IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE
By Hetty Gray
# 240
April 3, 2017
“Um…. Er…”
Ah, yes, the sounds of linguistic hesitation. You, no doubt, recall the adage, “He who hesitates is lost.” Well, it doesn’t take much more than looking back on the last eight years to see how that works at the federal level of our government. Base line? That tenure was a lost cause. And we are the worse for it in so many ways.
Let’s review how hesitation paints a clear picture of the eight tumultuous years that ended — thankfully — on January 20th of this year: Hesitation to be proud of one’s country… hesitation to support law enforcement… hesitation to stand back until facts are known before commenting on national media… hesitation to name an enemy… hesitation to call to account departments that act as rogues and target Americans who share opposing views to those of the governing administration… hesitation to crack down on facilities and personnel charged with caring for our veterans… hesitation to criticize splinter groups who use violence as a public relations tool and pit themselves against the wider society… hesitation to govern with an even hand…. No hesitation to take a personally biased viewpoint despite the topic.
Recognize the person at the helm? I am sure that you do.
Hesitation is much more than a pause, and its seminal sounds of “um” and “er” surface frequently in political speak. We’ve heard them. What’s more, most, if not all, of us have uttered them ourselves.
However, two other letter pairs need to be faced with good old-fashioned common sense. They total just four letters, yet those four characters have put us at risk perhaps more than any others in my memory. And I’m no spring chicken, folks! Let me put them forth and then offer my take on their application: “il” and “un.”
Do something illegal and it’s a hefty fine or jail. The bottom line is something is either legal or it is not. “If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime” sure rings hollow today.
Now, let’s get to the second pair: “un.”
If I am unfit, I cannot get a job. If I am under water, I’m either drowning or deeply in debt. But if I am undocumented, I am in real trouble. Do I cite the immigration here? Not necessarily, but I do think you can see where this leads as I go along.
If I am an undocumented driver, I go to jail. If I am an undocumented teacher, I lose my job and could face legal consequences. God forbid if I am an undocumented professional.
Face it. Would you go to an undocumented physician? Dentist? Lawyer? . Hardly. Yet the bleeding hearts on the left try to put a guilt trip on those of us who see undocumented as a bland term that softens the real name: illegal.
Nomenclature aside. Illegal is illegal. California finds itself in dire financial straits these days and — to a great degree — the blame can go to the high cost of illegals among its populace.
Oh, they cry foul when someone says that, but look at how bad things are in the hospitals. No money. No problem. No payment? Big problem. Get it?
We are a nation blended into one from among many nationalities, but those who came and built this grand experiment in democracy and freedom came with their work gloves on and ready to work. They did not ask the government to take care of them. They struggled to learn English as quickly as possible because they knew that their success would depend on how well they could integrate their families into the America they saw as their future.
When a country has no border, it ceases to be a country. Borders, like doors, are security. If walls don’t work, take down the one at the White House. How about the one at the Vatican? Before Israel built its wall, suicide bombers numbered in the thousands. After the wall? Zero. Walls work. The only manmade structure visible from outer space is the Great Wall of China.
The wall promised by President Trump won’t take centuries to build. His wall will work. He owes us security and he vows to give it to us. Amen to that, brothers and sisters!
I have lost all patience in people making excuses for why others should not have to obey our laws. Enclaves sheltering illegals, some heinous criminals, are an anathema to me. They should not exist in a nation ruled by law. But they do. It’s time to call a halt to inane behavior among those whose chronological age should make them adults.
I don’t know about you, but I did not vote for Kindergarten. I voted for the Wharton School of Business. I am “ILL-tempered” these days. What’s more, I am UNhappy with things as they are going right now. Are YOU?
Think about it.