A Sissy Nation?

Please view the video before reading any further. I viewed it and I thought, when and how did we become a nation of sissies?

College students are demanding safe spaces to protect them from speech they consider offensive. College professors afraid to confront a reporter at a protest call for "muscle" to stop them from videoing.  Apparently she needed to ensure the students were safe from freedom of the press. 

We have a president who draws a line in the sand but backs down when it is crossed. As a result, it isn't just me who has realized America has become a nation of sissies, the world sees it too.

Iran openly calls for the death of America and then captures our sailors and the U.S. Response is to thank them for releasing our wrongly captured men. After the capture, Iran adds insult to injury by airing a video mocking America by portraying our sailors, you guessed it, as sissies. 

A strong commander in chief would have respond in a strong manner defending his military and his country. People cry racist when people express their dislike of Obama, but the truth is we don't like him, not because he is black but because he is a wimp. Hard to respect a man decked out in mommy jeans throwing a 2 mph fast ball or who bows to other nations while demeaning his own. 

As I write this the answer to my question starts to appear like an answer asked of the Magic 8 Ball. America began to become sissies when the weak inherited positions of power and began neutering the strong and the strong were guilted into rolling over and letting it happen. 

The media and the schools began indoctrinating the children with ideas like "losing is fun" and it doesn't matter if you win you still deserve a participation trophy. Winning became a bad thing because not everyone can win. I once shocked a person who asked why I wasn't celebrating my 2nd place finish when I responded, "because I lost."

This utopia where losing is to be celebrated as much as winning and everyone is a "winner" for just participating might be good if we lived in a world where everyone shared the same idea but we don't. 

The world is filled with dangerous nations that want to kill Americans. This is part of the reason Trump is so popular.  He is not afraid to identify our enemies and to call them out. People believe he is a winner and can make America a winner again.

We need to revert back to being a nation that celebrates winners, strength and courage. We need to become a nation that doesn't need safe spaces because we can take care of ourselves. Sure, winning needs to be tempered with compassion and respect for others, especially the vulnerable but winning is good and losing, even coming in 2nd sucks. 

180 Racism - The Other Side of Race Issues

Stand up and push back is the theme and purpose of my blogs.  I did not invent it; I’m not that smart.  Our Founding Fathers did not invent it either, but they made sure it was ingrained in the Constitution and culture of our nation.  They knew that man and man’s government will, if left unchecked gravitate toward extremes and oppression of others not in alignment with those in power.

This system of checks and balances is seen in the division of power between the three branches of government; the judicial, the executive and the legislative branches.  It works best when each branch executes its power to the fullest of its ability and when each branch stands up and pushes back when a branch tries to overreach in its authority and power.

Our government is failing at maintaining the checks and balances that keep our government in line to serve and protect the people.  When the government fails the people or is complicit in allowing one group to infringe upon the rights of others it is up to the people to stand up and push back.  It is why I blog.

I realize my voice is not very loud nor is it very powerful, but at least I am not silent.  I cannot take on all the wrongs I see in our country today so I focus on the matters important to me. 

The one I come back to time and time again is what I call 180 racism.  180 racism is the other side of racism that the mainstream media does not normally report.  180 racism is not an attempt to denigrate blacks nor is it an attempt to promote whites.  It is simply a check to balance racial discourse.

The discourse on race issues tends to be one-sided.  The meme is blacks are victims of slavery, white oppression, unequal everything and the only way to right the wrong is to denigrate, demonize and eviscerate white people of their unjust and unearned white privilege. 

This notion that you can raise yourself up is by knocking others down and climbing up on their broken bodies is evil and highly counterproductive.  It serves to divide our country along racial lines.  It is a fact that as a percentage there are more blacks living in poverty than other races.  Many of these blacks, fueled by the rhetoric of Al Sharpton, Louis Farrakhan and even President Obama believe their path to financial success is be treated differently because of their skin color and take from others of different skin colors who have more.  This is not the answer.

Martin Luther King, Jr. gave the answer to us.  We must look beyond the color of one’s skin and at the content of their character.  President Johnson understood that the past discriminatory acts made it very difficult for blacks to do well even if the racial discrimination was outlawed. It is for that reason that I supported race-based preferential treatment for a limited time.

The time has come for to stop all race-based prefrential treatment, all racial discrimination and for us all to follow MLK, Jr.’s message to stop judging, stop blaming, stop attacking and stop hating each other because of the color of our skin.  We must be united in condemning any racial discrimination against our fellow brothers and sisters.  However, this condemnation cannot be 180, it must be 360.  We cannot condemn only the Klu Klux Klan, we must also condemn the New Black Panthers.  We cannot just condemn all white country clubs; we must also condemn the Congressional Black Caucus.  We cannot just condemn the too white Academy Awards; we must also condemn the too black BET Awards.  True equality, racial equality, is when people are held accountable for their actions regardless of race and compete without racial preferences.  This is the path to racial harmony and a better economic conditions for blacks in this country.  When the real problems are identified then real solutions can start to work.

