Posted on 03/27/2018 1:00:28 PM PDT by The Citizen Soldier
My journey with Free Republic began in late 1998. It was near the end of the Clinton Presidency, and there seemed to be a new wave of hope and a sense of renewed patriotism as we gathered to defeat Al Gore and elect George W. Bush. But, on the whole, we lacked a platform, a vehicle, whereby we could gather together and speak with a common voice.
Jim Robinson provided that platform, utterly unique at the time, a place for conservative voices to sing out, to proclaim their views, to unite, and to encourage one another that we were not battling alone.
I would meet FRiends when I traveled to Washington D.C. in January 2001 to attend the inauguration of George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States. I’ll never forget the joy and the celebration of that day; a new day, a new hope, a new opportunity.
Along the way I lost my Free Republic password, and there was no way to recover it. And so I started anew as The Citizen Soldier on November 26, 2002. Over the past twenty years, Free Republic has been my go to site to confirm conservative stories, to read thoughtful and insightful conservative comment, and generally “lurk.” Actually, evidenced by my relatively few posts over the years, I would categorize myself as a life-time lurker at Free Republic.
In 2016, in the run-up to the election of Donald J. Trump as the 45th President of the United States, I began to detect the seeds of dissension and disharmony at Free Republic, ala the “Never Trump” crowd that emerged. Less and less, I frequented the site because it seemed that every thread was a mini-battle, not with liberals and socialists—I would have welcomed that—but with ourselves; conservatives and libertarians taking off the gloves, continually entering the battle royal.
Oh, I participated now and then, but I tired of fighting our own side, and found new online homes where I could find more consistent support for our new President. Through it all, Free Republic has remained bookmarked and like a magnet it has continually drawn me back. I lurk again and again. But lately it has all become too much. Every move our President makes is scrutinized and criticized, often with the reminder, “I’ve always been a never-Trumper,” either voiced or implied. The thought of a Hillary Clinton Presidency, and the CERTAIN destruction of our great nation that would have brought, makes me cringe to this day, now into the second year of the Donald Trump's Presidency. But I feel like a voice in the wilderness, as the criticism of Donald Trump and his administration escalates week by week.
I’m not leaving. I’m 70 years old now, and I’ve moved from California to Arizona to enjoy the “sunshine years” of my life. Recently my 46 year-old son visited and before he left he said, “Dad, please don’t ever stop fighting.” And I won’t. But, my dear FRiends, Free Republic must recapture the spirit of independence and conservatism.
As a Christian, I end my comments with a paraphrase from Bob George’s, “Classic Christianity.”
“The answer is not simply calling someone wrong or proving yourself right. The real issue is what answer can we give to those who desperately need to hear the message of conservatism?”
> Along the way I lost my Free Republic password, and there was no way to recover it.
I solve this problem by using the password “Alzheimers” everywhere.
OK, you are illustrating the original poster’s point, in making a disparaging remark about principled conservative posters. I read a number of threads here, and I find it is the compromisers who start throwing insults and claiming that we support the enemy if we don’t immediately support R crap sandwiches. Those of us who are “purists” (read: we believe in the Constitution) believe that the people that we support should simply obey their oath of office. It is the compromisers (the beta males) who are responsible for the slouching into Gomorrah. How else can we explain our side continuing to send our children into the Bernie academies, aka government schools, when the aggregate product is so bad?
And by the way, I support Trump, despite being a Rand supporter, despite some of his cringeworthy comments and personal foibles. And I am very thankful for this forum.
This.
There have been several purges over the last decade. Now we’re lucky to see fifty threads in a day instead of an hour or two.
A Bircher Poster is one that even if not a member of the John Birch Society would agree with most of the ideology, which in itself isn’t that bad. Birchers are mostly what I would call Old Right or Paleo-Conservatives. Supporters of Pat Buchanan are an example.
I see plenty of Buchanan type posters.
This is a private forum, but I am not a fan of purges. I have no problem with conservative or libertarian critique of our candidates (we can all learn from each other).
Actually my brother agrees with you.
There are some people here with absolutely terrible attitudes and emotional decision-making, who immediately resort to hard-left tactics when challenged on any assertion.
I’ve had the race card pulled on me at least three times in the past three days, and in none of those cases was there any attempt to persuade by reason, just a simple demand to accept a proposition without argument.
Being very pattern-sensitive, I have long been aware that the breed that signed on during the Iraq War era lacks the character and intelligence of those who were here before.
No.
That bunch of looney-toon whackos is incomparable on any level as far as being absolutely bat-guano bonkers idiots.
We've got a few nuts running around loose here, but that bunch has the whole damned orchard and they keep on planting the trees.
Gee Rocky. You must not have been on the name calling horrible anti Trump Pro cruz.Threads. My faith was not only challenged but I was sent to hell more times than you can count. And not once have an apology been offered by any of the Cruz crew.
I am new to FR, however my father joined in the 90’s. While I ignored politics until Obama, I gravitated to FR during the 2016 campaign. I could not handle the fake news anymore and the idiotic pundits. I cannot comment as to the changes in attitude on FR but would like to point out that many claiming to be ‘conservative’ preferred Hillary to Trump based on moral principle such as National Review, the Bushes, GOPe, and others (globalists). I am not insinuating that FReepers are not conservative. I’m merely pointing out that Trump has exposed many people and institutions directly or indirectly. Until voters realize that politicians are not conservative, DC will not change. The majority need to be primaried.
"The John Birch Society is a self-described conservative advocacy group supporting anti-communism and limited government." Wikipedia
And yet, here we both are.
Yup
I should note I use to be very pro open borders and “free” trade back in 2000.
Agreed - I prefer to see more temporary posting limits for a few days than outright bans (in most cases) but above my pay grade =)
“You have an interesting take on things. I stopped frequenting FreeRepublic during the time leading up to the primary election because the pro-Trump crowd was absolutely brutal to anyone supporting any other candidate.”
Totally true. It hurt Trump.
I’ve now seen some if those turn against Trump.
There are a lot of disruptors.
The John Birch Society
Our Mission
To bring about less government, more responsibility, and — with God’s help — a better world by providing leadership, education, and organized volunteer action in accordance with moral and constitutional principles.
That’s The John Birch Society. Since 1958.
Who We Are
We are concerned Americans from many races, religious beliefs, and national origins. Since 1958 we have been men and women of good character, humane conscience, and religious ideals who have worked together to safeguard the Constitution.
We believe in the foundation our forefathers built and are dedicated to restoring it. With strong leadership, we work at local, state, and federal levels to educate others on the proper role of government. We stand tall in protecting American independence for future generations.
World View
A solution is only as good as your understanding of the problem. In his research, Robert Welch identified the foreign and domestic enemies that had organized and were waging war on the very foundation of America. His solution was to expose their globalist plans and work toward reining in an out-of-control federal government that these forces were using to satisfy their own agenda.
Sound familiar? It should. History only repeats itself because the same forces use the same strategies over and over again. Educating yourself and others on these strategies is key to understanding how we stop their anti-American agenda and preserve liberty for today and tomorrow.
Only because Jim let us start an Trump Train Tread away from the attacks. Which was mocked as being our “safe space”. Some there still will not come out and comment on other threads.
THe rest of FR misses a great deal of wisdom from them. OTOH. We have become extremely close and pass the time of day together with trivial topics when no news is being posted. Again we are rediculed We supporting, loving elders of this community.
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