I don’t post political views at all in this forum…I keep it to betting. But there’s been some interest in the Carrier deal here in Indiana, a factory that is literally miles down the road from where I live. I feel when I post my thoughts that I be completely honest with everyone, and I respect everyone in this forum, so I will give my thoughts on Carrier, but for those that are interested, here is my backstory. Maybe this might help people see where I’m coming from. If you aren’t interested in this…skip ahead, or don’t read, or ignore the thread. But If I’m going to post something that is important to me…I’m going to give it my full effort.
*Special Shoutout to Europa who remembered that I posted that Trumps message was hitting home with Rural America when nobody else was listening (except Michael Moore, the Dilbert Creator, and Allan Lichtman).
BACKSTORY
I love covers…I love the political forum (sometimes I laugh at posts, sometimes I get scared by some of the things I read), but I’m always checking in. I want to have a good feel on the pulse of people. I watch MSNBC to see what the Left narrative is…I tune in to FOX News to see what the Right narrative is. And believe me…it’s all narrative. I run a video production company, and because of that business I have seen and experienced some amazing things, and I’ve been introduced to incredible people. Diversity is a staple of my life with my business. Earlier this year, I did a TV show where we interviewed Mike Pence (someone we know very well. He has a picture of himself and the hosts of our show on the governors desk, that is confirmed. My show is set to give him an award for the work he’s done with Veterans and Motorcycle Riders in the Indianapolis Community before he leaves for DC) Two hours later I was doing a show at a local pinball tournament filled with hipsters, who despise Mike Pence. I’ve done interviews with Democrats and Republicans. I’ve done shoots with John McCain (R), and Barack Obama (D). I was at a Trump rally a few months ago in Indianapolis…I did videos for a Muslim group from Turkey who run very successful Charter schools here in the States. Their goal and mission is to bridge the gap from various religions. I video documented an event here in Indianapolis where a Jewish Church hosted a Muslim group at their church with Christian volunteers cooking food to help the Muslims celebrate the end of their fast of Ramadan, the only known such event in the world.
I lived briefly on the West Coast, but I have lived mostly in the midwest my entire life. Some of my best friends in the world live in Europe, and I keep in touch with them often, and we exchange political thoughts every time we speak.
My wife and I run an online business selling products on Amazon. We get the products from China. We tried to find domestic distributors, but none could come close to the quality and price of overseas factories.
For my video production business, I hire out several of my TV Shows to independent contractors (all Americans, all Indianapolis residents). I don’t have to…I could do them myself. But my business is successful, and I want others to benefit from it. I’m not rich, but I’m working towards it. In the video production business, you eventually have to work with Hollywood. I love the West Coast, and I relate to them, but I’ve worked with several big name players in Hollywood. Some of them have even come to Indianapolis to shoot TV Shows with me. I see the way they look at me…a midwest guy. They smirk, roll their eyes at the thought of having to step foot in Indiana, a flyover state. Then they get here, and hate it….until they interact with the people. Every Hollywood, ESPN, New York, Bristol, Boston, LA person says the same thing. “I would never live there, but man…everyone is so nice! And the cost of living is nothing!”. Anyone who has spent time in the midwest finds something to like about it, and something to hate about it.
I’ve seen and done a lot in my life, and I appreciate the perspective it gives me. I take a long time to form my opinions. I don’t listen to one person, or one point of view. I think most of life is gray…not black and white. I listen to all opinions, do my research, and combine cold hard facts and numbers with opinion and emotions. I live in a red state, and even though I know we’re voting Republican…whoever I vote for has to earn it. I examine their statements, views, history, and political party and I look at how honest and realistic they may be.
This year was a crazy election for many reasons…but for me in particular, it made me do more research than ever on the candidates and what I thought was good moving forward.
I will go over my thoughts on the Carrier Deal as well as other thoughts on the current state of things…again just to generate intelligent thought, and discussion. If you aren’t interested…no worries. I don’t want to respond to hate or left/right rhetoric, so I won’t. But I would love to hear any thoughtful opinions.