Guest Blogger: How, When, And Why I Became An Ex-Democrat

by Aggrieved American

I am the Irish-Catholic son of two Democrats.  I grew up in poverty in an all black Philadelphia neighborhood during the 1970’s and 1980’s.  I knew nothing of the differences between the Republican and Democrat parties except that the Republicans were known to bring us into wars.  In fact, I was told that the Republican candidate for President (Ronald Reagan) would certainly bring us into a NUCLEAR war if he were elected.  My paralyzing fear of being drafted and dying in a war led me to one conclusion: Republicans must be BAD!  I registered as a Democrat when I turned 18 and I voted occasionally, but I had no serious interest in politics or the political process.

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Many years later, at the end of President Clinton’s second term, I began to notice obvious differences in the candidates for President.  Al Gore came off as an empty promise maker and panderer, while George W. Bush came off as sincere, but he was arrogant too.  My adult sense of perception now picked up on this when I’d never noticed such things about politicians in the past.  By this time, I was the proprietor of a modestly successful small business and, I was a father.  Even though the Democrat candidate (Gore) lost the election, I felt no personal defeat as a registered Democrat.  The truth was that I didn’t trust him based upon hearing him speak.  I didn’t even vote in that election.  After the beginning of the war in Iraq, I became upset and I wished to see Bush and Cheney removed from the White House.  I voted against them.  Although I was deeply saddened that they won reelection, something began to make sense to me.  They actually won by a LARGE margin.  I realized that a huge number of Americans must actually agree with them and with the war.  This was a difficult thing to accept, but accept it I did.

By the time the Bush era was coming to an end, I noticed the same Gore-like hollow promise making personality coming from a new Democrat candidate, Barack Obama.  I immediately didn’t trust him just as I didn’t trust Gore, but I gave him my vote because the other choice, war-mongering McCain and his laughable VP choice was not an option for me.  I was totally disgusted with Obama’s non-stop speeches and unrealistic promises, but I felt that this was going to be a choice based upon the lesser of two evils.   I voted for Obama then, and again four years later.  But I do recall feeling some guilt when I pushed that Obama button the second time.  I didn’t even know what Mitt Romney stood for.  I had just heard some bad things about him from Democrat friends and so I made my choice ignorantly.

It seems that my party went completely berserk after that.  I found myself engaged in endless online debates with former co-workers and classmates wherein any objection to Obama’s policies, (many of which I STRONGLY disagreed with) were met with scorn, accusation and red hot vitriol. I was attacked personally.  My intelligence was insulted.  I was labeled a “racist” countless times.  All of this came in response to the simple act of disagreeing with the President’s policies.   The Trayvon Martin story seemed to induce a psychosis in many of my Democrat friends.  The craziness snowballed and seemed to grow exponentially by the day.  I noticed that many other moderate Democrats were experiencing the same phenomenon.  It became obvious that our party was becoming EXTREME in its ideologies.  Anyone who did not agree 100% with the MSNBC-style narrative was condemned, ridiculed, and criticized relentlessly. 

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The very first time I pushed the button for a Republican candidate was in the New Jersey gubernatorial election for Chris Christie’s 2^nd term.  I actually felt like a traitor while doing that, but I also felt that my party was going off the deep end and it desperately needed a smack in the face to bring it back to reality.  Then I voted all Republican again during the mid-terms in an attempt to send that same message.  I was relieved to see that so many independents and moderate Democrats did the exact same thing.  This validated what I was feeling.  It also let me know that I was not alone. 

Here we are at the end of Obama’s 2^nd term.  I am so happy to see him go, but I fear that a Hillary win will only mean 4 (or 8) more years of the same horrible Obama policies.  I will surely vote Republican this time too.  I will not call myself a “Republican.”  I do not agree with all of the Republican principles.  I will admit that I am NOT a Democrat anymore.  I simply no longer view the Democrat party with respect.  All I see from Democrats is endless, promise-making and pandering to emotional voters.  Perhaps if I had been paying more attention to politics, I would have arrived at this conclusion many years ago.  As an adult and a father I am looking forward to the future and I’m certain that the Democrat party (in its present incarnation) will only expedite our country’s self-destruction.  I do not want that for my son or my future grandchildren.

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The views, opinions and positions expressed within this guest post are those of the author alone and do not represent those of Theresa Nelson / Musings Of An Aretha Freak. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them.

