Welcome to the second installment of "Open Thoughts," a series where we write informal unstructured essays to let you inside our minds. It really hasn't been too long, just a couple of weeks, but when I spend that kind of time without writing anything, it feels like an eternity. I am actually writing you from the state of the Florida. For those unaware, I am from New England, more specifically - Massachusetts, but I needed to get out of the place. Someone had once famously said, "I did not leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me," and I likewise feel like I did not leave Massachusetts, but rather Massachusetts left me. The same place that was once the birthplace of the great American nation, is now a hub for groupthink and elitism, but I guess you could say that about a lot of big coastal cities. Think about it - a couple centuries ago the British raised taxes on tea, and Bostonians chucked a couple million dollars worth of it in the harbor. Fast forward to today? Bostonians are happy to cower in their homes, and listen to the news cycle unwaveringly at face value. I find it extremely heart breaking. A lot of things break my heart these days, but the best we can do is put a smile on our faces and strive to do the most we can with each and every moment.
In the course of the few weeks I have not written, a lot of stuff has happened. Joe Biden has continued to be a lousy President, Kamala Harris has hit the campaign trail and stopped in New Hampshire a couple years ahead of schedule, and we had a ruling on the George Floyd case as the media has continued to divide the nation along racial lines. Additionally, a recount is underway in Arizona to verify the integrity of mail in votes, and a Stanford study in conjunction with the National Institute of Health (NIH) concluded that masks are useless, and actually have an adverse harmful effect - other studies, notably one from Denmark, and even Dr. Fauci said masks don't work. Each of these topics could be a stand alone essay.
In my time in Florida I have been able to reconnect with a lot of people, and I think going forward we at the blog will really need to commit to some sort of podcast based off my conversations. I enjoy writing very much, but as the issues become more complex and heavy, I feel it will be better if we can converse about them in a podcast format. You know in the last installment of Open Thoughts I had said I feel like I should write a book. Now I almost feel like I should run for Congress. Maybe at some point.
In the near future I plan on proposing a piece of legislation in the form of a blog piece titled The American Accountability Act. I have always been a solutions orientated person. Many years ago I had a teacher in high school who had served in the Vietnam War as a tank operator. He had once told us a story about how he was furious over a problem that had developed within his regiment. As a result, he explained how he marched into his commanding officers office, and furiously explained the issue he was facing. The officer then asked him, "well do you have a solution?" To which my teacher had responded "no." The officer had then told him to leave, and do not return until he had a solution he could propose. Ever since that story I have vowed to be a solutions orientated person, and that's what we have tried to cultivate at the blog. Corruption and greed has been the root cause of many of the issues we are facing today, so it's become time we change that tune. What do you think? Politicians, big businesses, bureaucrats, and many others have robbed enough people.
Let's get back to talking about Florida briefly before I close this piece out and provide our four viewers with some more minor updates. A teacher I have written about on this blog who I very much liked in high school felt the need to take to Facebook and write how "Florida is the Wild West." Without boring you with the nitty gritty, his point was essentially how people don't wear masks and it's the home of rebellious individuals and a governor out of control. I must reiterate this blog has not once downplayed the virus. We have spent the last year in our homes and done our part. Attending zoom calls and watching Netflix in our spare time. I can not say the same thing about many of my peers. A lot of liberal peers of mine who often take to social media to belittle republicans and red states, have been heavy tourists to areas like Florida. If you are going to destroy a place like Massachusetts or New York, and criticize states like Florida, you shouldn't be able to visit them. Amongst my peers its almost like a right of passage to post a photo at the Versace Hotel in Miami. I guess posting a trendy photo on Instagram is a sufficient enough excuse to not take your own advice and ignore a pandemic.
Trying not to spoil anything, I want to mention a movie and a TV show. In the film Shawshank Redemption there is a scene where a character - Brooks - is let out of prison on parol after spending most of his life in a cell. As he tries to assimilate back into society, he grows very distressed and feels unable. Shortly after his release he becomes so uncomfortable that he ultimately takes his own life. Likewise in the show Outlander one of the main characters, Jamie, faces immense hardship and describes the turmoil he's faced internally in the following way:
There was this place inside me I... a place I think everyone has that they keep to themselves. A fortress... Where the most private part of you lives. Maybe it's your soul, the bit that makes you yourself and not anyone else. But after Wentworth, it was like... my... fortress had been blown apart. The thing that once lived there was suddenly exposed, out in the open, without shelter, without... That's where I've been ever since, Claire. Naked. Alone. Trying... to hide under a blade of grass.
