It's time to move on from the 80s

JEFFERY MCNEIL Artist//Vendor

As 2023 arrives, it has become complicated to discuss politics because too many people have been sucked into the two-party mindset: Democrats are communists and Republicans are racist.

I hear all the time that if I'm not proud of Kamala Harris for becoming our first Black female vice president I must have personally cut a deal with white supremacists and betrayed the Black race.

It's the same thing with Republicans. There's something about taking a victory lap and winning that Republicans are allergic to. These people are addicted to saying no, cutting deals and consider compromising as a form of selling out. Many of our leftist friends are still stuck in the days of Woodstock and Jim Crow, while the right still believes Ronald Reagan is president and communists are everywhere. Unfortunately with conservatives, they still see Russia as the “evil empire” and everyone who doesn't love America as they do is a communist.

I love America, but I hate Nashville and country music. I think BB King and Muddy Waters are just as American as Hank Williams. I resent thinking the only way to be patriotic is to wear cowboy boots, carry a revolver and drape yourself in the American flag.

In my opinion, conservatism is a prehistoric ideology where people listen to AM radio and Rush Limbaugh, calling in about how they are losing their country. Unfortunately, some things are not coming back. I once owned over 100 reel-to-reel movies. Then VCRs and DVDs came, and all are now obsolete. I wish we could go back to the boom boxes and eight tracks, but they’re not coming back. It’s time to move on.

Conservatism is so backward that many self-proclaimed patriots still watch Fox News and believe it is the network of conservatism. Many right-wingers are so stuck on Fox News they fail to realize that conservatives have become the Never Trump, Pro-Ukraine channel for Neo-Cons, warmongers and defense contractors.

Fox News claims to be the voice of conservatives. They try to portray their political narrative as what a true patriot is. Our views on patriotism are clearly different. I feel sorry for anyone that watches that garbage and thinks they are getting a patriot outlook.

I don't know which group is worse, the conservative that assumes anyone that doesn't share their worldview is a communist. Or the “Vote Blue No Matter Who” crowd that thinks everyone that disagrees with them is a racist.

Democrats love parroting how Trump was a failed businessman and talking about his taxes as if they ever ran a business, hired anyone or managed a payroll. They always love to talk about taxes when I doubt any Trump- for us to get out of that hole to be successful. We have a lack of knowledge on finances.

I tell people all the time, just because you see a person is outside and they’re homeless, that doesn’t mean you’re not homeless also. If you’re living paycheck to paycheck and you don’t understand certain things, we are all close to being homeless.

Each and every day, everybody should learn something. This is an important life skill, one of the main things you are supposed to have, to be able to teach your kids and family members and employees how to do the same.

Maurice Spears is an artist and vendor with Street Sense Media hating leftist ever paid taxes or held a job for that matter. It's comical they talk about Trump being a failed businessman when they couldn't run a lemonade stand or even sell a copy of Street Sense.

Most Trump haters have no original thoughts; they just recite, repeat and mimic. If their prescribed talking points don’t come from CNN or Morning Joe then they're spreading conspiracy theories. But you can't tell leftists anything because they spend so much time trying to reframe history rather than reading a history book.

Today's Democrats claim to be for the people but do the bidding for people like Amazon and big Pharma. Donald Trump behaves more like a Democrat than these vaccinated shills who wear masks doing the bidding for Jeff Bezos and big tech.

In the end, many people have become stuck while oblivious to the fact that the people they pledge allegiance to are robbing them blind.

Jeffery McNeil is an artist and vendor with Street Sense Media