The Fibromyalgia Suffers' Creed

Feel free to substitute your ailment or the ailment of a loved one and please feel free to copy, paste and share.

1). I accept the fact that I have Fibromyalgia, a condition and disease that will limit my abilities in my everyday life.

2). While I will always have Fibromyalgia, some days will be good and some days will be bad. I will be thankful for the good days and TRY to make the most of them.

3). When I am having a bad day, I will TRY to remember that most likely it will not last.

4). When I am having a bad day, I will listen to my body, and get the rest that I need. I will let my family know that I am not feeling well, because they cannot read my mind.

5). I will NOT feel guilty about resting, because I will eventually begin to feel better, and in the long run, it will also benefit my family. They will not become malnourished if they eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner.

6). I will NOT feel guilty or worry about the work that is not getting done while I am resting. The world will not fall apart without me, even though it looks like it already has.

7). I will NOT let anyone else make me feel guilty for taking time out for myself. They will never understand exactly what I am experiencing, the pain that I feel, and the exhaustion that I feel.

8). They will never understand the fear that I feel when my symptoms creep up on me, and land me flat on my back.

9). I promise not to feel sorry for myself when I am feeling bad, because there are a lot of people out there who are in worse shape than I am. I will not be sorry for what I don't have, but be thankful for what I do have.

10). I promise to learn a lesson from my illness, which is not to take life for granted. I will enjoy every moment that was given to me, and be thankful for the times that I can smile and laugh.

11). I will TRY to help others who also suffer from my condition. There are many confused and frightened people who need to hear comforting words from someone who has been there. There are many people who need me to take his or her hand and be pointed in the right direction.

12). Lastly, I will TRY not to ask, "Why me?" While Fibromyalgia has weakened my physical body, it has strengthened my heart, my soul, and my spirit.

Book Review: "How We Deal With Gravity" by Ginger Scott

Ginger Scott has THE distinction of being the FIRST author to make me cry while reading a book. In all of my 45 years, the first time it happened, I was shocked by my tear-soaked face because that just did NOT happen to me while reading a BOOK. Ms. Scott's "How We Deal With Gravity" struck tears again. I guess I shouldn't be shocked.

Avery Abbot is a single mother, left stranded by her husband when he couldn't deal with the diagnosis of their son, Max. Max is autistic.  Avery is a strong, always on the go young woman who devotes every single extra second she has to Max.  She works in her father Ray's bar, she's finishing college and she's raising a special needs son living at home with her father. Needless to say, she doesn't have a lot of extra seconds.

Mason Street is a rock singer who grew up with Avery, practically in their home, and mentored by Avery's father, Ray. Mason is the son Ray never had.  Mason is also washed out.  He's back home from being on the road touring for the last five years because his band was cut from their contract and sent packing because life on the road stopped being about the music and became about the women, the partying, the booze and for one band member, the drugs.  Mason's feeling like a real failure right now.

Much to Avery's chagrin, Mason is invited by Ray to stay at their house just like when Mason was growing up so Mason can get his head together.  And while doing that, Mason goes back to playing at Ray's bar where he's exceptionally popular with the entire community.

And then there's Max. A young autistic boy, Max has his challenges that Avery must deal with not just every day, but every minute of every. single. day. Along with Ray and Avery's best friend Claire, Max is being raised by a small village of family that even include the secondary characters at Ray's bar. When Mason comes along, Max takes to him in a way that only Max really knows but can't express in typical fashion. The child is also a genius in certain areas, like memorizing his planets book or being able to take his iPad and using its Garage Band program to literally write out the music that Mason plays on his guitar.

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This one ripped me apart. Tears of joy and tears of sadness. Mostly joy. I literally had to put the book down at one point to clean myself up.  It's THAT good.  I was moved not only to tears but my heart fluttered, it pounded at times, and I could feel Avery's anxiety when she was nervous.  Written from both Avery and Mason's perspectives, a style I love reading, you couldn't help but relate to just about anything that this entire family goes through for love, for friendship and, for Max.

At one point I felt like Avery was way too hard on herself but, with her father's wisdom, Mason's determination to love Avery and Max, and Mason's desire to learn how to be with Avery and Max (Max is a challenging child), Avery learns that it's okay to stop moving for a minute and just be Avery.

