This Independent Thinker is Growing Tired.

David Hogan
Leeds, AL

I've pretty much been an independent my whole life. It could have been from growing up with controlling parents, or having to endure fights as just the normal part of walking to and from school, or having 3 siblings and realizing early how easy people gang up on someone. Who knows?

There has always been a liberal side of me and a conservative side of me, and I'm not going to speak what issues take me to either side in this article, although ten years ago I would have been glad to.  Not any more.

There was a time when both sides of the aisle could look at something preposterous and say, "no, I'm not buying that."  No one even had to offer up a political side.

We didn't convict public figures to federal prison and then try to name a public facility after them. In fact Richard Scrushy had a road named after him taken away, after his fall from grace.

We also didn't sentence a politician to four years in prison for corruption and watch him walk around free three years later never having seen the inside of a prison either. Appeals are usually filed from inside prisons by those convicted and sentenced to go there.

We didn't grieve over the death of police officers on the one hand, while calling for them to be hanged on the other, after being cleared of wrongdoing.

In fact there WAS a time when this country operated on a presumed innocence stance on both sides of the coin, be it victim or perpetrator. Investigations were commonplace too, but we lived with the outcome, and if appeals were to be filed, then the process was enacted.

There was also a time when police officers took being a smart-aleck for just that, not a cause to be handcuffed for "disrespect".  Of course there was also a time a police officer was respected too.

SO, just what am I tired of?  Justifications for bad behavior for any and everything.  It's one thing to go easy on the family stealing bread that has suffered undue hardships and presented their misery to a judge, and another to think someone has a "right" to settle differences with a gun, or to think systemic injustices make it OK to affront someone.

BUT WHAT I'M REALLY TIRED OF IS LAZINESS!

I'm tired of lazy protesters that won't do arduous work for change. I'm tired of people blaming one another simply because of race. I'm tired of everyone that thinks "things" that cost money are a right they are entitled to, without putting anything into the pot to pay for it. I'm tired of those that have nothing to put in the pot for social benefits that can't be at the least, grateful, for what they do receive. A mean, nasty, violent, old mangy dog, that's been on the street for it's whole life may growl at you, but it will still wag its tail once you've thrown it some food and moved on.

Most of all, I'm tired of those that think because you are tired of something, you have never endured hardship and are privileged because you don't just roll over and jump on a bandwagon without any questions whatsoever.

So, what is my answer to all this?  I honestly don't have one anymore. I used to tell people to, "agree to disagree", but now their reply is, "you're either with us or against us".  So, I'm just tired, for now.