FRIENDS of the MIDDLE - WHO WE ARE
In early 2008, a lively political discussion developed among myself and several of my friends. The subject was the candidates, political parties, and how the differing approaches might help solve America’s problems. Some of us were Republicans, some Democrats, some more independent. What we shared was a concern about the state and future of America and a passion to learn the truth, wherever that might lead us.
That tradition has continued and grown to the point that we have outgrown simple emails. Hence, our new, more official organization, newsletter, and website. Many of our current group members have some tie to Indiana. Some of us are from there, like myself, some of us live there, and some of us went to college there. For some of them, all three apply. What is important to us is that we are a diverse group of Americans seeking a brighter tomorrow for our beloved, oft-maligned, and troubled nation.
As the group grows, now that we have a more assured path for growth, this sort of Indiana center will probably become lost. But I hope that practical, friendly, open, Hoosier way of dealing with the world will continue and flourish.
We don’t believe one person, or one group, or one political party or philosophy has all the answers. We believe all of us have a lot to learn by sharing information and ideas, so that each of us can reach our own, informed conclusions. We reject radicalism on both ends of the spectrum and deplore the current movement in American politics toward non-communication, non-consensus, and non-functionality. We seek common ground and agreement. We seek practical, reasonable, working solutions that do not pit class against class. While we are not afraid to be led by the facts in unusual directions in order to find creative answers, in general, we prefer tweeks to revolutionary turnabouts.
We are most focused on seeking to restore the American Dream as a real possibility for as many of our countrymen as possible.
Our Concerns (in no particular order)
Several subjects, out of the entire political, economic, and social spectrum, have gained particular prominence in our ongoing discussions. While we try to place as few constraints as possible on group activities, these are the subjects that appear to be near and dear to current group members:
1. The 2012 primaries, elections, and candidates
2. Education (at all levels) 3. Taxes 4. Jobs--their loss & how to regain them 5. Campaign finance reform 6. Un-electing all members of Congress in 7. "Free" trade 8. The influence of big money on politics 9. Lobbying & lobbyists 10. Term limits 11. Amending the Constitution 12. Government regulations 13. Third party possibilities 14. Present and recent Administrations 15. Affordable healthcare (incl. insurance, rising costs, socialization, Medicare, PPACA) 16. Social Security & retirement in general 17. Class vs. class in America 18. Energy 19. Global warming 20. Immigration, legal and illegal 21. War, the wars, veterans affairs 22. Deficit spending and budget cuts 23. Welfare 24. Capitalism 25. American small business 26. World markets, the housing bubble, and bailout 27. China, Europe, etc. 28. 2012 voting and election issues |
Express Your Two Cents Worth
We cordially invite your replies and comments to anything you see written hear. The simplest method is to simply reply to this email. In the future, you will have the option of subscribing, commenting, etc., from the website.
We hope that as many members as possible will take advantage of the opportunities presented to speak their minds. This could be in the form of a reply, comment, or question or you could write a lead op-ed article of your own for publication. Many of our members prefer to simply read. We love them equally! J
For your comments or writing to be published, we need you to choose a user name. If you wish to write a reply to a specific group member (by user name), let us know so we can group threads together.
Whenever you quote another writer or article, please cite your source or we will not be able to use the quote because of possible copyright infringement.
Everything submitted by members will be published the following day (with the possible exception of personal attacks or indecency, those take a while longer, haha). It’s OK to insult public figures or philosophies or organizations (they’re people too, right?), but not individuals in the group or other private citizens. The price of fame is that public figures are fair game. Definitely politicians!
We do not share email addresses except in the one case where two group members notify us that they wish to communicate with each other external to the group.
©2014 Steven W. Baker, all rights reserved