Thanks to Hoofer for sharing about his father and his Family, this is what I find facinating about "us"...That is tremendous character of our parents and how they were sort of innocent and naive yet they were so damn tough.

My father survived the depression by doing odd jobs for nickles and pennies, he was also a prize fighter, he later was in the third wave at D Day. My mother worked in her families store. Both of them thought FDR saved us and he did so much for us. They also blamed the Republicans for the depression, because (as I heard incessantly as I was growing up) Republicans don't represent the people they represent the banks. 

There was no such thing as a "conservative" or a liberal. You were a Democrat and you better not be a Pub...or else. But as I am fond of saying they were probably more conservative than anyone on this board in actual life. They were just totally in the tank for the Dems, coz the Dems had the unions, and my father was a Union man...tired and true, he was even elected a minor official.

I think he changed when Johnson came into office....he didn't like Johnson, thought him an ignorant Texas hillbilly with a lot of money. He especially didn't like it when 'Lame Brain' Johnson sent me my draft notice. I think that is what changed him to a Pub, in later life he hated all things Democrat begining with Hubert H Humphrey he thought was a wuss. He never lived to see Jimmy Carter...thank God.

But my Mother Lived to see Clinton and she never got past the Republican thing, she was terrified of Reagan thought he was going to shut off her social security and my dads remaining pension. She measured all Presidents by the yardstick of FDR....who was just the greatest...."FDR Saved us" was the Mantra she chanted time and again. Clinton was a Dem so she voted for him...simple as that. So with this type of bombardment from the "greatest Generation" it is any wonder any of us Boomers turned out as conservatives.

By the time 1976 rolled around I was a staunch Republican, I didn't identify as a "conservative" until perhaps the mid 90's but I suppose I always adhered to Conservative principals.

Quote from: Billy's bayonet on May 27, 2016, 07:09:20 PM
Thanks to Hoofer for sharing about his father and his Family, this is what I find facinating about "us"...That is tremendous character of our parents and how they were sort of innocent and naive yet they were so damn tough.

My father survived the depression by doing odd jobs for nickles and pennies, he was also a prize fighter, he later was in the third wave at D Day. My mother worked in her families store. Both of them thought FDR saved us and he did so much for us. They also blamed the Republicans for the depression, because (as I heard incessantly as I was growing up) Republicans don't represent the people they represent the banks. 

There was no such thing as a "conservative" or a liberal. You were a Democrat and you better not be a Pub...or else. But as I am fond of saying they were probably more conservative than anyone on this board in actual life. They were just totally in the tank for the Dems, coz the Dems had the unions, and my father was a Union man...tired and true, he was even elected a minor official.

I think he changed when Johnson came into office....he didn't like Johnson, thought him an ignorant Texas hillbilly with a lot of money. He especially didn't like it when 'Lame Brain' Johnson sent me my draft notice. I think that is what changed him to a Pub, in later life he hated all things Democrat begining with Hubert H Humphrey he thought was a wuss. He never lived to see Jimmy Carter...thank God.

But my Mother Lived to see Clinton and she never got past the Republican thing, she was terrified of Reagan thought he was going to shut off her social security and my dads remaining pension. She measured all Presidents by the yardstick of FDR....who was just the greatest...."FDR Saved us" was the Mantra she chanted time and again. Clinton was a Dem so she voted for him...simple as that. So with this type of bombardment from the "greatest Generation" it is any wonder any of us Boomers turned out as conservatives.

By the time 1976 rolled around I was a staunch Republican, I didn't identify as a "conservative" until perhaps the mid 90's but I suppose I always adhered to Conservative principals.

It is interesting how so many of us have the same background from how our parents evolved. Your story is a mirror of mine.

Quote from: Billy's bayonet on May 27, 2016, 07:09:20 PM
-snip-
My father survived the depression by doing odd jobs for nickles and pennies, he was also a prize fighter, he later was in the third wave at D Day. My mother worked in her families store. Both of them thought FDR saved us and he did so much for us. They also blamed the Republicans for the depression, because (as I heard incessantly as I was growing up) Republicans don't represent the people they represent the banks. 

