The more they talk, the less I listen

Maybe I’m growing into a curmudgeon.

I’m not sure how I feel about that, really. I don’t want to be the old guy yelling at kids to stay off of his lawn. That guy’s crazy.

Yet, I have a feeling that there’s a bit of wisdom embedded in my curmudgeon-ness.

Last week the Republican National Convention was televised for the world to see. I’m not sure how much of the world watched, but I didn’t. Not one bit. I saw clips on the news and watched Clint Eastwood’s “conversation” with Invisible Barack Obama on YouTube, but I made no effort to watch any of the convention live on TV. And I don’t feel guilty about it.

This week, the Democrats have their turn and — likewise — I don’t care. I have no need to watch a bunch of rich people (yes, all Congressmen are rich in my book, not just the GOP) tell me how they’re going to fix the mess they created. Especially given the fact that I don’t even think they believe the words that are coming out of their mouths.

I suppose I could watch for entertainment value, but I get no joy out of watching my country disintegrate before my eyes in high definition. I have a feeling the Dems will have Betty White talk to a stuffed shirt or something — to combat the empty chair theatrics of Dirty Harry — but I’ll catch it on YouTube or something if I have to.

Truth of the matter is, the further along this process goes, the more powerless I feel … the more I want to tell all those clowns in DC (and Albany for that matter) to get the hell off my lawn. They are, after all, just as juvenile as the children I’ll someday be swinging a cane at as they cut through on their way to do whatever it is kids do these days.

While you wouldn’t be able to tell based on the campaign rhetoric and the hateful posts my friends and relatives are making on social media, the Republican and Democratic parties are more alike than not alike. They are two sides of the same coin. Scary to think, but Ralph Nader was right — about that at least.

Both President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney agree that the ongoing war in Afghanistan is a good thing. They both support the Patriot Act, NDAA, SOPA, the TSA, unmanned drones spying on whoever they determine to be the enemy (including us) the Dept. of Homeland Security and Guantanamo Bay. In other words, they both support the police state — against we the people.

Personally, I believe in freedom, a concept I fear that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have even the slightest understanding of. Asking me to choose between the two is akin to asking me whether I’d like to be drawn and quartered or hanged. It’s time we stopped choosing between the lesser of two evils and started choosing good.

So I make no apologies for ignoring the Hollywood productions put on by the “heads” and “tails” parties. I only wish that come November, more people would tell them to get off their lawns.

Scott Leffler is a curmudgeon. Follow him on Twitter @scottleffler. Also, stay off his lawn.

There are things that actually matter

To hear some people tell it, this great republic of ours is on the brink of disintegration. We’re just days away from the annihilation of the Constitution and being run by the United Nations or George Soros. Or worse — both!

While I disagree that George Soros or the U.N. are the enemy, to a large extent, I agree with the doom-and-gloom crowd. I think we’re at a crossroads and it’s time to choose freedom. It’s time to remind the government that they serve our needs. Not the other way around.

Now, I’m not calling for armed insurrection, but it’s worth noting that we overthrew our English overlords for much less than our own government is doing to us right now. Yet there are many who are perfectly content to let government run their lives because it’s easier than being responsible for themselves. They’ve got a bowl full of Dinty Moore and Major League Baseball on their television. Who needs freedom?

The ancient Roman strategy of bread and circus served the Empire of Rome well. And it serves Congress well, too. As long as we’ve got food to eat and something to keep us entertained, we’ll ignore the fact that Congress is draining us of all that’s truly important — our worth and our liberty.

While we spend all our time bickering over who should have the right to marry (a religious institution that I don’t think government should have a say in in the first place), Congress tried to gut the First Amendment in the form of SOPA and later, CISPA.

While those of us with limited means fight to get what we can from the 1 percent, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), allowing for indefinite military detention without charge or trial.

The NDAA is ugly. It’s like the Patriot Act had a little brother and that little brother is really mean. It’s an affront to the Fourth Amendment among other things. It stops just short of declaring the United States a war zone and imposing permanent martial law. And we should work to stop it. Just like we should work to stop a lot of the things that the state and federal governments are doing to us. But we’re bogged down talking about birth control.

Combine the two ugly acronyms — NDAA and CISPA — and you get A SIC PANDA. You also get a nation where you can be arrested and detained for anything or nothing and have no due process, nor an ability to even complain about it publicly.

You may say I’m being dramatic and exaggerating the issue and that we’ll never let it get that far. I’d like to think that was true. But I didn’t think we’d ever let it get this far.

It got this far because we were distracted — by American Idol, gay marriage, abortion and the NBA playoffs. We need to start paying attention to the things that matter.