I agree with most of what you said. Marxism has been introduced to the ignorant by those who hope to destroy America (to include foreign powers). I spent nearly 3 decades defending your right (1st amendment) to say what you want, when you want. I have no desire to do impede that. You are the one who decides what you say and when.

Along with these rights come responsibilities though. There are consequences to what we say, how we say it and when we say it. Our effectiveness can be augmented by the way we say what we say. If our only intent is to cause devision and to offend/shock/hurt, it’s easy. However, if we wish to educate, influence, encourage, edify, unite, etc... that is a challenge foreign to many.

My post was as much an admonishment to myself as to anybody else. I am making an effort to plan ahead and begin to adjust my MO so as not to add fire to the desire for civil war. America is a great country with a wonderful history of adding making this world a better place to be through our own sacrifices. I’d like to see this Nation thrive again for a very long time. If you see value in anything I’ve said it’s yours with my blessing, if not, please feel free to ignore it as just more words without value. I mean no offense by anything I said in this post and genuinely wish you the best in living your best life.

@Daveclark5, Of course, I'm the one who will pay for what I say. The problem, people are paying for being on a side, speaking the truth, having opinions, etc. If you are rude, you pay a social price by being admonished by those in your circle, etc. We've gone way beyond touchy-feely into Orwellian territory. We have to pick aside. After all, our institutions have gotten so bad because the left, our corporations, and our institutions have gotten so bad. The time for apologizing is over. The generations that are alive now are the last and only hope. It sounds kind of cheesy, but I can feel it in my bones.

@Tarpon Absolutely true. We need to know the facts and choose the side that is upholds what is right. There will be a price to pay and if we are willing to pay that price, it may be worth paying it.

There is a time and place for everything. I would never have believed there would be a time when President Trump would have been the right person for the job of president, but the pendulum had swung so far left and so much damage had been done by those demanding political correctness that President Trump and his methods were exactly what we needed. I believe he is still the right person for the job with all his politically incorrect methods. The looming civil war is not on him.

I also know that I have people within my sphere of influence that lean left. I have made inroads with some because I have chosen not to declare war on them because of their confused thinking. I remember even convincing one to vote for a republican candidate because he trusted me enough to hear my perspective. I was careful with my words and pointed to a perspective we held in common that showed why the republican candidate was the only logical choice even if he was in the “wrong” party. It so happened that we were both Christians who claim Christ and His priorities as our own. Pointing out what God’s word says God thinks about murdering innocent babies and other related issues, it became clear that if pleasing God/Jesus is our highest priority, there is no other option. If we chose somebody that supports all the things God says he abhors, then we prove that pleasing God/Jesus is not our top priority and we have made something else our God/idol.

I couldn’t have helped him see the inconsistency of his message if he didn’t trust me enough to hear a perspective with which he could agree. He would have been trapped in the web of deception where he had spent his whole life. Ultimately, it was a win-win situation because we found common ground from which we could operate and we made that a higher priority and kept things from getting confrontational. (Something that isn’t natural for a couple of warriors).

It’s easy for me get so caught up in issues I think are important that I become my worst enemy and forget that God doesn’t need me to Winn the battle in order to succeed. He needs me to maintain His priorities as my own and remember to treat others in a way I want to be treated.

I’m afraid I do that sometimes too. It’s much easier and gives short-term satisfaction for a longterm cost.

@Daveclark5
Sometimes the long term cost is the price of admission to the short term satisfaction show. Sometimes the show is worth the price...sometimes not.