There was no such thing as a "conservative" or a liberal. You were a Democrat and you better not be a Pub...or else. But as I am fond of saying they were probably more conservative than anyone on this board in actual life. They were just totally in the tank for the Dems, coz the Dems had the unions, and my father was a Union man...tired and true, he was even elected a minor official.

.....going to break a forum rule here - to add a perspective, my grandfather was self-taught, came over on the boat from Manchester, England with practically nothing and made a small fortune as treasurer and personal secretary to very successful businessman.  He also controlled +75 percent of a commodity imports into the US.  He had a live-in English Butler and Maid.  My dad was grew up a wealthy playboy - and got sucked into WW2, which changed -everything- for him.  Both Grandpa and Dad were always conservatives.   Stark difference between Donald Trump and Dad - 20 years difference and WW2 interrupted / changed my Dad's path.

A "personal friend of the family" promised Dad he could turn the family wealth into greater wealth - Dad turned it all over to him, 20 years later, a drunk of a man shows up on our doorstep, "I lost it all."  While we were growing up in poverty, waiting for the big payoff - this guy "lost it all" and the rest is history, financial poverty & hard work is all I've ever known.  (not complaining - but it would have been NICE to have an English Butler and Maid for a month or two!)  I've never bought a lottery ticket or spent a cent at a casino - thanks to Dad.

Quote from: Solar on May 27, 2016, 12:18:24 PM
I asked my dad about that very thing. He said people wanted to forget the war and all things attached, they wanted distractions, the country was experiencing a boom like never before, they trusted govt would do the right thing and went about their lives, earning money, planning for the future.
Politics was not something people weren't all that concerned about, simply because both party's had, at the time, America's best interests at heart, so they thought.

He said what FDR did was extremely underhanded, that people didn't realize the damage till it was too late, he said we were drunk on fun, TV, new cars, suburbia, never once suspecting the very evil they just fought, was actually laying the foundation for a takeover right under their noses.
He said it was his generation that let the fox in the hen house, and it was our generation that never knew any different and accepted govt intrusion as a part of life.

What one generation doesn't fight, the next accepts as the norm.
I think we can accept responsibility for cultural degradation for allowing the leftist message via media to set the narrative of the day.
Sad isn't it? The latest generation is being brainwashed into accepting sexual perversions as the norm.
How sad is it, when a leftist network like FOX is seen as the Conservative alternative?

I think Solar just brilliantly explained what happened to the "Greatest Generation".   Those people born in the "Roaring 1920s" got screwed in the Great Depression - from free-spirited living in a land of plenty, to abject poverty.  FDR deepens the depression with social engineering, and WW2 breaks out.  The youngsters who said, "I want my kids to live better than I had it growing up" (depression followed by war), were sort of "mentally primed" with patriotism (Gov could do no wrong), and welcomed the idea of "social security" (no more depressions).  Liberal marketing, perfect timing, everyone bought it.

My dad never mentioned FDR - but he did say Social Security, Welfare, or government assistance was NOT for us - hard work always pays off.

Given the two major events followed by the bad example of the 1920's - Solar sounds spot on (again), I didn't think that far back...   The cultural seeds were sewn, the war might have played a part in relaxing 'their' wariness of Government & the Great Depression helped sell the idea, "a little Governmental assistance is good"... the Fox entered the Hen House.  Very good point, Solar - never realized it before.  Tom Brokaw probably saw Big Government as a "good" thing.

Quote from: Solar on May 27, 2016, 12:48:50 PM
Even worse, the so called greatest gen was teaching us Marxist policy. Yeah, we suckered right into it as a way of life, but with the beauty of hindsight, we can now see just how devious the left was and still is.
Scroll down to page 25 and read the article, 'We need a flood of new laws', quite chilling indeed, how we, the baby boomers were duped into destroying our own economy under the guise of saving the planet and the commie "GREEN MOVEMENT".
snip...

Again - great observation!   My dad was ... a big Sierra Club supporter.  Mom's pet project was The Humane Society.   Both were beset by LIBERALS - peer pressure from your liberal socialite "house party" friends, sigh.   It took Jimmy Carter's Eco-stupidity to cured them...  or, maybe it was the rabbit attack?   LOL


With our knowledge of history, if we could time-travel back to 1988, the end of the Reagan Revolution... I wonder if we could have stopped George HW Bush from reversing Reagan.  Had we been a little wiser, maybe we would have realized it was up to us Boomers to keep the ball rolling.... a bit depressing, considering what we have now - and the possibilities Ted Cruz gave us.

