This is my first post, hopefully of many. So as a first post I would like to introduce myself, tell you a bit of my background and what I hope to say in my blog.
My name is John Juraska, I am a 40 year old white guy that comes from a working class background. Lived in Upstate NY my whole life and am strangely proud of that fact. It is an aesthetically beautiful place to live, diverse in its population, education and prisons are our main industries and the people are of the sort that are profoundly American while grasping onto their old world differences, even as they die away with each passing generation. Where it is important to be part of a community, to get through a flood together, a long winter, or an illness. We treat each other as siblings, we'll bitch about each other, fight, sometimes even stop talking, but in times of crisis, we heed each others call for help. I imagine my Southern Tier of NY (where I grew up) as a microcosm of the Nation. Guess it was a bit of a stretch.
I will be exploring the politics of our Country, my State, Local government as it pertains to National issues. Maybe not the way you are used to, slash and burn tactics, unfounded claims and innuendo. Just what I see as a sensible, pragmatic man that wants a better future for his daughters. One would think that the answers would be easy giving the regular cry of "That's what we all want for our children." Over time and most importantly today, differences have stifled any movement (for better or worse) in our Country.
Everyday I see the struggle of everyday Americans as prices for food, housing, oil and gas increase unbridled and no ceiling in sight. I see the cost of Education rise to be nearly unattainable by average working Americans. Corporations booking record profits and the average American have less and less purchasing power. I see roads and bridges crumbling, schools downsizing, prisons exploding, hospitals putting the ill back on the streets, store shops boarded, veterans unemployed, and pollution covering it all. I see the corruption in our Judicial system, our Legislature, our Police, and anywhere else one bothers turning a stone.
My mother once told me, "John, I love you, you are my son, but I don't like you." Now before anyone wants to bash my Mom, I had that one coming. However it sums up my view of my Country today. America, I love you, you are my country, but I don't like you. It is my solemn hope to have a dialogue on this blog about how to like her again, to know that once I am dead and gone, my daughters will live in a better time than I did. Where differences can be discussed and debated civilly and the differing sides can still show respect for ideas and policies that may not be their own. Become a Nation of listeners and not talkers. A Nation of doers and not blamers. A Nation of principle and honesty, instead of a country where the truth is only one opinion. Where facts and majorities count, while attacks and back biting is discouraged. Where you can hear the phrase "Ladies and Gentlemen" and it applies. Where tolerance is the norm and all Americans can be on equal footing regardless of Religion, Race, Sex, Disability, or any other difference real or imagined.
These are hard times America and I know I am not the only one who is Heartbroken at what we've become. The good news is there are answers, there is a way, there is hope, but not until we stop our school yard ways and collectively decide to work at the problems, not talk at them. Realize that the voice of 300 million is stronger than that of any dollar. When the powers that be finally realize that we mean what we say and show the guts to ACT on our convictions, only then will this Country start to move again.
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