Donald Trump Remarks at American Conservative Union / February 10, 2011

Conservative Political Action Conference
Video Courtesy of C-Span -- http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/TrumpR

Que Sera...

Please note that this in no way is an endorsement by me  for parents to smoke in a vehicle nor even in their home where there are children present (nor by Leland Conway who I am sure agrees with me about this particular issue; however, I cannot officially state that I represent him nor anyone else except for myself).

....but pay attention to what he says about where the lines are drawn between government & what we own; what are individual "rights" as citizens are.  …and that he includes & is also recognizing the rights of children.  It does not have to be either/or in my opinion – either.

...and what we do with that responsibility is key.  Otherwise, the government will keep trying to "parent" the people when the people should at some point prove that they can make responsible moral & ethical choices for themselves -- AND their children.  Although I am a smoker, with all of the trash that I see on the ground by both non-smokers & smokers as well as the many parents that put their children’s health & welfare second by exposing them to second hand smoke in a vehicle when the child has no means of escape, I cannot say that our government is “evil” for trying to step in & do something about it.  …but should they have to?

I am old enough now to see that we all have to think that we will face some kind of “bad ‘karma’” if we do not do what is “right,” and if that means that we must endure what might seem like some “unfair” laws & regulations because we are not mature enough to police ourselves, then I am willing to acknowledge that there is a need for such measures to be present.

Actions create consequences, and whether we take this matter into our own hands or allow the government to choose for us, there are going to be just that:  consequences either way.

The question is which action are you willing to personally take responsibility for choosing?  Are you willing to give up your other rights, too?  ...or are you capable of proving to your fellow citizens/community, children & those that you have voted into office that you are willing to be accountable for your own actions?

I recently went to battle against some of my neighbors who are also fellow smokers about throwing their cigarette butts on the ground in front of our hallway as well as behind our apartments.  Although I can appreciate that people are attempting to respect those that are indoors by taking their smoke breaks outside, I am equally offended as someone who also chooses to smoke but does not litter & does renew/reuse/recycle.

As consumers, we all make messes that need to be cleaned up from preparing & eating meals to the literal disposal of our waste from the time that we are born.  …so feeling like less of a person for smoking does not come as easily to me as it does to some.  It is a lifestyle choice that I have made, but I truly try as much as possible to not punish others nor violate their rights with my own.

This recent conflict between what appears to be members of the same group brought to mind the word “community.”  Life on this planet is not possible without conflict as much as we might grow weary of it & even are driven to act out as a result.  Desperate times call for desperate measures sometimes, though, or are perceived to, but the truth of the matter is that we would not exist without opposites – as extreme & as much at odds as some of them may be.

The video for this week's No Apologizes hadn't been posted yet, which addresses the debate over whether suphedrine should be made available only through a doctor's prescription.  I will check back & post that as well as the Counterpoint video later.

Best Wishes ALWAYS - Jen*

P.S. I took a dinner break while pondering over the words that I had written, and I just listened to a phone interview with Gretchen Wilson on CMT Radio Live with Cody Alan.   The subject of our President’s recent State of the Union Address was discussed, and when Gretchen was asked her opinion concerning the economy & what she believed she would do to “fix” some problems, I could not have agreed more with her response.  To paraphrase, she basically said that we are all too afraid to express our opinions anymore (those of us that actually care & choose to be engaged in our society and not necessarily those that have nothing good to say at all, which is what I see a lot of on Facebook when topics for discussion are posted).  My bottom line opinion ABOUT  opinions is that we are a diverse society, so no two people are ever going to agree on everything, but we are all still entitled to them so long as we do not resort to violence, reckless behavior, destruction without reconstruction or abuse/neglect of what will benefit individuals & society as a whole (not limited to just human beings).  If we ever expec to continue to “live, laugh & love,” we are going to have to commit to letting ourselves recognize but respect differences without allowing OURSELVES to see what others see is us as assaults upon our character.  We are entitled to our feelings, but so are they.  …which is what I am sure is behind Barbara Walters’ idea for The View.  We all have one, and if we hope to survive ourselves before something “bigger” from somewhere else hurls into our orbit, we are going to have to learn to work together as a whole.  This planet is one unit, and yet it offers us every climate imaginable.  The least that we can do it try to do the same for it & each other.  It gives us life while letting gradual, tiny fragments & fractions of itself go to & through us -- and beyond.  It stays within a certain distance but still remains far enough away to allow other stars & planets do the same in their own way & time – each similar but having its own identity, and what works for one may work for another but not all.  Earth doesn’t always surrender gracefully, and sometimes not at all, but there are lessons to be learned from both volcanoes & oceans since we are the compromise & resulting product ourselves.  Principles are principles.  Morals are a constant, but ethics adapt.  …not always changing but accepting their fate in both victory & defeat.  What will be will be.