Quote from: Solar on May 26, 2016, 06:29:53 AM
No, we are not the problem. This all started with the so called 'Greatest Generation'.

Rush Limbaugh calls them the "gimme generation."
They grew up during, and apparently were shaped by FDR.

I knew a girl in high school (1975)
whose grandma had on her property
an outhouse built by the WPA.

Whenever she felt nature's call, she would say,
"I'm going to go visit FDR."

Quote from: je_freedom on May 29, 2016, 02:25:19 PM
Rush Limbaugh calls them the "gimme generation."
They grew up during, and apparently were shaped by FDR.

I knew a girl in high school (1975)
whose grandma had on her property
an outhouse built by the WPA.

Whenever she felt nature's call, she would say,
"I'm going to go visit FDR."

OMG!!! Can you get a pic of that? I knew about the WPA and some of the idiocy of make work programs, in fact, I have evidence of one, where they built a cement bridge crossing a tiny creek in the forest, problem is, it crosses straight into a cliff.
But there's a bridge, by God, if you need to cross a 6' deep brook, seasonal at best, it's still standing.....

Quote from: Solar on May 29, 2016, 02:43:39 PM

OMG!!! Can you get a pic of that? I knew about the WPA and some of the idiocy of make work programs, in fact, I have evidence of one, where they built a cement bridge crossing a tiny creek in the forest, problem is, it crosses straight into a cliff.
But there's a bridge, by God, if you need to cross a 6' deep brook, seasonal at best, it's still standing.....

My wife's father worked for the WPA in Washington state when he was a young pup.

Quote from: je_freedom on May 29, 2016, 02:25:19 PM
Rush Limbaugh calls them the "gimme generation."
They grew up during, and apparently were shaped by FDR.

I knew a girl in high school (1975) whose grandma had on her property an outhouse built by the WPA.

Whenever she felt nature's call, she would say, "I'm going to go visit FDR."

There's a bunch of buildings at Devils Lake State Park (Wisconsin), the Park Rangers would tell us how proud they were of the CCC for building them, an example of the Government working for "us".  We called them "Barracks".

Maybe the pendulum is starting to swing back the other way, the Dems know it, and are trying to back-fill with illegal aliens.... keep us moving towards Socialism/Communism.  I'm kinda torn between pointing fingers at my parents generation, for not warning us, and sitting-down-on-the-job, or us Boomers for not opening our eyes sooner.

I really get the impression from 1920 thru 1950 the ground work was well laid and the populace was introduced to Socialism... we Boomers were encouraged to 'buy into the programs'.  Hindsight is 20-20, it's easy to say, "After all you did to fight for freedom abroad, how could you not see what was taking shape at home?"

Quote from: Hoofer on May 30, 2016, 07:08:43 AM
There's a bunch of buildings at Devils Lake State Park (Wisconsin), the Park Rangers would tell us how proud they were of the CCC for building them, an example of the Government working for "us".  We called them "Barracks".

Maybe the pendulum is starting to swing back the other way, the Dems know it, and are trying to back-fill with illegal aliens.... keep us moving towards Socialism/Communism.  I'm kinda torn between pointing fingers at my parents generation, for not warning us, and sitting-down-on-the-job, or us Boomers for not opening our eyes sooner.

I really get the impression from 1920 thru 1950 the ground work was well laid and the populace was introduced to Socialism... we Boomers were encouraged to 'buy into the programs'.  Hindsight is 20-20, it's easy to say, "After all you did to fight for freedom abroad, how could you not see what was taking shape at home?"

I think TEA is a result of the nation awakening, the LSM trying to downplay the movement, while both party's used the IRS as a weapon to defeat us.
All of this exposes just how far left the GOP has fallen, and how prophetic the Honorable A. S. HERLONG, JR. was in warning us of a communist takeover of both party's.
Makes one wonder just how effective the VC were in brainwashing McCain all those decades ago, seriously...

