Make Up Your Mind...
There comes a time when people of good conscience will invariably do one of two things:
A - They will act in the best interest of a situation.
(Someone's got to get it done)
B - They will not act in the best interest of a situation.
(Discretion can often be the better part of valor)
There is also a THIRD choice, that many don't even care to mention.
(They will act in an erroneous manner to serve THEIR OWN best interest, regardless of the consequences.)
Now, what I've been following in the news and on the streets (along with about 72 OTHER things), is the DoD and the recent decision about the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II.
Here's is an article that puts things in more perspective:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/business/03fighter.html
Now, you have to admit that ANY weapons platform designed for such use in the 21st century "ain't gonna come cheap".
But this is another case of changing horses in the middle of the stream (imho).
If you're going to allow a program to go forward, you HAVE to plan for budgetary "tweaks", in order to deliver the product AS DESIGNED.
But, if you start cutting corners, something's gonna start to "roll", and usually in the wrong direction.
We either stick to our guns and continue to lead the way in this particular technology...OR, we just take our own sweet time, not deciding how to proceed, and let someone else pass us "on the freeway", while we just hold up traffic.
Lord knows we're already playing out a version of "It's A Wonderful Life", with the nation of CHINA as the surly Mr. Potter (brilliant analogy courtesy of Glenn Beck), as far as our ECONOMY goes.
And we have politicians in place with little if any experience with finding REAL, sustainable solutions to our growing problems.
The debt clock continues to run up "our tab" at an astronomical rate (love to have about FIVE SECONDS of money from that clock...JUST five), while those politicos look for ways to spend money they simply DO NOT HAVE.
And all this is occurring on the GLOBAL STAGE...
We haven't even looked at the LOCAL level of the state of affairs.
It's small wonder that most of us are having a tough time trying to digest ALL that's going on.
It seems as though we're like a damn STRETCH ARMSTRONG...being pulled in several directions AT ONCE, doesn't it? And I can tell you...after a while, it grows a bit tiresome.
I'm probably one of the most average guys you're gonna find...and all I want to do is live my life the best way possible, with whatever time left the good Lord allows me to enjoy.
Now that doesn't sound like a big deal, does it?
Well, considering the manner in which this world (and our nation) could be headed, it tends to "divert my attention" from that life I'm trying to live. And I'm sure much of the same preys on your minds, too.
Times like this can be trying, that's for sure.
We're all part of this, in spite of the fact that we're busy busting our tails working, maintaining households, sending our kids to schools, paying our bills, and trying not to wind up taking the big "dirt nap" in the process.
I'd like to know (as I'm sure you do), that I can be assured of a modicum of safety and security, be it on my streets, or in my country.
Maybe that's why I've always been a proponent of a strong DEFENSE, on any level of government.
I LIKE having a strong MILITARY with the latest technologies, designed to "secure the common defense".
I LIKE having an effective POLICE FORCE patrolling my streets.
I LIKE having a government that is designed and fore sworn to PROTECT my country and it's people.
Somehow, that makes me sleep a bit better at night, how about you?
That "walk softly, but carry a big stick" rhetoric seems to fit the bill here nicely. But, if there is one thing that cheeses me off, it's a government, ANY government at ANY level that decides to castrate itself in order to placate to other people, other nations, and other values.
Sorry, but in today's world, with all the crap going on, you'd best HAVE some "cajones", in order to fend off those who would attempt to get their foot in YOUR door.
Does that mean I will trust our military, our police, and other agencies to protect me and mine 24/7/365?
Not implicitly, I won't.
It goes without saying that in ANY situation YOU find yourself in...YOU are always your FIRST, BEST defense.
The military will not be everywhere, all the time...same goes for state and local law-enforcement.
The manner in which our police (for the most part) "protect and serve" often times comes after the fact, meaning they show up AFTER a robbery has been committed, or AFTER a murder has been perpetrated.
In times like today, it's rare that a crime is "headed off at the pass", as in days of yore. It IS nice to roll up to something "still in progress", however infrequent that might be. That's just the way we've "evolved" from the days of having officers walk a beat, know all the people in neighborhoods, and such.
We're relying on all this technology to do what "warm bodies" used to do, and with a higher level of efficiency when it came to crime PREVENTION.
Ditto for our military, although it IS a different "arena" they find themselves in.
Our troops rely on technology to be more "surgical" in combat, taking out more of the ENEMY, and leaving the civilian populace a lot more alone, but we still cannot stop some soldiers from getting killed, due to enemy actions.
In foreign lands, our troops become endangered by actions here in America, when some governmental agency cuts costs, or does away with a particular program, due to "funding".
But that same government can shove a trillion-dollar financial fiasco in our faces, saying that spending ALL that money will SAVE us money (in the same breath).
Our cities cut back police and other law-enforcement programs, citing funding woes, fully expecting crime to remain stagnant in the process, while the citizens are all but "left to fend for themselves".
But all the while, those same cities push forward more entitlements to people undeserving to receive them in the first place (thanks to federal funding).
Regarding our military...if you're not going to fund our troops with all that they need in theater, then why stay?
Regarding our law-enforcement agencies...if you're going to cut funding and programs designed to PROTECT the public, WHO (exactly) will protect them (us) in this aftermath?
We either fight to win...or we do not fight at all.
We can't choose some "middle ground" here...it would make no sense to do so.
And when it comes to whoever our enemy might be...ANY enemy, we don't smack them soundly on the wrist, chiding them to NOT do those nasty things again, and call it done.
We wade into them, kill them before they can kill us, and THEN call it done.
This applies to fighting a war in a foreign land, or fighting domestic conflicts on our city streets.
To do less, is to deny the meaning of the oath that was taken regarding the service to this country, or the duty to be performed to protect it's people.
And to perform such duty without the proper tools, because someone in a government position wants to feather THEIR hat, is inviting nothing short of disaster to those just trying to live their lives...like you and me.
Time for some people to make up their minds...sh*t, or get off the pot (as Dad used to say).
You can be indecisive and vacillate your ass off when it comes to selecting something off of a dinner menu...or the type of vehicle you might wish to purchase...
You CAN'T be that way when it comes to personal safety, or the safety of this nation and her people.
Those that made this nation also made those hard choices, and stuck by them.
We can learn from their example. We can learn a LOT.
Be well, make a difference, and...
Stay safe out there, America.