Watch Out For That Which Seems Inferior And Unacceptable

The biggest trouble with being older is not that being a certain age has to be bad, unpleasant, or morph one into a diminished life form.  People who have health issues often bemoan "growing old".  In their case, who can argue?

In some cases, I think people get what they expect, and they don't like it.  But all that is irrelevant.

The trouble with too many trips around the block is that you see things first hand, not through the spin of textbooks, politicians, and those who do not gain from shining the light on the truth.

It was interesting, witnessing the Cuban influx of the sixties.  Being in school may have been a good place to gain some insight.  At least in my schools, the Cuban refugees were not bullied or shunned.  I think most kids thought they were cool because they "escaped" the oppression (and firing squads) of Castro and Che.  Escaping the grip of The Man has a universal, maybe even primal, charm and allure.

[Yes Joel, I mentioned Che.  Because his victims touched people I knew.  I heard the stories from engineers working night shift at 7-11, from doctors sharing a 3 bedroom house with 2 other families so they could save and make their handbag business grow.  Which it did to the point where all of them thrived.  So, never again claim I should redirect from Che to Pol Pot.  One has no bearing on the other. Not an either or situation.
I have knowledge of what Cubans of that day had to say.  Also, I was in Havana just 7 or 8 months after Castro took over, and I was old enough to remember it well.  It was very bizarre and tense.  Great place, geographically.  Only there for an afternoon.  Seemed like only a day or two]

The stories of children being encouraged to tell if their parents had "radical" beliefs which threatened the Revolution, which is a never ending thing, were met in America with disbelief and sympathy for the poor people who weren't free of such madness, like us.

And organizing kids into these snotty little community brigades to push the government's policies and power seemed far too wild to be true.

Now, here we are.  In the name of National Security our policies are becoming somewhat analogous to policies in the name of the Revolution in Cuba.  And the carrot of promises to take care of everyone keeps enough people suckered in that the bureaucrats and military can pretty well crush the rest without much effort.  That may be the best argument for lifting the embargo--freeing up trade could shed light on things.  But we look upon that regime as thieves of property.   People want restitution.  And our own people are largely numb to the reality, so it's a wash.

Anyway, it has crept up on us while radicals complained of the direction we've headed, while the majority, for reasons from greed to guilt to peer pressure to whatever, think they are safer and more secure if a tight grip is kept on all human activity.  I'm one of those radical types.  I'd think my view, in this country, would be mainstream.  Not so.  I'll survive.  At least if they don't send drone strikes to take out insurance scofflaws.

There are kooks who take what is true, then spin it suit their own agenda.  I don't like it, but I may agree with them to a point.  Usually their reasoning starts off sound, then they go off on a crazy conclusion.

The Cuban model is fun for those with some power.  Not so much for everyone else.  The contest for young people to produce propaganda videos to encourage other young people to embrace the health care exchanges scheme is just one example that the mentality of our nation is nothing like it was.  The contrast between our life and what we considered the horror stories of the Cuban condition is no longer so stark and clear.

No way did most people think we'd be spying on one another and pumping out government advertisements for government programs.  But those same people fell for the "Law and order" bit which allowed the war on drugs to weaken the search limitations intended in the fourth amendment to the constitution.  And so on.  Much of it was in the works long before that.

Nothing irks me more than simple-minded, kiss-ass youth propaganda produced by little self righteous, conformist creeps.

It takes a form of discipline, I think, to resist the temptation to force others to do as you wish.   Give people power, especially if they can rationalize some self righteous excuse, and they will get all up in your business.  Imagine if politicians could make laws because they think you are too fat?  oops.  I guess they do.  That's right, Michele O's big first lady crusade is to deal with obesity.  This is not even a joke.

Seriously, I think half the Cubans who escaped to Miami would have turned back if things in the USA were as they are now.  "Take my chances with obesity, insurance and PC police, or with the Cuban army and firing squads?   Got a coin I can toss?"

It is almost kinder if such control and abuse of power happens all at once.  That way more people say hell no, then fight or/and leave.  We wouldn't let the refugees organize here and go take back the island.  Various agencies managed to infiltrate and break up the groups which were training out in the Everglades.  Part of some deal Kennedy made.

The upside of American neo-bolshevism is that it will necessarily make for some bizarre and interesting times.  People get mad if I don't blame "corporations" for the whole crony capitalism thing.  Anytime you release the proper limits on government, you open the door to what we have.  Government- Corporate partnerships.  Many shameless bastards in government tout "government-business partnerships" as something holy and good.  Unbelievable.   That means some businesses get to pull the strings which most hinder their competition while they play that righteous community spirit card as they roll in the hay with bureaucrats and politicians.