Even before the discussion on health care reform, many conservatives have been bemoaning that this country is being taken away, and that President Obama is dead-set on stripping us all of our freedoms, and, by gum, he’s succeeding. Really?!
My question for those of you on the right who are so all up in arms about the freedoms you’re losing is this: Exactly what freedoms are you losing?
Please tell me one ‘Right’ that you had last year that is no longer a ‘Right’ today.
The right to bear arms? That one’s obviously still intact, what with fools bringing assault rifles to presidential events. I wonder what would have happened if anyone had shown up to an event where President Bush was speaking with a loaded rifle?
The right for a man and woman to get married? Still intact. Although, in a few states, gay couples have gained the right to marry.
The right of free speech, and to openly criticize the government? Tea-parties and town halls have shown forcefully that this right is still very much intact.
The right to work at whatever you want and make as much money as you can? The fact that the financial industry is beginning to again pay out huge bonuses, despite public outrage over the bailout money they received shows that while the government can help the private sector, it can’t dictate to it. Hmm…
The right to worship as you please? The religious have been more vocal, not less. And they are being more hysterical without any intervention from any government entity. Hell, an abortion doctor was gunned down in church (!!), and I wonder, where’s the outrage from the left over right-wing terrorism?
The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? How has any one of these inalienable rights been threatened? Obama’s imaginary ‘Death Panel”? The federal government’s secret task force that’s been set up to make Happiness run faster, thus making it harder to pursue?
Tell me one thing that’s been taken away. Tell me one thing that’s changed about the country.
We still worship money (His name is on all our currency).
We still distrust our fellow man.
Most of us still do nothing without first wondering what’s in it for us.
We still love fast food (Even at the worst part of the recession, McDonald’s showed a healthy profit).
We still practice religious hypocrisy (People who claim to believe in God openly ridicule anyone who claims to have actually spoken to Him).
The highways still take you anywhere you want to go, whenever you want to go there. (The government builds and maintains the roads, you know.) Additionally, you are still free to buy whatever car you can afford, regardless of its fuel economy rating. Hummer and Land Rover are both still open for business.
The United States Post Office will still take a letter from Key West, Florida to Seattle, Washington for 42¢! And for a couple of bucks more, they’ll personally hand-deliver it to the recipient, have him sign for it, and send proof that the guy got it, all within a week! For less than $5.00! (Some of you may not know that the USPS is also run by the government)
We still like TV (even Reality TV, even though we all know that it’s crap!) We are still allowed to obsess over Jon and Kate. Fox news is still allowed to be Fox News. MSNBC is still allowed to be MSNBC. Keith and Bill are still allowed to be Keith and Bill. CNN is still free not to fire Lou Dobbs for sheer stupidity. Fox is still free not to fire Glenn Beck after calling the POTUS a “…racist who hates white people!” (You know, the president’s mother was white, as were the grandparents who raised him. Just thought you should know that.) Millions of Americans are still free to agree with the man and the sentiment, and millions of people are also still free to think he’s a vitriolic fool.
WHAT THE HELL HAS CHANGED?
The fact is the entire world has changed. And the United States of America had better keep up. This is no longer a world where every leader of every country is arbitrarily a white male. This is no longer a world where the smartest guy in the room is necessarily white. Or even a male. This is no longer a world where selfishness and ruthlessness are summarily rewarded. Looking out for the little guy, and taking care of the members of society with the least amount of power isn’t socialism… actually, it’s sort of what that ‘Jesus’ guy was talking about. You know, ‘Turn the other cheek, give to the poor, blessed be the meek, yada yada yada…’ I thought you knew that that’s what he was saying.
This is a world that will be driven by the best and the brightest, regardless of their melanin level. I know it’s scary. But if you don’t keep up, this new world will not wait for you. You will be left behind, stuck in the early-to-mid 1900’s when real men were white, and women and coloreds knew their place. And when everybody but you thinks that this brave new world is great, and you’ve been left behind, don’t say you weren’t warned.
Steve Griffin is the author of The Griffin Perspective, a wildly opinionated, yet highly thought out discussion of the news of the day. Proudly brought to you with that liberal, left-wing bias! Take a look and join the discussion at http://thegriffinperspective.blogspot.com/.
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