Quote from: Hoofer on May 26, 2016, 05:40:43 AM
If the Baby Boomers, now most of us being seasoned citizens, had been active in politics - I think we'd have a different political dynamic.

I agree with that. 

QuoteBaby boomers are people born during the demographic post–World War II baby boom approximately between the years 1946 and 1964. This includes people who are between 52 and 70 years old in 2016.

As a boomer myself, being part of the post WWII generation brought a lot of changes to the country, but culturally and economically.  That time I believe brought the country up to becoming considered the most powerful country in the world.  We've had a lot of successes and made a lot of mistakes during that time.  But we did lose sight of our basic character as a country.  If I could define one thing about where our party went astray, would be not sticking up and fighting for our principals.  Republicans have always been thought of as only caring about money, from being called "carpet baggers" in the south to "rich white men".  Republicans never stuck up for themselves during the "civil rights" era and allowed the left to redefine them.  The same goes for sounding the alarms about communism, and allowing the Marxists to gain a foothold in our schools and colleges.  If Republicans don't fight, and fight hard to take back our schools, and put more "common sense" back into our form of government, we're lost. 

Quote from: Dori on May 31, 2016, 05:54:21 AM
I agree with that. 
As a boomer myself, being part of the post WWII generation brought a lot of changes to the country, but culturally and economically.  That time I believe brought the country up to becoming considered the most powerful country in the world.  We've had a lot of successes and made a lot of mistakes during that time.  But we did lose sight of our basic character as a country.  If I could define one thing about where our party went astray, would be not sticking up and fighting for our principals.  Republicans have always been thought of as only caring about money, from being called "carpet baggers" in the south to "rich white men".  Republicans never stuck up for themselves during the "civil rights" era and allowed the left to redefine them.  The same goes for sounding the alarms about communism, and allowing the Marxists to gain a foothold in our schools and colleges.  If Republicans don't fight, and fight hard to take back our schools, and put more "common sense" back into our form of government, we're lost.

Democrats calling conservative wisdom "hate speech" is like
Nazis calling Winston Churchill's eloquence "hate speech."

Quote from: Dori on May 31, 2016, 05:54:21 AM
I agree with that. 
As a boomer myself, being part of the post WWII generation brought a lot of changes to the country, but culturally and economically.  That time I believe brought the country up to becoming considered the most powerful country in the world.  We've had a lot of successes and made a lot of mistakes during that time.  But we did lose sight of our basic character as a country.  If I could define one thing about where our party went astray, would be not sticking up and fighting for our principals.  Republicans have always been thought of as only caring about money, from being called "carpet baggers" in the south to "rich white men".  Republicans never stuck up for themselves during the "civil rights" era and allowed the left to redefine them.  The same goes for sounding the alarms about communism, and allowing the Marxists to gain a foothold in our schools and colleges.  If Republicans don't fight, and fight hard to take back our schools, and put more "common sense" back into our form of government, we're lost.

I want to say, 'there was a time when politicians didn't lie or cover their backsides when caught in the wrong.'
It's just not true, dig up some of the articles from the Jefferson / Adams presidential run - they are not nice!

I want to think, 'Before WW2, our nation had broad based virtue and innocence.'
Well, that's not true either, Prohibition and the Roaring '20s kick that idea in the teeth.

I want to believe, 'My parents were raised in a time of honor, dignity and righteousness.'
Until I remember my mom trying to describe a typical New Years Eve party. ... and telling us kids, we ought not have parties like that.

I want to hope, 'If we elect the RIGHT man, the whole dynamic of the politic would change.'
Yea, like bringing back the Salem Witch Trials, except this time we burn Liberals at the stake - not a chance. (Hillary does laugh like ... nevermind.)

I need to remind myself, "Be patient, it took decades to get this far, fighting to turn away Socialism is going to be a long, dirty process, there will be innocent casualties, the opposition isn't going to just surrender."
OK - so I'll but my $ and time behind the right people, expose & starve out the RINOs, and take a lesson from the Liberals - Conservative Incrementalism - it's path leads us straight to the Constitution. 

