Perception : It is what you see.

To give you an example.. This Blog, as the title says, is “My View of the World by Joe” and as such it is my view of things based on how I perceive them… I will admit that I am not a journalist. I do not go racing out to the news so that I can ask people questions, such as “how did you feel when you saw the man murder your daughter/son/husband/wife/brother/sister/whatever”… What I will do is read up on it and then give my view, based on my perception, of what is reported, and then try to make sense of it, and maybe ask a few questions…

Maybe I will get you to change your perception of things, and maybe I won’t but, either way I hope to get you thinking about it..

Most of my material, as you may have noticed, comes from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune at HT.com and my favorite source for thought is from Tom Lyons… both are rather liberal, though he seems to have more common sense that the average liberal..

So, today I want to talk about the two party system that we have, and how they are perceived…

Since this article is about perception I will not try to convince you that these accusation are anything more than SOMEONES PERCEPTION.

First the Democrats….

Democrats are often seen as trying to make themselves more appealing to the criminal element and illegal immigrants by continually trying to give illegal immigrants rights and privileges reserved for legal immigrants and citizens… making it easier for people who are not supposed to be here in the first place to get social services, vote and go to our schools.. In some states people with out documents can even get special driver’s licenses. The Democrats continue to tell us that it is wrong to make someone prove they are themselves, by use of a picture I.D. , when they go to vote in an election… Think about the number of places you have to show an I.D. to do, or get, such as the Pharmacy, travel through an Air Port, getting money from the bank, or to cash a check at the store.

Some people would go so far as to tell you that since we have Law Enforcement agencies to protect us there is really no need for us to own firearms, and that the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement Division (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

means that the right to bear arms is reserved for the government.. The myth of “to serve and protect” started by the Los Angles Police Department has been busted by a number of Police Chiefs who have said tha the purpose of their departments is NOT to protect us from crime but to response to criminal acts… They advocate the creation of more Police type organization, armed of course, that will have heavier and heavier firepower than the citizens.. If you don’t believe me just look up how many organizations have police powers.. I was surprised to find out that is some larger cities the Post Office has uniformed police patrols… The POST OFFICE? I was watching the Animal Planet on Comcast one day… There were armed officers getting in cars clearly marked ASPCA… They have Police powers?

Check out the number of Police Departments in New York City where they seem to have a cop for everything.. Sanitation Police anyone.. Do they shoot the people who litter or don’t recycle?

All of this is really a matter of perception but it does some times seem that the left is trying to give more rights to the people who are not supposed to be here by taking them away from those of us who are here legally…

Now for the Republicans…

They talk about people taking responsibility for their actions and how it is up to the individual to make his way in the world… not the governments job… This is often seen as an attack on the poor. The Republicans are more inclined toward free enterprise with the idea that the government is responsible for helping people create their own wealth and by not giving it to them.. When President Obama talked about the man who had his own business, and how he had done it himself, he put his foot in his mouth, maybe he just did not say it the way he ment to, by saying that man had not done it by himself as the government had made the roads and all those things that helped him build up that business… If you watched the video of his speech President Obama seemed to be saying that the Federal Government did all the things that allowed him to build his company.. Like what? The Roads? Even the Interstates are not build by the Feds.. Sure the Federal agencies put the roads on a map but they give this map to the states who obtains the needed land, purchase the road beds, and then hire private contractors to build the roads that the people pay for with the federal gas tax, which the Feds had out like it was THEIR MONEY. It would not be the job of the Federal Government to make his company for him but, they should at least be able to help keep a business landscape that enable him to build up that company.. himself.

When it come to business interest the Republicans are seen as caving in to the interest of BIG BUSINESS, sometime to the detriment of people’s interest. Down here there is a constant fight between people who want to have controlled growth, so that we do not out build the roads, water, or services, and the people who want to just allow builder to put anything anywhere..

If you listen to some Republicans you will hear about how to current government regulations hinder the various corporations in the conduct of their business.. Take the Deep Horizon disaster, or the recent financial collapse.. Both of these were covered by government regulations but both happened, and that includes the great PONZI scheme of Bernie Madoff, while government was supposed to be watching but wasn’t. So before was talk about cutting back on the regulations, some of which are there to ensure a safe environment, lets make sure the regulators are doing their jobs with the tools they have…

So, yes, this is about perceptions.. There are, as the saying goes, three sides to any story.. Mine, yours, and the truth. It is up to us to discover what that truth really is and the make sure we elect people who are more interested in our interest than they are at getting re-elected.

It is afterall a Government “by, of, and for THE PEOPLE“, not “by, of, and for THE CORPORATIONS”.

Thanks for your interest,

That Joe Guy.