The older, conservative German demonstrators who have recently been taking to the streets to protest against the controversial "Stuttgart 21" railway station project are the product of demographic change and their own fears. But the German protesters look absolutely harmless compared to America's hate-mongers, gun freaks and Tea Party demagogues who first compare Obama to Hitler and then minutes later to Stalin. They are people so filled with vitriol they can no longer think straight -- people like television presenter Glenn Beck, who says that putting the common good first is "exactly the kind of talk that led to the death camps in Germany." Beck has millions of followers, and appears in public with former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin, the darling of the Tea Party movement, who gleefully pronounces Obama's middle name Hussein as if it were a naughty, menacing word. Just two years ago, such things would have been taboo, and considered below-the-belt by Republicans.

While the older, white hate mongers make loud noises, surveys show that the younger generation are generally satisfied with the direction their country is heading in. Or rather, they are indifferent, taking a benevolent view of the nice, pleasant adults, their nice, pleasant president and those wild stories about 2008. The haters, on the other hand, will go and vote in November.

I certainly received an education from Herr Brinkbaumer. Here I am a black woman, consorting with known gun “freaks and Tea Party demagogues,” and not even realizing that I was in danger! I was treated, not differently, but simply as another human being who cares for the country that we in the US, most of us, love. I felt love, not hate. I have news for him. If push came to shove, I would put my life in the hands of those folks at whom he sneered, rather than the suspiciously pampered hands of the politician for whom he seemed to harbor his own version of the Chris Matthew’s tingle up the leg!

Anyway, as part of my education, I have come to the conclusion that there are at least three “ways” or choices, being presented to the American people.  Within the last two years, the “Chicago way” appears to have been in the headlines more than usual. It could be because the president and some of his inner circle came to the White House from Chicago. What is this Chicago way? The most famous depiction of that way is found in the movie The Untouchables, where Malone  stated:  “He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the *Chicago way!” This is not hyperbole either. As for Chicago way politics, so far no actual bodies have shown up on the White House lawn, or environs. We do not expect to see such. The political Chicago way is much more sophisticated. A nation is grateful. Maybe almost two years is insufficient time to show more of the Chicago way that was demonstrated in the “negotiations” on health care, fondly called Obamacare. A nation would be even more grateful if we do not get to experience more of the “persuasion” that went on.  I may have spoken too soon. According to writer Michael Barone, the political Chicago way did travel to DC and was employed. I bow to Mr. Barone’s superior judgment.

So if not the Chicago way, what are the other options? One option is outlined in this article. I like the straightforward writing of the “staffperson” profiled in the article. He is quoted as having written:

Ultimately, whether we are aware of it or not, our country is in the midst of a power struggle. And any honest analysis of the direction of our country has to take into account the balance of political power.

Power is the ability to control, create or prevent change.

What am I going to do to make sure that we can continue to move forward as a nation?

I can see right off the bat, that the staff person and I, are not even on different trains on opposite  tracks, in the same station. He wants to “move forward as a nation.” I visualize him wanting to move nearer to the cliff – of Communism – over which the America that I know and love, will be gone. I hear chuck “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” for most of us – and reserve exclusively for a select few. I see visions of “some animals are more equal than others.”  Whether Mr. Staff Person realizes it or not, he is not sufficiently high in the hierarchy to be among the elites, the “more equal” ones, if his new society is created. On second thoughts, maybe we do have some common ground, even if our vehicle for getting there is different. I too want to “move forward as a nation,” by taking a step back. I want to “move forward” by returning to the exceptional, unique America, founded on the principles of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I agree with him that “our country is in the midst of a power struggle,” and I hope that his “way,” the Communist way, loses. If his way wins, the entire country loses.

There is another “way,” that is creeping into the headlines, sometimes identified as “creeping Sharia.”  Supposedly one of those mega financial institution that got bailed out by the US Treasury, is already instituting Sharia banking, which means those who participate get to pay no interest on loans. If that is the case, does it mean that the rest of us get to pick up the missing interest and get those amounts tacked onto our loans? My image of Sharia is of women being forced to wear dresses that offer more cover than a tent. I am not wearing anything closely resembling such an ensemble! I have been trying to dress “age appropriate,” but should that type of outfit become the law of the land, I will become a rebel with a cause. I will pull out the shortest minis and tank tops that I can find, and scare kids and pets, before I submit to wearing forced attire! That too is not hyperbole. The other stuff is important, but even more important to me, when my shallow self takes over, is the attire. No one will separate me from my clothes of choice. “Give me liberty or give me death”? Give me my outfit or face death, metaphorically speaking of course.

So, if the Chicago way, the communist way, and any other different ways are out of the question, which way should we try? How about the “American way” – the superior way of the intelligent Founding Fathers? That would be the America where power hungry politicians learn to leave the rest of us alone to live our lives, stay out of our bedrooms, kitchens, and garages. They would make laws by which they also live.  They would stop lying. Well, maybe that is expecting too much. Lying and politicians “go together like a horse and carriage!” They would lead in battle,  actually from the front, instead of hiding under their desks. They may want to read how General George Washington led in battle, and how President George Washington led in peace. For those politicians, who have forgotten or never bothered to find out – it is the same man. I want an America where our enemies, instead of laughing to our faces,  understand that, should they harm any American citizen, they would rue the day they were born. I want an America that led the world in innovation, education, and technology. I want the America where when one makes a purchase, the quality is superb. I do not want the present day version where items, especially made by a certain nation, fall apart before the price tag is even removed!

I want “my” America back! Forget the “transformational change” that is having unintended circumstances such as:

▪ More unemployment

▪ More foreclosures

▪ Less health care choices along with rising expenses

▪ More businesses going bankrupt or closing altogether

And the list goes on and on! Or are these circumstances not so unintentional? Whatever the reality, I am looking forward to November. Which way will it be, America?