Time Deepens All Wounds
The world is an interesting place. Not that interesting is really a good word. An ancient Chinese curse (reportedly) was "May you live in interesting times!". I would have to say these are interesting. In my 42 years thus far I can't say when more has ever occurred with such a potential to change the face of our reality.
America is a unique experiment. A little over 200 years in the making, it has been molded and shaped into something that does not at all resemble what it was conceived to be. Inconceivable! Our founding fathers, several dozen dead old white dudes who are slowy being vilified, were genius of an order seldom seen on the world stage. The fact that they got together and did what they did was nothing short of amazing. How few of this new growing generation either know this, or are being taught this? Almost none in our public schools. Ask my eight year old son who Paul Revere is, or Thomas Jefferson for that matter, and he gives you a blank look. The same response for "Who is George Washington?" But request he name a half dozen Pokemon characters, the staring players in Sponge Bob Square Pants, or the fairly Odd Parents, and you get your answer quickly. He also knows quite well who Martin Luther King Jr. is. That is a good thing, but that he would know who a minor player in the events of American history is (MLK), but no clue who wrote the declaration of independence is an outrage.
This disease extends deep, and grows deeper by the day. Our calendar is ripe with holidays celebrated by my fellow Americans, though few garner a well deserved day off. Christmas (I just smile at this one), new years, Independence Day, and a few others. Children in most school districts of our nation no longer get Columbus Day off. Sorry, he's almost worse than those founding father characters. He didn't help found a nation, he's a mass murderer. No, here we get off for MLK Day (yep, again) and Cinco De Mayo. Huh? My child gets to take off a day celebrated in another country?
In our schools, government offices, even private organizations the old trappings of pride and civic virtue are being scrubbed away with the harsh chemicals of political revisionism. As I heard recently, it's not that the other side is happy to have their monuments to multiculturalism (more on that horrific word some other time) or tolerance in the town square next to ours; they will only be happy when ours are torn down and burned. The founding fathers are like that statue of Saddam Hussein, the new regime has the tank chain tied around his neck, they're only trying to find enough traction in the sands of the political landscape before slamming it in gear and ripping its head off. What then? Rather like what happened to the celebrations of Washington's Birthday and Lincoln's Birthday, they morphed into President's Day. A single unrecognizable holiday that not even most banks close for any more.
In the book 1984 a grim view of the future political body was presented to us with New Speak as its shining example of progress. Twenty two years after that forecasted time we don't yet have New Speak, but we do have Political Correctness. What I consider to be the most dangerous movement to ever sweep the land. What can be so dangerous about just being careful what you say? Because it's not born from any concern over what you say but rather a wrongminded attempt to create thought police, pure and simple. My father (of Irish/Scottish decent) used to have heated arguments with his neighbor of Polish decent. It was not uncommon to hear my dad called a stupid potato eater, and my dad accuse him of being a crazy polock. They were best friends until the day that wonderful neighbor died a quick and painful death of cancer. My father held his hand as he passed beyond; the man's own son didn't have time to be there. Today? They would have both been labeled as bigots and cast out. They both knew what they were, and had no problem with someone laughing along with them. Generations ago their families had melted into the landscape of America. No, wait, these days that's a bad thing. They say we can't have any melting pot action, it's absolutely necessary to maintain our "old country" ways; culture is everything, we must keep the old and throw out the new. We can't become Americans, they are evil! Cue the American Self Loathing movement; enter stage left.
There is too much to say now, after 2am with my wife snoring loudly on the couch. (Thank you so much dear! I'll kill you later.) I'm going to try to tackle some of my feelings, observations, and beliefs piece by piece over the next few posts. If some of you like what you see, tell me. If you disagree, tell me too. As a firm constitutionalist, I will defend with my dying breath your right to be wrong.
Guns! Can't wait to get into that one.
America is a unique experiment. A little over 200 years in the making, it has been molded and shaped into something that does not at all resemble what it was conceived to be. Inconceivable! Our founding fathers, several dozen dead old white dudes who are slowy being vilified, were genius of an order seldom seen on the world stage. The fact that they got together and did what they did was nothing short of amazing. How few of this new growing generation either know this, or are being taught this? Almost none in our public schools. Ask my eight year old son who Paul Revere is, or Thomas Jefferson for that matter, and he gives you a blank look. The same response for "Who is George Washington?" But request he name a half dozen Pokemon characters, the staring players in Sponge Bob Square Pants, or the fairly Odd Parents, and you get your answer quickly. He also knows quite well who Martin Luther King Jr. is. That is a good thing, but that he would know who a minor player in the events of American history is (MLK), but no clue who wrote the declaration of independence is an outrage.
This disease extends deep, and grows deeper by the day. Our calendar is ripe with holidays celebrated by my fellow Americans, though few garner a well deserved day off. Christmas (I just smile at this one), new years, Independence Day, and a few others. Children in most school districts of our nation no longer get Columbus Day off. Sorry, he's almost worse than those founding father characters. He didn't help found a nation, he's a mass murderer. No, here we get off for MLK Day (yep, again) and Cinco De Mayo. Huh? My child gets to take off a day celebrated in another country?
In our schools, government offices, even private organizations the old trappings of pride and civic virtue are being scrubbed away with the harsh chemicals of political revisionism. As I heard recently, it's not that the other side is happy to have their monuments to multiculturalism (more on that horrific word some other time) or tolerance in the town square next to ours; they will only be happy when ours are torn down and burned. The founding fathers are like that statue of Saddam Hussein, the new regime has the tank chain tied around his neck, they're only trying to find enough traction in the sands of the political landscape before slamming it in gear and ripping its head off. What then? Rather like what happened to the celebrations of Washington's Birthday and Lincoln's Birthday, they morphed into President's Day. A single unrecognizable holiday that not even most banks close for any more.
In the book 1984 a grim view of the future political body was presented to us with New Speak as its shining example of progress. Twenty two years after that forecasted time we don't yet have New Speak, but we do have Political Correctness. What I consider to be the most dangerous movement to ever sweep the land. What can be so dangerous about just being careful what you say? Because it's not born from any concern over what you say but rather a wrongminded attempt to create thought police, pure and simple. My father (of Irish/Scottish decent) used to have heated arguments with his neighbor of Polish decent. It was not uncommon to hear my dad called a stupid potato eater, and my dad accuse him of being a crazy polock. They were best friends until the day that wonderful neighbor died a quick and painful death of cancer. My father held his hand as he passed beyond; the man's own son didn't have time to be there. Today? They would have both been labeled as bigots and cast out. They both knew what they were, and had no problem with someone laughing along with them. Generations ago their families had melted into the landscape of America. No, wait, these days that's a bad thing. They say we can't have any melting pot action, it's absolutely necessary to maintain our "old country" ways; culture is everything, we must keep the old and throw out the new. We can't become Americans, they are evil! Cue the American Self Loathing movement; enter stage left.
There is too much to say now, after 2am with my wife snoring loudly on the couch. (Thank you so much dear! I'll kill you later.) I'm going to try to tackle some of my feelings, observations, and beliefs piece by piece over the next few posts. If some of you like what you see, tell me. If you disagree, tell me too. As a firm constitutionalist, I will defend with my dying breath your right to be wrong.
Guns! Can't wait to get into that one.
posted by Falconsword at 8/13/2006 02:30:00 AM
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