IN DEFENSE OF COMMON SENSE
By Hetty Gray
#252
July 6, 2018
It is with angst that I space my columns out over time. Often, my spark dims with the current news. I feel as if I am living in “The Twilight Zone,” but Rod Serling is nowhere to be found.
I revel in national holidays. Celebrating America is first on my list, so when I view someone climbing the pedestal of The Statue of Liberty — sparking a response by National Park Service personnel (at their own peril), I am a loss for words. What this woman did was rob countless men, women and children from visiting one of our most iconic sites on the 4th of July. Good timing with her mindset, absurd from those of us who love our country.
My faith sustains me, and not in a small way, as I reflect on the happenings that continue to grow in the United States. The very freedoms that set us apart from the rest of the world are used in ways that defy reason.
It is not simply a case of glass half full or half empty, either. Freedom of speech is sacrosanct for us. Our military defends the rights of the most misled and uninformed to say what they will. Aside from screaming “Fire!” in a crowded theater, these folks and their warped ideals try the collective patience of our people.
Perhaps just as worrisome as watching the officers pluck the aforementioned woman from a fragile (yes, the copper is thin and subject to damage) statue was a series of interviews with young people asked if they were proud to be an American.
Had that question been asked when I was a young person (granted, that was a half century ago), a negative reply would have been unthinkable. Ah, yes, the systematic mantra of leftist teachers and textbooks has done its job. We now have untold numbers of our young people who have no appreciation for American exceptionalism or of the history of our people.
I made it a point to give my students a little advice as I taught both in high school and college. I emphasized that history is not a litany of names, dates and places. History stands as a series of warning signs for us.
If we do not heed history, we risk repeating it. No nation is faultless. Human, we remain, one and all. When I was a young person, there were subtle differences between the two major political parties. However, few people questioned love of country. The Democratic Party did stand more for the working population than the Republican Party. Today, tables have turned. We now see a Democratic Party that triumphs entitlement options, illegal immigration (yes, illegal), and gender identification.
Please. You are born with certain parts. They define gender. Choice may be legitimate in the drive-through lane, but not in the delivery room. The proverbial pendulum has swung so far askew that it defies explanation.
Socialism sounds wonderful. Everybody is equal. It harkens back to Orwell’s thesis that “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
That we have a growing segment of our young people considering Socialism a positive lifestyle is not only scary, it is extremely dangerous. If elites can convince them that government control bests individual freedom of choice in the workplace, we are in for a very rough ride. America was built on the blood, sweat and tears of forebears who didn’t expect a free ride. They made their own way and what a way they bestowed on us!
Control, for those who push socialism, is far easier if their audience is blind to the horrible effects socialism can have. For a contemporary example, look no further than Venezuela! What a sad state of affairs that is!
Consider the current happenings in San Francisco, a beautiful city founded as a major port of working people, a city that endeared itself to Americans with its stunning vistas and cable cars.
Today, the “city by the bay” loses major conventions because of the homeless, opioid community and the violence that plagues its streets. Some workers even pay to ride to work less than a block of two from their homes. It is really that bad.
Throw in the “sanctuary city” status coupled with tolerance for criminals to roam the streets and you have a toxic mix. And what of leadership? The holier than thou politicians who spout how they “care” about the poor — in fact — do little to remedy the situation. Where do they live? How do they travel? Security? You bet. Yet, they clamor to disarm the general population. Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.
The would-be car jacker who encountered an armed mom as he tried to flee a gas station with her two small children in her car learned the hard way. Licensed to carry, she reached into the console and shot him in the face. He stopped yards away. Hers is the face of self-defense. She is a hero.
Violence seems to the order of the day when the minority party moves ever closer to November, and not just the venomous words they hurl with abandon. A California Congresswoman repeatedly calls for attacks against anyone who works closely with or lends support to our president. Where on earth is putting country before self? Where is the common root of America — patriotism? It is not dead, but it is in peril.
