The Average Carter

It’s a new year, and I’m almost all by myself in this little blog space I’ve made.  Hard to believe I started this thing off over 2 years ago with a bang, typing new blogs 3 times a week.  Man, when did I have that kind of time?!  Oh yeah.  It was before family and a baby and working full-time.  Last year was by far the busiest, craziest year I’ve ever had, and I learned a ton.  So my guess is that this will be the “I don’t have any resolutions so I’ll just say what I learned from last year” blog.  Since I’m the only reader these days, it should be easy to keep the audience entertained!

Lesson 1. The old saying, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” Continue reading

I’m kind of glad I waited to continue these thoughts another day after seeing what all has been going on with the Occupy protesters.  As much as it sucks to say it, all of the clashes with police just re-emphasized what I already believed.  And as much as I want to believe, and want to remember that we don’t live in a police state (yet), it’s hard to see that when the headlines are so full of information to the contrary.  Which all leads up to why peaceful protests, reform movements, etc, won’t change America.

The harsh reality is that we, as a citizenry, don’t have the power any more.  When the Declaration Continue reading

At some point in life, I decided that I liked talking about politics, American history, and economics.  Now, looking back, I really wish that I hadn’t taken such an interest.  I’ve written before that it almost seems like people follow politics like they follow their favorite football teams.  The main difference being that there’s only one rival…the other party.  In a world of so many ideas, right and wrong, left and right, just and unjust, and poor and impoverished two sides just doesn’t cover the entire spectrum of human existence.  Being right isn’t always a good thing.  Justice isn’t always fair for everyone.  And there are people surviving in states much worse than desolate. But we live in our own little bubble…behind slogans, ad campaigns, blurbs, captions, and one-liners.

My faith in my country waivers every time I read…everything from Continue reading

Just a quick post:

Occupy…if you’re fighting for a cause, have a goal.

Not everything is a civil rights issue.

Being rich doesn’t equal sharing your money with the poor unwillingly.

Being rich or poor doesn’t entitle you to any special treatment just because you can/can’t afford to buy something.

A cell phone is a luxury, not a right…much like owning a car and/or buying a house.

Food, clothing and shelter are not luxuries.  But you can’t force people to donate or give charity.

If you want a product to sell for a cheaper price, you can’t expect a company to raise employee pay and put more expensive parts in it. That’s not how things work.  You either pay more for the product, find cheaper labor, or use cheaper parts.

I’ve heard that “he who does with the most toys, still dies.”  I wonder if “he who dies with the most intercontinental ballistic missiles, still dies,” is the same thing?

Pot isn’t legal.  Get over it.  Yes, we know all the arguments for and against.  Until it’s legalized, it’s illegal. Fighting for legalization through your legislator or through non-profits is actually taking action. Sitting on your porch smoking out and complaining isn’t…

Growing up, teachers used to say, “you can be whatever you want to be.  You could even be president.”  Looking back, I just think, “geez.  Why would I want to be president?”  At inauguration, at least 25 million people would immediately hate you.  And those are just the Americans.

I used to think I was a liberal, then a conservative, then a moderate.  Now I know…I’m just a political skeptic.

If you’re ever lacking inspiration in the prayer category:

Those that have been fighting cancer (or other disease) for years without giving up…

Those with addictions in danger of losing everything…even their families

Those that are pregnant and having complications

Those that deliver early and fight to survive

The families and spouses of those fighting overseas

and those protecting us at home

For the protection of wife (or husband), child and family

and for those that have lost their faith and need something to believe in…

First of all, thanks for bearing with me through the change over.  Everything is finally in order, and all of the content is now moved back into a new place thanks to WordPress support and Dropbox.  If you were subscribed with the other and would like to continue receiving email updates, please take a few seconds and resubscribe.  I promise the blog won’t be moving anytime in the future.

If I could take anything away from the last few years, it’s that life is a whole lot less complicated than we all make it out to be.  Most of the time drama and problems are self-inflicted.  We tend to create Continue reading

The move back to WordPress.com is complete…as you can tell by the new layout.  I’m still working on a few things, like moving my music page and updating subscriptions.  Hopefully not too much of that changed.  If you aren’t receiving updates like before, and you’d like to continue getting them, please let me know so I can look at correcting it.  New blog post coming soon.

Coming up on the second anniversary of the blog and my hosting subscription is up.  Not really seeing all of the benefits over a standard WordPress blog, so I’ll be making the switch back over to WordPress.com.  If you see anything wonky or out of place, please let me know.  Thanks.

One of my biggest pet peeves is to hear someone say, “well that’s the way it’s always been done.”  Really?  If that way still works and is the most efficient than so be it.  But don’t sit there and tell me that you’re always going to be complacent about how things work just because that’s the only way you’ve ever known something to be.  Regardless of whether or not you have a voice loud enough to change it, you must at least realize that things change.  Things always change.  Do you want to be the catalyst or the resistance?

I get so pissed off when I talk politics and government with people so stuck up Continue reading