alked accurately about what he has done. They splice together or misrepresent videos of gestures, speeches, meetings with foreigners, pictures, and everyone instantly believes them and freaks. And every time they said he said or did something, it was misrepresentation. Every.time. The only ones who gave me some of what was really happening, much as I might dislike it, was FOX. And of course, his tweets. And so often, the tweets everyone freaked about weren’t actually what he said.
But I started seeing something impossible to deny. His tweets forced the Democrats, by their reaction to them, to expose who they really are. I am in my 50s, I know what a Democrat is, and there was no question, these people are no Democrats. This wasn't the Democrat party. While I am dubious about a wall, I had lost so much respect for Pelosi and Shumer and the rest when, after saying for years we need a wall they flaccidly, FLACCIDLY, wussed out and turned against it under the pressure. But now I had to face it, they had NEVER been for a wall. They had been lying all this time, trying to look like Democrats but Trump had forced out of them what they really thought. I started to feel the knife of having been lied to and realizing I have no party. None. The Republicans, when I analyzed it, spend on social programs and all about what the Democrats used to, fiscally they are Democrats. Libertarians are Democrats socially. Republicans are Republicans socially and Libertarians are Republicans fiscally. Democrats--aren't. That label is a lie, it’s really the Communist party. So both the Democrats and Republicans have to realize that we are without a party. We have to choose between two parties, Republican and Libertarian, that have split our respective agendas. Most Democrats feel that, no matter what the social laws, you can find a way to do or sleep with or whatever, what you want but if that money for programs isn’t there, you’re screwed. So we have to chose the fiscal and vote Republican. It's gross. Republicans tend to go more for the social, so they too, vote Republican and not Libertarian as much. His tweeting, or more the reactions it provoked, made me totally clarify the reality of where we all are.
In the military one must maintain, “situational awareness”.
It is hard to do that all the time. There comes a point when you realize your mind had wandered. Situational awareness suddenly returns with a sharpness that is almost shocking to the senses.
Welcome to freerepublic. As you reorient to the situation you have perceived and well described, you may experience a little vertigo. FReegards.
Welcome aboard! This is a place of great information and clarification. Stick around!
Can we assume your parents, friends and relatives were conservative? Mine weren’t and it took me a little longer too...
Welcome, DGravalloni. I look forward to your comments and observations as you continue to see the duplicity of the MSM. Please let us know about any success you may have in getting your Democratic friends to question what they see in the media about Pres. Trump and or conservatives and our positions. We need that kind of morale booster from time to time. Yours is my very first post to respond to upon finally joining Free Republic today after many, many years of lurking. How did you cone to find FR?
I became a conservative because of three influences.
My parents were both democRATS back in the day when that meant conservative, not communist.
I received a commission as an officer in the Air Force.
And because I read Atlas Shrugged.
I am glad for both you, and the rest of us.
We need sanity to reign everywhere. You are most definitely a part of that!
Thank you for the cogently explained background.
It would be interesting to hear about the reaction of your friends and family to your losing some of the blinders you had on.
I’m still eleven steps into the 12 Step Deliberalization program and I’m past 60. Not all of us are as self-aware as HotHunt!
Welcome.
The water is warm.
I’m in my fifties a well. But I voted for Reagan first time I voted and never turned back.
What took you so long(grins)
Better late than never.
Welcome again, friend!
Being gentle works for babies. The gentle approach doesn't work for people who need a thump on the noggin.
If you're not a liberal at 20, you have no heart.
If you're not a conservative at 30, you have no brain.
Just sayin'....
after saying for years we need a wall they flaccidly, FLACCIDLY, wussed out and turned against it under the pressure..
The truth is they did not wuss out and turn against it, they have always been against securing the southern border. Democrats have never been serious about securing our southern border. When Reagan agreed to amnesty, he was promised in turn, their cooperation in securing our southern border. After securing their amnesty they reneged. Why, because their plan was, and still is, to augment Hispanics, like Blacks, as party loyalists. Republicans on the other hand were satisfying their big moneyed donors, like the Koch brothers but they aren't the only ones, who wanted the cheap labor from south of the border. Which is why Donald J. Trump won the nomination process, and then the general election against incredible odds. We have stopped trusting the Republicans, and they exposed themselves as really being members of the Uni-party (at least the majority at any rate). A merger that has been in place for far too long. The Uni-party, consisting of Republicans & Democrats in positions of power regardless of which party holds the White House, have been consolidating their power for decades.
As much as i dislike Dems.....The idiot “squad” and all other pinkos...I Despise Romney the most....He is totally toxic and sick....Because he stands for NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Welcome FRiend, here is hoping there are many more like you.
Tatt
I’ll say welcome to you! DGravalloni seems to have disappeared.
I have a many high school classmates who are still liberals and haven't figured it out yet.
I've had some of them ask me over the years, why I won't debate them on their liberal views.
I tell them that I have listened to liberals my whole life and I just don't agree with them.
They're "woke" but not awake yet.
I have to agree with you. As much as I would love to have a lengthy in-depth Conservative study group the truth is what we must do, at this critical juncture in our nation, is the “SCARED STRAIGHT” CLIFF’S NOTES now. We don’t have the luxury of time. This situation is quickly reaching CRITICAL MASS and if we cannot stop the hell bound train we’ve been forced to ride, we will not have another chance. PDJT is critical to our survival. And Common Sense is the greatest weapon in our arsenal. The left has NO common sense as is proven daily. It will be their downfall.
Keep all conservatives in your prayers. For voices to SAY what they already KNOW.
I would agree, no need to dress someone down because they didn’t arrive at the destination as fast as some people claim to have.
People have to come to things in their own way, and at some point, it is less important how you reached that destination than that you actually reached it.
Roger that.
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