PC is not wise

Mares eat oats
Does eat oats.

Don't let the fox guard the henhouse.

Old bromides are often considered quaint and touching. In this modern "progressive" world we have little use for old and sometimes stereotypical "truths." Political Correctness now rules the day to the extent that blunt speech is often characterized as insensitive and hateful. Actions that are defined as "hate crimes" are growing in number, and an expanding universe of language is identified as "hate speech."

Clearly, when one's ability to describe reality is compromised by a cluster of laws, rules and practices intentionally designed to blur meanings and distort communication, then solving problems and resolving issues become nearly impossible. In many sectors "straight talk" is considered gauche and mean-spirited. We talk in meaningless generalities so that no one is hurt, insulted or embarrassed. Consequently, it is extremely difficult to address the "nub" of an issue...to examine it clearly...to disassemble and rebuild an assumption or series of beliefs because the rules of PC destroy honest evaluation.

So, why have I chosen this topic for today's blog? The insane events at Ft. Hood reminded me that this PC crap has gone too far for too long. As people who love and cherish liberty, we have so many battles to wage on so many fronts, but until we can "call a spade, a spade," our tools or our weapons will be severly limited.

And little lambs eat ivy.

Appearances and opportunities, Part II

Ms. Bachman should have been the only Congresscritter to have been featured. To have other GOPers speak and assume prominent roles merely transformed a serious outpouring of grassroots sentiment into a partisan pep rally. As an objectivist, constitutionalist, libertarian, conservative christian, I view many Republican legislators with an element of healthy skepticism. While many of them speak the language of conservatives, I suspect that deep within their cores, there is nothing there. They are uneasy with the left, and somewhat skittish about "Big Government," but seem to lack any coherent structure of principles. They seem to be mere opportunists who generally vote to the right of center. Ms. Bachman, I believe, is principled, and therefore, should have been seen to be solely responsible for generating the gathering. Forty-thousand (s.w.a.g. average) citizens answering the clarion call of one principled leader has a much greater impact than if the same number had assembled under the sponsorship of several dozen Members of Congress. I do not know if Ms. Bachman invited the others, or if they invited themselves, but their presence certainly diluted the impact of the event...in my view.

Appearances and opportunities, Part I

To some degree, I was encouraged that several thousand citizens traveled on their own dimes in mid-week to protest the Federal Government's swallowing of the Nation's healthcare system. On the other hand, I was somewhat dismayed by how the event unfolded. As I sat here on my little farmette in Northwest Ohio and observed the goings-on in D.C., I was struck by how such an opportunity for grass roots activism had been squandered.

The estimates that I have seen regarding crowd size places the number of participants somewhere between twenty thousand and sixty thousand attendees. A nice crowd, but not an overwhelming one. In fact, it appears that the impact of the assembly may have been undermined by the AARP and AMA capitulations. There was, however, another aspect that I found more disturbing. Something that sucked the air out of the protest and colored it with a sense of overdone hype.

Congresswoman Michelle Bachman was the prime mover of this event. See Part II.