Ranger Rick was selected as my literary name because I relate to the history of the Texas Rangers.

Men who were tasked keeping and enforcing the law on the lawless Texas frontier, miles and miles of open country where disaster could come in the form of hostile natives, thieves, rustlers and anyone with doing harm on their mind. It was on the edge of the known frontier at the time and you had to be self-sufficient, resourceful, and tough. If you weren’t, Darwinian law winnowed out the weak and you didn’t last long. If you were lucky, you would only be wounded and recover from your ordeal, if not, dead.

That time from American history is long gone, like dust in the wind. The guy with the badge handing out justice at the end of a pistol or rifle on the frontier has been replaced by political correctness, being nice to thugs and thieves and only using force when absolutely necessary. No more bodies over a saddle to bring in for bounty or burying. Everything is decided in court, where justice is more and more non-existent and fleeting, at best (think O.J. Simpson “trial of the century”).

The territories have become states, the Native Americans decimated and “given” reservations on which to live (usually the poorest, most inhabitable areas in which to eke out a living) and treated like third class citizens. I like to think the growing casino industry on native lands is just revenge for all the years the tribes have suffered under the U.S. government. Good for them.

We’ve experienced slavery in the original states and the resulting stain upon our historical culture. We’ve emancipated the African-American only to put them on “Uncle Sam’s plantation.” Since 1964, we’ve replaced the black cohesive family with a government check, decimating the black culture by replacing the working black man with a check for support. The downward spiraling effects since then have resulted in angry, unemployed, law-breaking, drug ridden and alcoholic young men. The single-mom phenomena within black families also is huge and growing in Hispanic and white cultures.

This is not a race directed rant; it is a government directed rant on what happens when the best intentions have disastrous consequences. And nothing, but nothing, done to correct it to alleviate the symptoms and get to the root cause.

Government never, ever makes anything better unless it is infrastructure like roads, highways and bridges. My liberal friends will scream, “Well what about Social Security!” After government confiscating (read that “stealing”) an ever growing portion of our wages, they have the gall to borrow from the fund for everything imaginable and placing IOU’s in the fund. Well, now there is no money in the treasury (only debt) to pay those IOUs. So they will print more money (think of it as printing more debt) to fund the shortfall. And you say “How does that work?” Exactly – how does that work? Not so well – more debt, more future misery, more debt slavery. Remember, the borrower is always slave to the lender.

The limited federal government has invaded territory that has always until recently, relatively speaking, been the realm of the state governments. The federal government is responsible for defense of the country, interstate commerce, creating and maintaining a common currency for trade and commerce. All the remaining interests and areas of concern are to be addressed within the respective state governments. The local, county and state governments do the best job for the citizens of the state, not the federal government.

However, the lazy Americans we have become always look to Washington D.C. to address all faults and grievances we have. They also want the largess of the government to be spent on their well being in the form of welfare giveaways, social security, health, anything people support oriented.

That is where I differ. I want my money that was confiscated for Social Security returned, but beyond that, leave me the hell alone, let me be responsible for myself, and quit upping my taxes to support those that should be working and supporting themselves. You want to know how Trump has gained so much support – he speaks and thinks like the common man. Is he for real, well, we thought Obama was for “hope and change”, just not the hope and change we got.

You wonder why the world and country got so screwed up – look in the mirror, we are all to blame for putting up with idiots in Washington (and to a lesser degree, Lansing). We need to get going and quit blaming others for our situations. Get off your asses, get fired up, and support whomever for the next big election in November.

Just remember, when you’re ready to pull the lever or darken the circle, the person you’re voting for will direct the country for the next four years. Are they credible? Are they trustworthy? Will they represent your principles and ideals?

It you’re just voting to say you voted, stay home. If you’re voting for change – get to the polls.