Freedom is never free. However, when compared to the alternatives, it IS worth the price.
In an age filled with constantly changing word meanings, there are some words that will never change. For instance - FREEDOM. Let me tell you what that word means.
As a teenager, I had a world class... View MoreIn an age filled with constantly changing word meanings, there are some words that will never change. For instance - FREEDOM. Let me tell you what that word means.
As a teenager, I had a world class sailboat. At any point, I could have could have gotten underway for any point on the globe. Bermuda, Bahamas, Tortuga, Tahini, well you get the idea... The sound of nothing but the wind making the sail sing, and the hiss of the water coming back together behind you, THAT is FREEDOM. I had it, I enjoyed it, I miss it. I miss it because slowly, that freedom eroded away. Rules, regulations, and laws, got in the way. The Coast Guard becoming armed and empowered, military/law enforcement that can do mostly what they want without a search warrant, including using fire axes in your boat because they think you might be hiding something.
Then, you have the wonderful, illustrious, hypocritical EPA that says if you flush a single piece of excrement into the water you go to jail for 5 years and pay a $250,000 fine.
Yet, you can go in a 5 gallon bucket WITHOUT A SEAT and dump it in, in front of them, and it's okay. A city can dump 500,000 gallons of raw untreated excrement into a bay and it's an "unavoidable incident", again, okay.
Seen it all. Held at gunpoint for cruising on said sailboat, that's another story I have talked about before.
Then you get the states who don't want live aboard boaters, so they come up with ever stricter standards, including boaters catch rain water run off, (yet home owners who do catch it go to federal prison) bilge pump output, sink drains, etc, to prevent ecological contamination. Irrational on a good day, impossible on a bad one. I won't even bring up that most marinas don't allow you to work on your own boat, 2/3 absolutely no staying aboard for more than 3 days and no pets, because of lawsuits and insurance.
If you think leaving the United States is an answer, forget that as well. The federal government, through pressure on countries, have come to limit any stay to 90 days, then you must leave for 30 days before you can come back. Not bad you say, I left out that there is entry fee of $300-$1000 everytime, ¢25gal for fresh water, $4-6 a Liter for fuel on some islands... food and mooring/dockage out of site.
Those prices were 12+ years ago.
Do I remember those fun times, the dock parties, the people I met, the things that I did, and that happened ? Everyday. Every spring do I feel a pull to go back to sea like she is calling to me ? Absolutely !
Do I still have to remember that I can't go home again? Sadly, yes...
Pay attention people, don't let them take YOUR freedoms away !!!!!!!!
You see all of this bovine scatolagy regarding politics these days, and then you see a photo like this.
Each dot of light is a star not unlike our Sun, which means there are millions, if not billions... View MoreYou see all of this bovine scatolagy regarding politics these days, and then you see a photo like this.
Each dot of light is a star not unlike our Sun, which means there are millions, if not billions, of planets out there similar to our earth.
So, lets ponder for a minute. What if the Vulcans, E.T., ALF, Mork, etc etc etc; were to land today-what would they see?
A nation divided. Democrats and Republicans at war with each other. One side saying the other is evil and refusing to talk to them. The other side doing the same thing.
Is that what we really want to perpetuate?
We need to change that before it is too late for our sons and daughters. How do we do that? Simple-we start a dialogue with each other. We can fix most, if not all of our problems, just by talking civilly.
Whether it is banding together against a common enemy, or just settling a local quarrel......... If we just talked with civility we could get a lot accomplished !
I'll just leave this here...
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Jim GroeplerFounder