We must look beyond skin color as the cause of poverty, lack of education, and racial disparity in the job market and earning.  This does not mean we do not address the problems facing Americans but we do so in a color blind way that serves all people.  

People are not wealthy because of their skin color.  They are not poor because of it either.  They are poor or rich because of three things.  Luck (who your parents are), the choices you make and your willingness to forgo immediate gratification for long term success.  This analysis is a bit oversimplified, but you get the gist.

I have seen, with my own eyes, neighborhoods that were thriving until blacks rioted, as they did in 1968, and burned out the businesses operated by whites.  Those businesses stayed empty until Koreans immigrated to this country and opened up grocery stores and other businesses in those empty buildings. 

The Koreans did not speak English, but they worked hard and made sure their children went to school, schools right there in the black neighborhoods.  They saved their money, they raised their children and they prospered.  The wealth they earned was passed onto the children.  Their children were given an advantage in the opportunity race not because of the color of their skin but because of the action of their parents.

It is a myth that blacks are not succeeding in America.  They are and for the very same reasons I described about the Korean families.  The blacks that are mired in poverty are there not because they are black but because of losing the parent lottery and their choices. 

It is a hard reality to know that you as an individual will never be wealthy, will never have fancy clothes or cars, but accepting that fact and committing to making sure that your children have a better life is the key to breaking the cold hard chains of poverty.

The other fact is that two parents are better than one.  Do not mistake this to mean that two parents are better individuals than the single parent who works hard and sacrifices for their children because it isn’t what I mean.  Bless those single parents who sacrifice to raise their children.  They are saints. 

It is just easier for two parents to raise the children and help them be successful.  Two parents mean two incomes or if one stays home, one income but without the large expense of child care.  Two parents mean that they can tag team raising the kids each bringing their own unique love and nurturing and giving the other a break when they need it.

Two parents will not raise 72 percent of black children born today.  From birth, the odds of success for these children are diminished.  Again, not disparaging the single parent, just stating a fact.

Take a look at the video I posted.  Judge Judy said it very well.  We need to say what she said and more over and over.  People, including black people, need to stop blaming others for their problems.  It is not skin color that holds you back, it is sometimes just bad luck, but more often than not it is your own poor choices.  You have ways to, perhaps not have a “wealthy” life for yourself, but for your children.  Put the children first and we will see poverty reduced in this country.  

As a final word, stop attacking me for the color of my skin, stop making excuses for people because of their skin color, stop promoting racial discrimination and start being an American and not an African-American and I will stand with you and not against you. 

Lies and More Lies

I put forth the premise that if someone lies about something minor to garner favor with others then they will lie about major issues to protect themselves.  Credibility is earned by demonstrating a willingness to be truthful.  Credibility is lost when a person is caught in lies.

Credibility, character and integrity are not relative; they are stand-alone traits.  In other words a person is to be judged by their actions alone and not in comparison to the actions of others. The bad actions of another in no way mitigate or justify a person's own bad actions. Good people do good things especially when others around them are not.

A person who is credible should be given the benefit of the doubt when questioning what they say.  A person who has been caught in a lie is not credible and always should be assumed to be lying.

Hillary Clinton has lied based on statements she have made in the past that have been proven false.  It is a fact she has lied about all her grandparents being immigrants.  It is a fact that she lied about landing under sniper fire in Bosnia.  It is a fact that she lied about her daughter jogging around the World Trade Center on 9/11. And, one of my favorite lies is when she lied about being broke when she and Bill left the White House.

Yes, these were small lies, but lies nonetheless.  It is troubling that she lied, but even more so because there was no reason to lie.  She lied because, like the rattlesnake that bites you, it is what they do.  

So, when the Benghazi victim’s families tell us that Clinton told them the attack was because of an offensive video and Clinton says they are lying, who should we believe?  The families have no reason to lie and Clinton does; and of course, we know she lies even when there isn’t a reason to lie.

When Clinton says she didn’t have any classified information on her server, that it was just used for personal communication, are we to believe her?  Not if the premise I stated at the beginning is true and I believe it to be true. 

When Clinton says she supports women and especially rape victims are we to believe her in light of the fact that Paula Broaddrick has stated in an interview with Aaron Klein, Breitbart News, referring to Hillary Clinton and the alleged rape of her by Bill Clinton, “I thought, that’s the most disgusting thing.  She tried to silence me.” 

You decide if Clinton is a serial liar not to be trusted, but let logic lead you to the truth.  In the end, you may still want to vote for Hillary Clinton for president, but at least be honest and admit she has lied to the American people and will continue to lie to you.