To my chagrin, the beauty of American federal government that I explained to my students has morphed into a puzzle that seems to have no solution. It’s a game of “us against them.” Sad? Yes, but more than sad, it’s very dangerous.
Certain ingredients define a country. Four are critical: One: Secure, defined borders — without borders, there IS no country. Two: Law — without rule of law, there is no order or safety for the people. Three: Language, without a common tongue, the country lacks the glue that holds it together. (Remember, worldwide, all airline pilots speak English.) Four: Military strength — without a strong military, the country is at high risk.
We now witness the fraying of the first three with the full support of the Democratic Party. This should scare the socks off each one of us. If, as some critics claim, Democrats that oppose enforcing current laws governing immigration harbor an underlying motive — an influx in high numbers of new voters dependent upon the government programs of which they are so fond, then they are beneath contempt. If a strong country is a healthy country, how is America today?
When you add in the specter of leadership that scorns those of us who believe in God and view faith as a weakness, you compound the problem with a fatal flaw that could doom the American dream.
Misled and uninformed youth will follow the lead of a “pied piper.” The old slogan of hippies “Never true anyone over forty” needs updating. Those who protested and cursed their parents and grandparents now serve in positions of leadership. Scary? You bet it is. So long as our schools and universities continue to allow teachers to rail against America and turn out graduates with no respect for country, the risk to each of us grows exponentially.
If you seek a real challenge, try to convince a young person who has become an “America hater” that he or she is wrong. Good luck. In an ironic twist, it reminds me of how shocked I was to see small Chinese children taught to kill Americans or Palestinian children taught that all Israelis are pigs to slaughter.
Seeds planted with purpose can bring forth a bitter harvest.
It is not a problem easily solved or in short order. The first step will be the hardest, reforming education to be just that — not indoctrination. Teaching should root in facts, not feelings. Teaching should extol patriotism, not alienation. And God should not be off limits in any school setting.
Armed with visceral hatred for any modicum of control, these progeny of the ’60s generation place law enforcement in their crosshairs and systematically instill attitudes to dispirit and enrage their followers — often with deadly consequences. When respect for authority dies, so does a society.
Is it hopeless? No. I remain confident that if enough Americans stand for what is right and move against the ranting and raving of the left, we can turn this around.
Watch and listen to the messages before the coming mid-term elections. The left will concentrate on hate and fear, labeling the GOP as “phobes” of every kind. Winning at any cost is at the heart of their campaigning and the possibility that work will win out over welfare and that the economy will thrive fuels their insatiable quest for power.
I applaud the efforts of the Trump administration to revive American pride and praise the exceptionalism admired worldwide. You don’t see people surging to immigrate (legally or illegally) to socialism countries. There is a good reason for it. Socialism does not work.
Today, politicians of the ilk of Bernie Sanders, praise Socialism as the “end all, be all” of life. It’s far from it. Socialism stifles entrepreneurship, dampens ambition, and collapses the stable order of society.
Free education, guaranteed housing, everybody has a job…. It may sound good, but there is not one instance of it having worked — anywhere, ever!
Border security also needs to stop the flow of drugs into this country. We are losing young people to drugs at an alarming rate — those among us who should have the burning desire to succeed.
There is no better way to weaken this country than to cripple a large segment of its youth. So far, the cartels are doing a bang up job. Evidently, they have the cover of very powerful forces. Someone, somewhere, is making what (to omit a perfect term) a ____ load of money off the drug trade. The question is just who are they?
So, where are we? We are at a crossroads. I refuse to give up on America. We all need to pray that things turn around and America regains her treasured, strong relationship with her people — true to its motto, E Pluribus Unum. One of many, one….
In truth, I cannot imagine what our Founding Fathers would think of today’s state of affairs. They were men in their 30s. Together, after much discussion and prayer (Yes, prayer!), they crafted documents that would forge a government that positioned America as the beacon for the world — a government truly of, by and for the people. I believe that America is that “shining city on a hill” that President Reagan described.
The Founders would never understand the mindset of many young people today. My question is just what kind of young people are we turning out today? Critical to our survival is the answer. Think about it.