Archive for September, 2015

219 “Mis-America”

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015

IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE
By Hetty Gray

# 219

September 2, 2015

“Mis-America”

No, the title is not a spelling error, but simply a creation of this writer, a person who remembers well the day when America was — indeed — that shining city on a hill that President Ronald Wilson Reagan described.

America today is a shadow of her image forged at the end of World War II. Known worldwide as the defender of freedom and responsible for freeing more people than any other country in history, the America I knew as a child spiraled into a continuing growing abyss of debt and untrustworthiness. Although seen over a couple of decades, the low point of federal government and its operations have increased markedly over the past seven years.

A combination of a Congress unwilling to hold down expenses and a growing populace relying on the federal government for its very existence — coupled with a progressive agenda bent on serfdom for many of us — have ushered in a really dangerous situation. Today we witness the fruits of that nonsense in an economy recovering from recession far slower than it should, largely due to an unbelievable number of federal regulations aimed at businesses.

At the forefront of this is a corpulent federal bureaucracy that feeds on public largesse as if it were a forest fire starving for fuel. The fuel in this case is, of course, our tax money. In the end, we foot the bill and many of us are none too pleased about the prospect of passing on astronomical debt to our grandchildren within a society that is more and more centrally controlled.

Far from a comparison to the famous Miss America beauty pageant attracting huge television audiences over decades, instead of inspiring awe and appreciation, the current “Mis-America” should scare the socks right off of you.

Domestically? Since when have so many Americans been content to accept government support and not aspire to achieve on their own? How is it that respect for authority is absent in countless locations coast to coast? How on earth do we tolerate having law enforcement personnel fear for their lives simply in the course of doing their jobs? Why do we allow tiny splinter groups of people to wreak havoc on our daily lives and endanger those entrusted with our protection? Where are our voices?

The answers are stark, and they reveal more than we want to know about the costs of our timid complacency. Common sense hasn’t ruled for some time and I don’t see it resurging anytime soon.

When the government began to pay women who had children with no father in the home, it not only encouraged out of wedlock birth, but it also ushered in generations of homes without a male role model. And authority? Crime ridden neighborhoods buckle to gangs and we see a pitiful litany of and desperate children devoid of any dreams for a real future. God bless those mothers who do strive to keep their children off the streets and out of harm’s way. It must be a terrible way to live.

Exposure is the key here. If a child is exposed to loving themes, faith, and high example, he or she will look forward to personal success with relish and pride. There is no replacement for a strong masculine role model either in the home or at least in the neighborhood. However, if a child is exposed to violent movies, music and video games that desensitize any modicum of empathy or charity, then the child is a prime target for gang membership, drug use, and crime. A sense of belonging rules.

Consider the movies, music, and games available to our youth. The link is unmistakable. Prurient content draws children in like a moth to a flame. Easy money and reward for bad behavior only heightens the problems of inner city kids and the gangs win life after life — that is, before snuffed away at the point of a knife or a gunshot.

When you combine a large and growing, disgruntled, underemployed, angry portion of American youth with a declining job market, the result is far from pretty. In the end, as much as we are what we eat, we are also what we see and what we hear. Consider that for a moment. Filth and violence top gentility and generosity. Pulling away from our foundation of faith has only added fuel to the fire. No moral compass yields no conscience or morality!

In truth, we emulate the prime influences in our lives. Contrast the history of the American cinema. The most successful studio pioneers were immigrants who came up the hard way and fully appreciated both the freedom and the entrepreneurship America offered. Their films inspired real patriotism during World War II and film’s leading stars traveled nationwide selling War Bonds. While many of those movie stars were not angels in their personal lives, the studio heads took great pains to keep the actors’ actresses’ personal foibles from public view, resulting in stellar role models for young moviegoers.

Today is a different story. Most children are exposed to hundreds, if not
thousands, of screen deaths before they turn twelve. If life holds so little value in media, how can we expect children to value it in real life?

More than anything, the increasingly worrisome decline in the moral and fiscal fabric of the country can be given another title — but not one of beauty: “Mis-Management.”

It is not a fluke that three non-government types have soared to the top of the polling data across the country. You see, entrepreneur Donald Trump, Dr. Benjamin Carson and former HP CEO Carly Fiorina bring the key single ingredient to the 2016 electoral cycle. They are managers. This talent shines in the following, albeit brief, work histories.

Donald Trump runs a huge business conglomerate employing great numbers of people, Dr. Benjamin Carson managed the fragile environment of neurosurgery, including a team of professionals who depended on his judgment — all the while accomplishing amazing operations that impressed physicians around the world, and Carly Fiorina headed an international company those products continue to lead the world of print technology.

Today, “Mis-America” earns her name. Moreover, the American people are being misled. Investigative reporting is dead, or so it seems. Where are the Woodward and Bernstein of our generation? Investigative reporting seems to be dead. If not, someone would have uncovered why IRS personnel delayed applications for conservative groups applying for special designations as C3 entities and exposed those responsible. If reporting were alive, someone would have named those within the Veterans Administration who delayed care for our vets and cost lives in the process. Yes, veterans died due to delays in diagnosis and care. Those VA employees should have been fired immediately. No firings yet!

If we saw good investigative, unbiased reporting, billions of dollars would not have been channeled to so-called “green companies” –- all at taxpayer expense. Wasted billions. No wonder that many of us distrust government at its highest levels. Ponder good that that kind of money could have done if it had been spent wisely and aimed at fiscally defensible projects.

And what of the merits of what was sold to Americans —and rushed through Congress without a single opposition party vote — as a top-notch healthcare system? Why didn’t the Congress have to use it? A good manager would never have administered so inequitably. If it were the very best form of health care, then why allow anyone to opt out? The answer is that the favoritism of inequality equals the death of freedom. Shoving something down the people’s throats without public input is tantamount to tyranny. Oh, this administration pushes inequality when it suits their agenda, as in the nebulous area of salaries, but it totally ignores inequality in its own practices.

Lastly, “Mis-America” misinforms. Because leisure and entertainment rule among a large sector of the population, far too many people pay little attention to the political pulse. Remember this: a misinformed public will fall for anything. Run the gamut here from “If you like your health plan, you can keep your health plan,” to “Global warming is settled science.” Oh, please. Science, in and of itself, evolves constantly. Otherwise, there would be no breakthroughs and we would be stuck in the past, never progressing at all.

A complacent, uninformed public eager to get something for nothing is easy prey for the snake oil salesman. Beware of his spiel. There is no free lunch. Someone will pay for it and it could spell your end.

Mis-America? Sadly, yes…. Not only are we misled and mismanaged, but we are also misinformed. That, dear readers, is a toxic mixture. Think about it.