Whereas, I can say that many people at the DUmp are miserable, because they themselves say so. Not to mention the survey which Ballygrl posted in a previous post in which more people on the left self-identified as being more unhappy, and people on the right in the survey self-identified as being happy.
It's the glass half empty glass half full analogy, progressives see the glass as half empty and conservatives see the glass as half full.
Laelth, I've considered myself a Republican since birth and I'm going to give you a little background on my life just to prove the stereotype wrong about Republicans.
I'm white, I'm from a black neighborhood in Brooklyn, I grew up poor, I went to private school and only went there because my father worked 2 jobs and my mother worked 3 jobs to pay for it, I went to college and knew my parents couldn't afford it, I didn't apply for scholarships or loans, I just worked 2 jobs and went to school, and when my Dad got sick we got even poorer. When he was unable to work anymore my Parents didn't apply for welfare or food stamps, we got by on my Mothers and my little salaries, we bought chicken legs, store brand cereal, pasta and sauce to last the month, we struggled but we always had hope that things would get better and they would get better because of us, not because of what the Government could give us. My Parents never owned a home, but I do, and by extension my Mother in a way because we moved her and my Aunt with us a couple of years ago, we moved them in with us because of the high cost of living around here, I could've easily pawned my Mother and my Aunt off on the system by getting her into senior housing or even a nursing home, but I couldn't nor would I do it. I'm not looking for accolades, but I'm the face in many instances of a Tea Party protester, people at the DU would never cite someone like me in their rants because it doesn't fit their preconceived notion.
I'm going to give you a few comparisons of the lives of people I know versus my husband and I.
How do we live? kind of frugally, yes I splurge on little things once in a while but I don't put myself into debt with material things. For the longest time it seemed we were the only ones who didn't have a big screen TV, a relative decided to upgrade and gave us her 52 inch TV, we would never of bought that ourselves because we didn't want the debt. I have 4 computers in my house, 1 of them is my Aunts and hers is about 3 years old, but our computers? 2 are over 8 years old and 1 we got from my Mother in Law for free and that's about 3 years old. I'd love to go out and splurge on a new 1 but I really don't need it. All of our cars are paid off and they range in age from 9 years old to 17 years old, sure I'd love a new 1 but I really don't need it. My priorities are my mortgage and health insurance.
Now let me compare that to 2 other people I know.
I have a relative, lives in a 10 room house, built in pool, 99 inch TV, newer computers up the wazoo, a couple of nice SUV's, we got into a conversation a few years ago and I asked her what health insurance she had, she said we don't have health insurance, the kids are covered under the state plan, I was floored, I asked how she was able to do that and she said everything they own is in another relatives name, and since they make money under the table? they're basically scamming the system, and she said all her friends do it, friends who have tons of nice material things.
Another story is a friend of my inlaws, this couple owned their own business, drove around in a brand new truck, went to gamble for the weekend once a month, then he needs bypass surgery, this was a few years ago, and I asked my FIL what insurance he had because I know the medical bills could be high, my FIL said they don't have insurance and the guy said "what are they going to do deny me treatment"?
My inlaws worked damn hard for everything they have, they had their own business and worked 12 hours days everyday, very rarely got a vacation, and when it came time to retire it hit them in the wallet, they paid for supplemental insurance but had only minimal prescription coverage so they paid out of pocket, and yeah they were bitter because they worked hard all their life and never asked the Government for a dime, yet here they were retired and still paying up the wazoo for people who got a pass their whole life.
Progressives talk the talk when it comes to the rich, of course they do because it's an easy out, they can continue to live in their naive lalaland and pretend the poor are these little victims their whole lives yet they refuse to see how an awful lot of "poor" are just scamming the system. I'll take a rich person who contributes upwards of 60% of their income in taxes over a scammer anyday of the week. When people need a job they don't look to the poor person to provide it, they look to the rich and middle class to do it.
So when you see posts on Tea Party protesters at the DU or any other progressive site, those people behind those signs are me, not the imagined racist the left likes to tout. And if someone ever says that people at the Tea Party look poor and instead of being divided they should be united with the progressive poor, keep this in mind, those people at Tea Parties just want to be left alone by the Government, they're tired of being robbed by the Government to take care of the Democratic base that for 5 generations have used poverty as an excuse for not succeeding. Take it from the white girl from Crown Heights, people themselves are responsible for how they lead their lives when they become an adult.
