The Freedom Contest...Olahoma vs New York

Dateline: 12 February 2014

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You may have heard in the news recently that the governor of my state (New York) has publicly said that anyone who disagrees with him on matters of abortion, same-sex marriage and gun control are “extremists.”  He then said that such extremists “have no place in the state of New York, because that’s not who New Yorkers are.”

It is astounding to realize that people who hold to traditional American understandings about right and wrong are now boldly characterized as “extremists” by scheming, elitists in the political realm. And now the governor of New York has told us that we are not wanted in this state. I have never seen a politician who so blatantly demonized and attacked such a large portion of the people he was elected to serve. 

Andrew Cuomo has more than once disrespected the people of this state by bypassing the accepted democratic process to advance his political agenda. He is a sly political animal. I believe he is a wicked, dangerous man. The hardness of his heart reveals itself not only in his actions but in his countenance. He has presidential aspirations.

Not everyone in New York is a liberal who thinks and walks in lockstep with Andrew Cuomo. Not hardly. I’m here to tell you there are still a lot of God-fearing, freedom-loving folks in New York state. And among those who call themselves conservative, I dare say there are many who would even classify as Richard M. Weaver conservatives.  

In the map of New York State at the top of this page, the green area shows those counties in the state that have passed resolutions against the governor’s gun control law. The red areas show counties that have not passed resolutions against the law. The stars represent municipalities that have, apart from county government, passed their own resolutions against the law. My town has a star.

That picture clearly illustrates a fundamental rural-urban dichotomy that is taking place to some degree in every state in America with large urban populations. The rural areas are politically conservative, while the urban areas are politically liberal. This reality was something that Thomas Jefferson was concerned about and warned against.

Elitist liberal politicians seem to be more emboldened than ever to ignore the concerns of the land-mass-majority conservatives and push through laws that they know the urban masses will support. Rural people are effectually disenfranchised by this alarming reality.

I’ve asked the question before. Where can freedom-loving people go to be free in this country? One thing is for sure.... it’s not New York. My friend Ron Woodburn has recently blogged about the differences in freedom between New York State and Oklahoma. His family has, in recent years, partly moved to Oklahoma from New York, so he has an informed perspective.

You can read Ron’s essay At This Link.

And when you go there, check out the “Bee Soothe” skin balm Ron makes. You won’t find a better all-purpose balm for run-of-the-mill skin irritations. A lot of people I know around these parts have a can of “Bee Soothe” and speak highly of it, myself included.