After a year in the house, I felt like I was losing touch with society, and people - and I love interacting with people. How many people are going to feel like Brooks when they enter back into society? Maybe not to the extent he did where he took his own life, but just uncomfortable seeing people and life again?
Unlike the paragraph depicted by Jamie, my fortress has not felt blown apart, but rather closed for business. I felt so shut in and divorced from the world that it was killing me. I felt like I lost something and could not really pinpoint what it was, and that I needed to go to a place like Florida to find it. I can tell you that in the few weeks I have been here, I have rediscovered myself. I've seen friends and family, and I've met new people and made some friends. The media has people afraid to open their front doors, but I am here to tell you - If you have co-morbidities or underlying conditions or what not - take the precautions you need to, but don't forget to live your life. You are in control, not the Center for Disease Control (CDC), not the mainstream media, and most importantly - not Dr. Doom (Dr. Fauci for you literalists.)
I visited a buddy down in Key West and got to experience the beauty of an adventure once again. Part of the ride includes a seven mile bridge that cuts across the ocean. If you hit it at the perfect time you'll catch a beautiful sunset, which I'll attach a photo below. While I was there, I had the opportunity to sit at a bar with other people after a year. A couple of refugees from Canada noticed we were refugees from Massachusetts, and reached over to toast beers with us. Never in a million years would I have yearned for the simple opportunity to drink a beer at a bar. Don't tell the CDC, but you know what else? They didn't require masks. Can you imagine a place that gives you the freedom to choose?
Nonetheless, Florida is not the Wild West. It's the place where bureaucrats who destroy their own states come to vacation. Just ask Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan. Her administration knows a thing or two about deriding Florida and then visiting. I guess she wouldn't be a successful politician if she wasn't a hypocrite. It would actually seem that the bigger the hypocrite you are, the more success you'll have in Washington. I guess that's until we are able to pass the American Accountability Act once we write the initial draft. If you have any ideas to hold Washington more accountability we would love to hear them - so feel free to write us.
I am so upset what the media, politicians, grubby businessmen, and political activist athletes are doing to this country. In the few weeks I haven't written anything I have been studying, observing, and planning some content for the future. In the coming weeks and months, I hope to continue to share many of the thoughts and ideas I have had. I am excited about the blog and what the future holds for all of us. To be honest with you, I would like to let you in on a secret. I think the establishment is worried. I think they know their monopoly on society has reached the beginning of the end. After Ronald Regan left office, politicians began to convince Americans that this country is not great, and for a time that idea settled in. However, some truths are impossible to contain, no matter what you do. I once wrote about a quote the Joker says to Batman in the Dark Knight trilogy (piece linked below):
Those mob fools want you dead so they can get back to the way things were. But I know the truth: there's no going back. You've changed things. Forever.
Maybe you didn't like Donald Trump, but I think he revived the notion that America is a great nation. Likewise Victor Hugo once said, "Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come." The idea that America is More Than A Nation, but a beacon of liberty and hope to the world has come, and we want to be a part of spreading that message.
With that, expect some exciting pieces from us soon. Hopefully we can kick off the podcast as well. Additionally, Uncle Drew had the idea of compiling the news at the end of the week and sharing it with our audience. We both work full-time and it can often be hard to find time to craft some of our essays, but if we can game plan accordingly, we'll do our best to provide our readers with short pieces that relay the news to you in the most factual way possible without providing much analysis. We want to try and provide information, but you should be the final judge. Jordan Peterson had once said his job as a professor is to communicate ideas with his students, and its the students job to attack what he says with everything in their arsenals. Don't take everything at face value, be willing to debate and take a critical eye to everything you read. If you disagree with us, call us out. I hope your well, and wish you all the best!
Article with the Batman quote, The Bad Guys:
Sunset from Key West:
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