Posted on 02/21/2026 6:46:42 AM PST by Starman417
I grew up in a military family and lived on military bases most of my early life, five years of which were spent on Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Honestly, it was the most Americana place I’ve ever lived. Think Mayberry surrounded by minefields. Thankfully we didn’t often encounter the minefields, but we knew they were there.
Fourth of July was always the biggest day of the year. We had parades with tanks and marching bands and floats and classic convertibles with pretty girls waving from the back. The rest of the day would be filled with motocross races and boxing matches, track and field events and midway games and endless food. And everything was topped off with a concert and fireworks once the sun set.
Never a great student, I went from one grade to the next holding on by my fingertips, except for history and social studies. I was fascinated about history and loved reading about the Greeks and Romans and Egyptians, but mostly about America and WW II, which at that time had only been over for about 30 years. We of course studied the Constitution and what led to the Revolution, but we also read about slavery and the Trail of Tears and watched Roots. America was great, even if it was imperfect.
My joining the military after school was never a question. My parents never pushed me, but it was just what you did. And so after college I spent two years in the Army, stationed in what was then West Germany. One of the most interesting things I encountered while there was an old west town the local Germans had built. It looked like something straight out of Bonanza. Inside each of the buildings was a wide collection of Americana, most of which was oddly anachronistic, like Mickey Mouse clocks and old pinball machines and lava lamps. The interesting thing was, these people loved everything American. Despite the war that was only a generation away, America was a place of dreams, a place of adventure, a place where anything was possible.
That didn’t surprise me because my entire life I’d known that America was great. It was imperfect, but I knew that it was fundamentally good, and that most Americans were fundamentally good.
After leaving the Army I went to grad school and earned my MBA and began my life as an entrepreneur, which I’ve done for the last 30 years. In all honesty, I’m a terrible entrepreneur. I’ve had some great ideas, but most came to naught. Aside from one minor success early on – a company teaching kids about investing and entrepreneurship, where I interviewed a young Elon Musk – every one of my entrepreneurial endeavors has been a bust.
But here’s the thing, I’ve always known that my life is better because of entrepreneurs and patriots who have come before me. Our founding fathers gave us a constitution that created the foundation for the freest nation in human history, which in turn created unprecedented opportunities for entrepreneurs and innovators to risk doing great things and then earn a reward for success. For me, America was the land of opportunity, the place where anyone with a good idea and willing to put in the sweat and take some risks could find success.
But sadly, I’ve started to question that… but not because of my own failings. Those I own. I was either in the wrong place at the wrong time or just didn’t do a good job selling my idea. No, it’s not my failures that have me questioning what America has become… It’s watching the millions and billions and trillions of dollars that get sent to grifters and thieves.
I’m talking about the billions being funneled through fake or leftist NGOs that DOGE exposed. I’m talking about the people who took PPP money during Covid and used it to live like rapper kings. I’m talking about the daycare fraud in Minnesota and the homeless grift in California and the home health fraud in Maine and elsewhere. Not to mention the trillions wasted on countless green energy scams and the billions that go to support people who are here illegally.
I’m talking about the people we see using EBT cards to buy lobster and steak while working people are living on Ramen noodles and hot dogs. I’m talking about families who have been in Section 8 housing and on welfare for generations while working people are living like college students, sharing rooms and couch surfing among friends. I’m talking about colleges and companies dropping standards and accepting people not because of their hard work and merit, but because of a diversity thumb stuck on the scale.
The point of all of this is that over the last couple of years I’ve started to ask myself if I’m a sucker…
(Excerpt) Read more at floppingaces.net...
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answering headline: yes
Sobering thoughts and deep. Worth pondering...
What we need is more negative thinking.
We had it too good for too long:
Hard times make good men.
Good men make good times.
Good times make weak men.
Weak men make hard times.
Our country is now largely run by stupid people.
Our country is now largely run by stupid people.
Garbage in, Garbage out. The people who are running the country understand how stupid the people really are.
AOC is not dumb, she just understands how to appeal to stupid people.
“”””I’m talking about the billions being funneled through fake or leftist NGOs that DOGE exposed. I’m talking about the people who took PPP money during Covid and used it to live like rapper kings. I’m talking about the daycare fraud in Minnesota and the homeless grift in California and the home health fraud in Maine and elsewhere. Not to mention the trillions wasted on countless green energy scams and the billions that go to support people who are here illegally.
I’m talking about the people we see using EBT cards to buy lobster and steak while working people are living on Ramen noodles and hot dogs. I’m talking about families who have been in Section 8 housing and on welfare for generations while working people are living like college students, sharing rooms and couch surfing among friends. I’m talking about colleges and companies dropping standards and accepting people not because of their hard work and merit, but because of a diversity thumb stuck on the scale.””””:
If the author thinks it is bad now, just wait until AI/Robots take over jobs and even more people base their standard of living on how much they can defraud government handouts.
Quite.
Once corruption gets institutionalized, as it now is in the US, nothing short of a revolution will eradicate it.
“AOC is not dumb, she just understands how to appeal to stupid people.”
We opened the flood gates to low-IQ countries back in 65’ with the Hart-Celler Act (Thanks Ted). Our illegal flood over the past years are not nuclear rocket surgeons but they are now our masters and we pay their way.
Yes. Leftists in government have gone full Cloward-Piven. They are engaged in a civil war from the inside the palace gates.
Keep your soul in peace with God and Jesus. I tried fighting the good fight. Meditate and pray.
At least now we know why we are struggling: to keep the free stuff gravy train rolling along. Who is ok with that? Even a little? I mean, if it helps just one…..
Answering headline: If that was the case wouldn’t it have happened already? Your question is becoming more and more moot as we kick out illegals and uncover the rodents’ massive fraud. Your question would have been more apt 2 years ago, but it hadn’t aged well.
Hard times make good men. {My father; Depression era and WWII veteran, worked hard, he and my mother went to church and raised a family from meager beginnings.}
Good men make good times. {That would be me, married and having worked 55 years, engineer contributing to the country's economic growth, prosperity and defense.}
Good times make weak men. {New generations of self-seekers, avoiding sacrifices, expecting to take from others, wanting convenience of drugs and abortion.}
Weak men make hard times. {Check back in 10-20 years, could be bad. My generation has seen both ends of the spectrum, but there will be too few of us to do much about it.}
the voters elect the candidate who most corresponds to their values or rather the candidate who APPEARS to correspond to their values. The voters are truly stupid - they know that socialism fails, but wanting to believe in free stuff ie government robbing someone else for them because they’re to lazy or cowardly to steal on their own. They elect the biggest liar and con man.
Sad but true.
That’s the bitter truth.
Let not your heart be troubled!
When Israel asked Samuel to anoint a King for them, he thought they were rejecting him, Samuel, just because Samuel had two wicked sons, but God told Samuel that Israel was rejecting God and not Samuel. Samuel did his part faithfully as part of God’s Plan.
We, who fought the Cold War and “won”, are in the same position as Samuel. We did our part of God’s Plan. Trust the Plan.
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