At the same time, Mason has to learn HOW to be with Avery. Not just because he loves her but because she's not your typical single mother.  Learning how to be the lover of a woman and her child who happens to have Autism is a challenge.  A challenge that Mason is determined to rise up and meet. Ms. Scott showed that over and over and it's obvious that she's done more than just the homework on Autism Spectrum Disorders.  Mason makes mistakes as expected and Ms. Scott makes all of them real, bona fide mistakes that any adult might make when first being introduced to a child with Autism.  Ms. Scott makes Mason WORK for Avery's love and more importantly, she makes him work to be the responsible kind that Max needs to have in his life.

Personally, I work as a school nurse in a small, private school where the students are all autistic.  Max jumps off the pages and I could actually see him as one of my own students.  I wanted to hug this kid over and over again even knowing he'd probably hate it or he'd just have no reaction to it.

What Ms. Scott does NOT do is rain down pity all over this novel.  FIVE STAR MOVE!

"How We Deal With Gravity" IS a love story. It's not just the love story of Avery and Max, which is by the way, STEAMY!  But it's also a love story of a mother and a son, a daughter and her father, and it's a love story of a family as a whole.  Even the secondary characters are part of the family love story.

This one is going to get you right in the gut.  You won't be able to NOT feel something.  Your heart will be tugged, your nerves will make you shake, and you will shed tears of both sadness and happiness. Definitely more happy tears I would say.

The ending? Well, I'm not telling. But, if you're going to do an ending, do a BIG one.  And Ms. Scott doesn't disappoint.

To Ms. Scott, you had me at "hello" with your debut novel. You've got me as a reader forever.

*Book provided by the author for an honest review*

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Some "housekeeping" about "How We Deal With Gravity….."

All of the royalties from the novel's first week of sales will go to the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (www.autismcenter.org), an amazing organization based in Arizona where Ms. Scott has volunteered for many years.

"How We Deal With Gravity" hits Amazon, iBooks, Smashwords, etc. on Tuesday, July 8th!!!!!

A Letter From Fibromyalgia

A LETTER FROM FIBROMYALGIA

Dear Miserable Human Being,

Hi, my name is Fibromyalgia, and I’m an invisible chronic illness. I am now ‘velcroed’ to you for life. Others around you can’t see me or hear me, but YOUR body feels me. I can attack you anywhere and anyway I please. I can cause severe pain, or, if I am in a good mood, I can just cause you to ache all over.

Remember when you and Energy ran around together and had fun? I took Energy from you and gave you Exhaustion. Just try to have fun now! I also took Good Sleep from you and in its place gave you Fibro Fog (a.k.a.) Brain Fog. I can make you tremble internally or make you feel cold or hot when everyone else feels normal. Oh yeah, I can make you feel anxious or depressed, too. If you have something planned, or are looking forward to a great day, I can take that away too. You didn’t ask for me. I chose you for various reasons: that virus you had that you never quite recovered from, or that car accident, or childbirth, the death of a loved one, or maybe it was those years of abuse and trauma.

Well, anyway, I’m here to stay! I hear you’re going to see a doctor who can get rid of me. I’m ROTFLMAO! Just try! You will have to go to many, many doctors until you find one who can help you effectively. In fact, you’ll see many doctors who tell you ‘it’s all in your head’ (or some version of that). If you do find a doctor willing to treat this ‘non-disease’, you will be put on pain pills, sleeping pills, and energy pills.

You will be told you are suffering from anxiety or depression, given a TENS unit, told if you just sleep and exercise properly, I will go away. You’ll be told to think positively, you'll be poked, prodded, and most of all, you will not be taken seriously when you cry to the doctor how debilitating life is for you every single day!

Your family, friends, and coworkers will all listen to you until they just get tired of hearing about how I make you feel, and that I’m a debilitating disease. Some of them will say things like “Oh, you’re just having a bad day”, or “Well, remember, you can’t expect to do the things you used to do 20 years ago,” not hearing that you said “20 DAYS ago”! Some will just start talking behind your back, while you slowly feel that you are losing your dignity, trying to make them understand, especially when you are in the middle of a conversation with a ‘normal’ person, and can’t remember what you were going to say next!

In closing, you’ve probably figured out that the ONLY place you will get any real support and understanding in dealing with me is with other people with Fibromyalgia! They are the only ones that will understand your complaints of unrelenting pain, insomnia, fibro fog, the inability to perform the everyday tasks that ‘normal people’ take for granted.

Remember, I’m stuck to you like Velcro – and I expect we’ll be together for the rest of your life. Lucky you!

Author Unknown