Rag's Intro

Prologue

Good evening ladies and gentlemen!

     Some of you on this board know me, but some of you may not.  I guess a "short" introduction is in order.  Where to start... where to start... ah yes!  I am a stereotypical American.  I can tell this is true, because I don't think I am a stereotypical American --- which is --- stereotypical I suppose.  I am a man of strong convictions but that is not to say I am a man stuck in my ways.  I am opinionated.  I am not terribly orthodox.  I tend to ramble on.  I use the word "I" far too much in this paragraph.  The biggest flaw that may be evident on this blog is my habit of typing in a near-stream-of-consciousness style that can be quite difficult to follow at times.  For the lackluster syntax and numerous grammatical errors, I apologize ahead of time.  May Google's wondrous and squiggly red line save us all!

My Past
     The possible background and bias my opinions may express in the future are the product of my environment.  I know this.  So the short version of my background is that I was born into a loving but troubled family.  I am the oldest of numerous siblings who share the same formerly-drug-addled and heavy-handed parents.  I have experienced the gifts and curses of foster care, adoption, social services, welfare, public education, public healthcare, state/federal employment, community college, the military, the South, the North, and everywhere between.  I am thankful for all of it.  I am especially thankful for any and all hardships I have had.  If I grown up in a "healthy" middle-class household I highly doubt I would be as appreciative of my present position.  I don't frown upon those that have; I simply think that I personally would have ended up a spoiled little rodent of a man.  With that, I also recognize how much worse it could have been and how terrible it *is* for many people every day around the globe.

Politics
     I am neither republican nor democrat and instead prefer whomever at least appears to be the better civil leader for my town/state/country.  I vote for that individual regardless if they have a chance of making into their respective office.  While I understand its existence, I despise the party system.  I would casually say I stray a bit more to the left than the average American and have generally voted more for left-leaning candidates.  Like many of us here, I do feel quite disillusioned with the vast majority of the political system(s) here (and elsewhere).  It is despicable that the selection of viable candidates generally boils down to whomever services major campaign contributors the best and wears the most delightful political mask for the public...  I will stop myself here before I ramble on for a hundred or so pages.  We will continue on politics later!

Closure and Thought for the Day:
     I can wrap my head around a democrat not liking the republican party and vice versa... but something in my head just thinks it's absolutely hilarious when "news" broadcasters or some conservative just absolutely spews hatred about "Progressives."

The linguistic/comprehensive portion of my brain screams the notion that "This man/woman/both just absolutely hates progress!"

I know they are referring to the "other party(s)" but... I don't think that part of my brain is terribly incorrect with its assumption.  On most occasions, that politician really doesn't like progress.