This past week (May 26, 2014) I was reading an online article in The Daily Caller that was entitled: “Is America Starting To Target Thought Crime?”
First lady Michelle Obama made headlines when according to multiple sources, she urged graduating high school students to monitor their families for politically incorrect thoughts and behaviors.
According to the article:
To one journalist, this was more than an off-hand comment made by the first lady. In the opinion of Cheryl Chumley, a reporter for The Washington Times (stated), ‘Michelle Obama’s push for kids around the nation to monitor their family members for perceived racist comments is just another way the government seeks to inject itself into an area it doesn’t really belong — the American home.’”
The article further commented:
“Chumley sees a troubling growth of America’s most powerful political figures now singling out private individuals for their beliefs, and using government agencies and public denunciations to intimidate opponents into silence.”
Not a new thing
The leaders of government have made a living in public displays of what they consider correct thought. It seems like it is getting worse rather than better. Whenever there is a controversy, someone in politics is bound to show up.
For example, several months ago during the Duck Dynasty hoopla, Republican Congressman Paul Ryan managed to get an invitation to a Duck Dynasty cast party, while Congressman Alan Nunnelee jumped on the Duck Dynasty band wagon as well. Indeed, Willie Robertson one of the reality “stars” was invited to the State of the Union address by his Louisiana Congressman. I believe politicians might concern themselves with the problems of the day rather than a Reality TV controversy, but I know that celebrity and politics have become joined at the hip.
At the same time Democrats Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Hakeem Jeffries of New York want to control what they consider hate speech on talk radio. They want to be certain that the “wrong people” don’t say the “wrong things.”However, there is the troubling issue of the First Amendment. Then there is an even more troubling issue of who gets to say what is “offensive” and why. Obviously, I am not advocating ugly racial or religious hate-mongering, but we already have well-established laws about those things and the FCC controlling such things. We don’t need politicians doing a happy dance around the issue.
Nevertheless, the first lady took it to a whole new level. As the wife of the most powerful person in America – possibly the world, she is advising children to monitor the words of their parents in their own homes. What then, is the end game?
Will there be a government sponsored “Tattle on Your Parent Hotline?” Will children be given awards for “monitoring” politically correct speech? Will children receive medals for surreptitiously recording parents, aunts, uncles and family friends?
Then suppose a kid is really angry at her parents because they gave her a used car for her graduation and not a Jaguar? Will she get steamed and make a call to the hotline?
There are numerous flaws with what the first lady proposes, not the least of which is that it is divisive rather than accepting. It erases all middle ground. Throughout the ages, families have grown and changed through dialog, understanding and acceptance of one another.
The government can legislate all that it wants, but it is in our daily lives where children and adults teach one another and grow together where real change occurs.
There will always be idiots
We have all known people who are “ugly” in their souls; mean people, haters and repulsive individuals who drive us away. Time and history pass them by; they are in the minority. We don’t want our children, our grandchildren, our nieces and nephews around such people. We isolate them when they cross our lives.
I also believe that some in government believe these ugly idiots to be far more numerous than they are. The government doesn’t usually trust that most of us will do the right thing. I disagree; we go to work, we want what is best for our families and most of us try to live pretty decent lives. “We,” not the government bureaucracy, makes this nation work.
On the other hand, polls tell us that at the moment, Congress has a whopping 13 percent approval rating. Telemarketers, banks, trash collectors and our healthcare plans have higher approval ratings than Congress.
Maybe the ratings are as low as they are because we, the voters, can often see through the massive amount of waste caused by those more content to work on pure nonsense than to work on real substance.
It seems that the first lady might want to save a few speeches to her fellow politicians than for those of us just trying to make ends meet and doing well in the world.
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