Honest Debate and the Confederate Flag

Every tragedy does not require a knee-jerk public policy response such as further limitations on gun rights or the demonization and banning of a flag. Honest people should have the ability to engage in honest debate. Unfortunately the political environment in which we currently find ourselves pits us against each other rather than encouraging interaction and the sharing of ideas.

The Confederate flag controversy is yet another example of how advocacy in America is now accomplished. There is little or no tolerance for an intellectually honest debate. There is little or no consideration for the other side of an argument as advocates would rather shut down debate through name-calling, smearing, and insults.

Consider the following:

• If you think the Confederate flag controversy is overblown, you are labeled a racist and pro-slavery.
• If you don’t buy into the global warming propaganda, you are a denier, a dissenter, and/or you are pro-pollution.
• If you believe marriage is defined as between one woman and one man, you are intolerant, a homophobe, and/or a Christian zealot.
• If you believe the life of an unborn baby requires some consideration in the abortion debate, you are waging a war on women, telling women what to do with their own bodies, and/or encouraging back-alley abortions. Note: I never hear pro-lifers claim that pro-choicers are waging a war on the unborn!
• If you oppose throwing more good money after bad in our public school system, you are opposed to educating the children and/or a teacher-hater!
• If you want to repeal Obamacare, you want to deny healthcare to others and/or you are an “evil-monger”.
• If you oppose affirmative action, you are a bigot.
• If you want to reform Social Security, you are depicted in television advertisements as pushing grandma over a cliff in a wheelchair.
• If you are opposed to amnesty for illegal immigrants or you want the border enforced, you are a racist and/or a xenophobe.
• If you believe in the Second Amendment to the Constitution, you are cold-blooded.
• If you are a member of the Tea Party movement, you are an obstructionist, an anarchist, a radical, and/or a racist. According to Democrat Congresswoman Maxine Waters, you are also damned to eternal damnation as she once eloquently said, “The Tea Party can go straight to hell!”
• If you are opposed to going to war, you are an isolationist.
• If you are an advocate for going to war, you are a war-monger!
• If you oppose raising the debt ceiling, you hate cops, firefighters, and teachers!
• If you oppose raising the minimum wage, you are heartless!
• If you are an advocate for welfare reform, you are callous and cruel!

Back to the Confederate flag: The flag is known as “the rebel flag” NOT “the pro-slavery flag”! It represents the rebellion of the southern states’ against the northern states which was waging war against the South in order to force them to remain in the union!

I will concede that if you asked 100 people, "what is the first thing that comes to mind when they see the confederate flag?", it is likely that “slavery” ends up as the #1 response. However, I am willing to bet that you would likely see “rebel flag” or "rebellion" as a close #2. Other responses might include “Kid Rock”, “Alabama”, “the Civil War”, “the South”, “pick-up truck with a gun rack”, “redneck”, etc. (Click here to read a recent CNN/ORC poll.)

How about we try taking a breath and starting a dialogue with each other rather than resorting to name-calling reminiscent of the fourth grade playground?

See page 65 of my book Pritical Thinking for more.

Obama's Core Principles

“One of my core principles is that I will never engage in a politics in which I’m trying to divide people . . . That’s a core principle — that’s not something I’d violate.” ~ Obama

He left out a few areas where he has repeatedly divided Americans:

If you:

• Are a Christian or 
• A Republican or
• Believe the Constitution should be adhered to (especially the Second Amendment) or
• Oppose gay marriage or 
• Are a member of a Tea Party group or 
• Are Pro-life or
• Are in the military or 
• Oppose his economic policy or  
• Are a police officer or 
• Live in the South or 
• Oppose his use of executive orders or
• Are wealthy or 
• Work on Wall Street or 
• Own a business or 
• Watch Fox News or 
• Oppose his foreign policy or
• Want real investigations into Fast and Furious, Benghazi, and the IRS scandal or 
• Want the borders enforced.

Besides that, his core principle, the one that he would not violate, is never to engage in politics "in which I'm trying to divide people."

The Obama Slippery Slope

Since the Democrats have no problem with Obama using his pen and his phone to trample the Constitution by making dozens of changes to the Obamacare law, rewriting immigration law, using the EPA to regulate us to death, and cover up scandals that would make Nixon blush - IRS/Tea Party, Fast and Furious, Benghazi, NSA (to name a few), I am looking forward to the day when the next unprincipled, narcissistic, radical, agenda-driven, thin-skinned, asshole Republican President takes over the White House.

We can assume that Democrats will have no problem when the new GOP President uses his pen and phone to:

• Reverse dozens of Obamacare provisions.
• Cut all welfare payments for able-bodied recipients after 90 days.
• Outlaw all abortions.
• Cut the corporate income tax to 11%.
• Fire the Federal Reserve Chairman and appoints someone who will stop the perpetual quantitative easing.
• Abolish the Departments of Education, Transportation, and Commerce, HHS, the TSA, the EPA, the IRS, Homeland Security, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the USDA.
• Order the military to the southern border.
• Increase military spending by 50%.
• Reverse whatever amnesty executive order Obama is about to hand down. 
• Cut the budgets of all remaining government agencies by 20%.
• End the practice of employers' withholding of income taxes. 
• Privatize Social Security.
• Sell 75% of all federal land owned in western states.
• Fund the drilling for oil and natural gas in all 50 states.
• Abolish the federal minimum wage.
• Implement a flat tax. 
• Withhold payment to the United Nations.
• End all foreign aid with the exception of Israel and African nations.

The Sky is Falling

Unbeknownst to the Obama sycophant authors of this NBCNews.com, sky-is-falling sequester piece (listed below), they lay out the most persuasive argument against federal meddling in the states' business that I have seen recently. 

Consider this: 

• Why does the federal government fund Head Start? Can't the states, religious, civic and local community organizations handle it? 
• Why does the federal government fund schools? Can't each community take responsibility for educating their own children?
• Why cut the FAA and the military when you can cut the Labor Department, the Commerce Department, the USDA, the NLRB, the TSA, Homeland Security, Amtrak or a dozen other unconstitutional federal bureaucracies???
• Why does the federal government fund community hospitals, institutions of higher learning and Meals on Wheels? Are the states and local communities unwilling and unable to do such?

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/02/17162039-from-coast-to-coast-states-brace-for-sequester-shock?lite