I suppose maybe I'm just blind.

[Mythsaje]

I don't see Reagan as "transformational." I saw right through him. I was what--fourteen? The old bastard made me sick to my stomach. I was raised in a Dem household--my Dad loathed Republicans, always told me they were for the rich, and gawd, isn't THAT the truth?

The whole "Greed is good" mantra didn't fly with me. All I EVER wanted was to be an author. Sure, making a few bucks from it would be awesome, but it's the story that matters the most. That's what it comes down to.

I don't want a mansion. I don't want to be the richest guy in the world. I'd settle for a nice two or three room cottage someplace friendly and a reliable car to take us in to town every so often. Enough money to keep my pets in good shape and little more.

I never bought into the conspicuous consumption routine.

Let's say I missed the whole point. Someone who grew up under the influence of a blue collar construction worker and former small business owner, a life-long Dem, who believed in sustenance farming and who's biggest dream was to build a windmill and live off the grid. Never managed it because the mistakes he made in his personal life screwed him, but... :shrug:

I grew up knowing what Reagan preached was wrong...from the inside and out. Now people are trying to say I'm disingenous because I don't agree that he was special, that he did something transformational. I disagree because whatever he had didn't touch me in the least. For over half of my adult life, everything that meant anything to me could fit in a decent sized trunk. I didn't acquire anything solid until I was nearly forty, when my wife and I decided to buy a house for our dogs.

So maybe I miss the point. Maybe I don't see it. Maybe I'm just blind to it. But Reagan's mantra pushed me the other way. Just like Nancy Reagan's message did. Anything THEY said was good, I took as bad. Anything they said was bad, I took as good.

So they managed to fool most of America. They crafted a fine illusion and we're still paying for it today. They unified the Republicans and even brought some Dems (DLC anyone) on board with their nonsense. But it's STILL nonsense.

It's not "whoever dies with the most stuff wins." I don't care WHAT they say.

My wife and I don't even really buy gifts for one another. We pay for experiences, not things. We buy things for our house and our dogs, but rarely anything for ourselves except books. My most prized possession is my laptop...because it's specifically a tool for my writing. We don't even own a video game system, other than the PSP she won in a contest.

Conspicuous consumption has never attracted me. And I don't see how it ever good.

So, yeah...I suppose I miss the point.


edited for clarity