You Don’t Know Me

You Don’t Know Me

Cranky Opinion Saturday

I often post on my personal opinions.  Truthfully some of these opinions are not always well thought out.  I am not a politician, a policy maker, and I doubt I am an opinion changer.  Occasionally my opinions anger others.  It is never my intent.  Sometimes I think people put me in a box based on my opinions.  These people do not know me.

Sometimes I don’t think I even know myself.

I love animals, I can’t bear to kill them.  I do understand hunting as a sport, and we have too many deer on our highways; sometimes the herd needs to be culled.  I just can’t do it.

I am heterosexual (except for watching “Say yes to the dress.”) I don’t understand alternate lifestyles, but I believe gay people should have the same rights to love, and marry whomever they please the same as straight people.  A world without gay people would be missing some color.  

I don’t care who uses what bathroom, just don’t act creepy.

I am fortunate to not be living in poverty and I hate that many people are, but I don’t believe poverty is something that can be simply solved by legislation.  We need to be compassionate, but you can’t just end inflation by mandating wage and price freezes and you can’t raise the standard of living by mandating wage increases.  We do need to assure as level a playing field as possible and provide education, opportunity and incentive for all.

I don’t like taxes, but understand they are necessary.  Taxes should be at a level that maximizes revenue to meet the needs of government without killing incentive to work, invest and prosper.

I believe in freedom of religion and freedom from religion.

I believe all men are created equal and yes, by men I also mean women.

I believe we need regulations to assure safe food, streets, fair business practices and many,  many other facets of society, but we need to be mindful that regulations often have unintended consequences.

I believe in the second amendment, but do not believe in the “slippery slope” mentality of no restrictions at all.  I don’t believe citizens can own a tank or a bazooka, or atomic weapons, surely we can draw a line somewhere between sporting and defense arms and arms designed for killing lots of people.  Surely we can better insure pistols and shotguns are owned only by responsible users.

I think smoking is bad for your health, and drugs and alcohol can be abused, but people should be able to choose for themselves as long as their indulgences don’t detract from the rights of others.

I believe in healthcare for all, but understand that it will never be fair and equal and yes it is expensive.  I believe healthcare decisions should be made by healthcare providers and not by bureaucrats.

I used to believe that smoking in public places was just fine.  I used to think that having to clean up after your dog was silly.  I hated the idea of mandatory seatbelts in cars. I have learned that my beliefs have been and can be very wrong. 

I am aware that there are many, many people way smarter than I am.  I also believe that very smart people can be as dangerous as they can be an asset.

I believe in “Love thy neighbor.” I also believe in “Trust but verify.”

I believe I am a very fortunate person and am very thankful for all I have and for the many wonderful people in my life.   

My favorite quote is from Warren Buffet,

“Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you. You think about it; it’s true. If you hire somebody without [integrity], you really want them to be dumb and lazy.”

I believe this sentiment also applies to our elected officials. 

There is more to me than these beliefs, but I also have a short attention span.  If I left out important beliefs or if I offended anyone with my beliefs, I am sorry. 

The world is very complicated and I am not.