Random Thoughts for September, 2018.
By
Robert A. Hall
Feel
free to post or forward.
People
now often thank me for my service. I’ve expanded my reply: “It
was a privilege to wear the uniform. I served with the best men God
made.”
I
could support a charity that would pick up and bus illegal immigrants
to the walled compounds of the wealthy progressive elites, and give
them instructions and tools for breaking in and squatting there.
Make
things (like computers) are very unforgiving of forgetfulness, and
the older I get the more forgetful I become.
“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”
--Santayana
(sometimes attributed to Plato). War
is in the human DNA, going back long before human history. Otzi,
the “Ice Man” found in a glacier in the alps, was killed by an
arrow. If you could put a barrier around every country that would
allow normal commerce, but keep out all hostile people and implements
of war (planes, missiles, etc.), within 20-40 years, there would be
civil war in each country. You may want nothing to do with war, but
war is interested in you. If you are not ready for war, the
barbarians will eat you, no matter how loud you sing “Kumbaya.”
The old verities and shared values like honor, shame, loyalty,
patriotism, courage, fidelity, honesty, a common view of right and
wrong and so on, have been driven from our society. Now the people
who drove them out cry for a “justice” that can never be achieved
without them.
It’s far too late for me to come from, “Old Money.” But I’m
still willing to try, Nouveau Riche.
Tee
shirt from my friend Andy: “The
best defense is to not be there.”
“Wherever
they burn books, they will also, in the end, burn human beings.”
--Heinrich Heine, 1797-1856.
Some
people will stab you in the back and then turn you in for having a
concealed weapon.
“A
politically-correct culture is an imitation fur coat—infested with
real fleas.” –Peter Anderson.
More
evil is done in the name of good than in the name of evil.
In
the modern world, more people were murdered in the name of utopia
than for any other cause. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pot pol and many
others promised “utopia,” but they really wanted power to control
people.
Loyalty
to friends is telling them what they don’t want to hear.
I’ve
done many small, stupid things in my life, and I suspect I’m the
only one who remembers them.
Some
people put too much into their jobs. Far more people put too little.
Solzhenitsyn
said that the line dividing good and evil cuts through every human
heart. Probably so, but in many hearts, it cuts through leaving 80%
of one side, 20% on the other, of good or evil.
Since
I left active duty in the Marine Corps 50 years ago, I have acquired
a thin veneer of civilization and manners. But at heart I’m still a
crusty old mud Marine, rowdy, profane and very hard when required.
For
men who like plump women, or women who like plump men, America has
become a paradise.
Euphemisms
are getting worse. On TV the reporter said that two animals at the
Denver Zoo “passed away” due to a hail storm. No, they were
killed! Yesterday, three flies passed away in my kitchen. I
passed them with a fly swatter.
If a
teacher had told you at 14 how your life would turn out, would you
have believed him or her. I think I would have.
In books, people's dreams always relate to the story. Mine never
relate to anything in my life.
Billboard in PA: "You need the energy from fossil fuels to live.
Stop the BS and waste of taxpayer money."
Whenever I see one of those roadside memorials, I take it as a homage
to speed and alcohol.
We have an excess of celebrities who think they matter and a shortage
of citizens who really do matter
Politically Correct is the modern tern for claptrap.
I don't have too little money, I have too many expenses, many of
which are self-inflicted.
Family is in the heart, not in the blood.
Few things are as costly as always going for the shirt-term gain.
Bringing a child into the world that you cannot support should be
considered a crime against humanity. Not to mention child abuse.
Getting
out of bed seems like a bad way to start the day.
Being
liked is a key part of a successful and happy life. And it’s in
your control. Do people, including bosses and coworkers, want you
around? Or are you one of those whiny, complainers no one wants
around?
We
are all playing the cards we were dealt. But some people spend all
their time and energy whining about their cards or complaining about
the game instead of playing it as best they can.
My
cousin Bruce says, “As long as you have an unfinished reading list,
death has to wait.” If this is true, I’ll live forever.
Sometimes
a witch hunt finds witches.
Get
the collection! My “Random
Thoughts” from 2008 through July, 2013 are collected in this book:
The Old Jarhead's Journal: Random
Thoughts on Life, Liberty, and Leadership by Robert
A. Hall
The
Old Jarhead’s Journal is a collection of Random Thoughts on
politics and life and Conservative Political Essays, mostly published
on the author’s blog, including the essay “I’m Tired” which
went viral on the Internet in 2009, “The Hall Platform,” “This
I Believe,” and “Why I’m a Republican.” While they will be of
interest to conservative thinkers, they are collected here in book
form as a service to readers who wish to give a copy to favorite
liberals and watch their heads explode. All
royalties are donated to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.
*****
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