We know where we're going - the other side does not (they still think Communism is Utopia).
We Boomers can see the problem - that The Greatest Generation couldn't or wouldn't stand against.
Do we have enough -time-, left in our lifetime to see the fruits of our labor?

Quote from: Hoofer on June 01, 2016, 05:38:42 PM
I want to say, 'there was a time when politicians didn't lie or cover their backsides when caught in the wrong.'
It's just not true, dig up some of the articles from the Jefferson / Adams presidential run - they are not nice!

I want to think, 'Before WW2, our nation had broad based virtue and innocence.'
Well, that's not true either, Prohibition and the Roaring '20s kick that idea in the teeth.

I want to believe, 'My parents were raised in a time of honor, dignity and righteousness.'
Until I remember my mom trying to describe a typical New Years Eve party. ... and telling us kids, we ought not have parties like that.

I want to hope, 'If we elect the RIGHT man, the whole dynamic of the politic would change.'
Yea, like bringing back the Salem Witch Trials, except this time we burn Liberals at the stake - not a chance. (Hillary does laugh like ... nevermind.)

I need to remind myself, "Be patient, it took decades to get this far, fighting to turn away Socialism is going to be a long, dirty process, there will be innocent casualties, the opposition isn't going to just surrender."
OK - so I'll but my $ and time behind the right people, expose & starve out the RINOs, and take a lesson from the Liberals - Conservative Incrementalism - it's path leads us straight to the Constitution. 

We know where we're going - the other side does not (they still think Communism is Utopia).
We Boomers can see the problem - that The Greatest Generation couldn't or wouldn't stand against.
Do we have enough -time-, left in our lifetime to see the fruits of our labor?

You may, I will not if Ted does not make it in some how. 

Quote from: walkstall on June 01, 2016, 06:21:10 PM
You may, I will not if Ted does not make it in some how.

Don't talk like that!   I should have been planted in Dec. 2007 - and I'm still here, on borrowed time.

Wifey says I've changed, 'more driven & intense' and less 'laid back, easy-going'...  it's modern pharmaceuticals, man... they can practically animate a dead man!

Wifey and I read through all the posts on this thread in the last hour...  We both agree, there is some really good, thoughtful contributions in this thread - Solar's comments were a big surprise (our parents), Billy & Super's perspective on the FDR "godlike" mentality was so foreign to us!  Wish my dad was around to get his input - or my Grandpa... wonder if they'd agree or not (they sat down on the job).

I really pity my dad's (the Greatest Generation) - they went through some of the worst of the worst, fought their way out of it, and must have figured they'd done enough.  Seeing what you fought for, dwindle... sad.

Quote from: Hoofer on June 01, 2016, 07:03:34 PM
Don't talk like that!   I should have been planted in Dec. 2007 - and I'm still here, on borrowed time.

Wifey says I've changed, 'more driven & intense' and less 'laid back, easy-going'...  it's modern pharmaceuticals, man... they can practically animate a dead man!

Wifey and I read through all the posts on this thread in the last hour...  We both agree, there is some really good, thoughtful contributions in this thread - Solar's comments were a big surprise (our parents), Billy & Super's perspective on the FDR "godlike" mentality was so foreign to us!  Wish my dad was around to get his input - or my Grandpa... wonder if they'd agree or not (they sat down on the job).

I really pity my dad's (the Greatest Generation) - they went through some of the worst of the worst, fought their way out of it, and must have figured they'd done enough.  Seeing what you fought for, dwindle... sad.

My grand parents escaped communism/bolsheviks, so they taught their children well, which is why my dad recognized what his generation had done to the nation.
Being recent immigrants to freedom, they had a perspective most their age (greatest gen) weren't given, or handed down by the parents.

Quote from: Hoofer on June 01, 2016, 05:38:42 PM
Do we have enough -time-, left in our lifetime to see the fruits of our labor?

When Russia fell and became the Soviet Union,
for those thugs to be overthrown,
it took 74 years, plus
Reagan and Thatcher and John Paul II
to make it happen.

If the USA falls similarly,
there won't be anyone or anything like
Reagan and Thatcher and John Paul II
to help out.

It really will be like George Orwell's vision of the future:
a boot stomping on a man's face - forever.