When did “To disagree with” someone become “HATE”??

In light of the hullabaloo over Indiana’s RFRA law and the rise of the “Tolerance Police” at our nation’s universities, this post is (sadly) topical once again.

Not much has changed in the last coupla years, has it….?

—JTR

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I’m confused.

When, exactly, did the mere act of not enthusiastically embracing an idea, thought, or ideology become synonymous with “Hate”?

• You don’t agree with Gay Marriage? You “hate” homosexuals.
• Are you not in favor of Obamacare? You “hate” the poor.
• You are against a policy put forth by this president? You “hate” him because he’s black.
• You don’t embrace new Amnesty provisions for illegal immigrants in America? You “hate” Hispanics.

Notice the utter lack of actual logical consistency here. The accusations are hurled as if inarguable facts, but they make no more sense than saying “If you don’t think Catcher In The Rye is a particularly well-written book, then you ‘hate’ literature”.

For the gazillionth time: “Freedom OF Religion” is NOT the same thing as “Freedom FROM Religion”

The Separation of Church and State may be one of the most deliberately misrepresented and (sadly) misunderstood foundational aspects of our nation today.

All together now: there is a Sistine Chapel-sized difference between the terms “Freedom OF Religion” and “Freedom FROM Religion”. We’ve certainly talked about this subject here before, but further examples of secular intolerance keep popping up with a weed-like persistence. And since they won’t stop, neither will we.

The most recent example is courtesy of the Washington Times:

Atheists are outraged that a Bible sits right next to the mayor’s desk, inside a Pinellas Park City Council chamber, and they’re demanding its removal.

City officials, however, say that’s a no-go. The Bible’s been there for more than 30 years, and laws don’t prohibit its presence, The Blaze reported. The book was an Oct. 19, 1975, gift to council members from the Kiwanis club, and it’s been a traditional fixture ever since.

Freedom From Religion Foundation officials say they don’t care. They sent a letter to city officials, saying the Bible needs to go because it violates the principle of separation of church and state.

“It’s on display. And that certainly is improper,” said president Annie Laurie Gaylor…

The State vs. the Individual

(***NOTE: This is a re-post from last year.

But in light of the overwhelming amount of State Sanctioned, tyrannical behavior cascading from the White House recently, it seemed appropriate to revisit this line of thinking.)

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I was re-reading an old article by Dennis Prager called “The Bigger the Government, the Smaller the Individual” and I was struck at the wisdom of that phrase. It made me think of the many things which we’ve covered here over the past few months, certainly, but it also reminded me of several other items I’d recently seen and how Conservatism (both political & religious) is connected by that singular concept.

Just in case you forgot: “Somehow, if you oppose #Obamacare, you’re racist, Racist, RACIST!!”

Ever since the Democrats started seriously formulating their ideas about Obamacare in 2009, we’ve heard all the same arguments, over and over:

• It will “bend the Cost Curve down…” — Umm, no, it doesn’t.

• “If you like your doctor, you can KEEP your doctor…” — Unless you can’t, of course. See, there’s already a shortage of physicians, and more and more doctors are deciding to just pack it in, rather than deal with the worsening governmental nightmare. Of course, the term “doctor” may be somewhat nebulous in the future, as well.

• “If you like your Insurance Plan, you can KEEP your Insurance Plan…” —  Again, that depends: do you buy your insurance yourself, rather than through your employer? Do you own a Small Business? If so, then NO, you likely can’t keep your existing plan. Sorry ’bout that…

• “Your Healthcare will be better…” — That was always laughable, since adding millions of people to the ranks of the insured doesn’t add a proportionate number of doctors (see “If You Like Your Doctor” above…). Your care can’t be better when the same number (or fewer) doctors are attempting to care for tens of millions more patients.

But the one constant which we heard throughout all of the discussions was: “if you oppose Obamacare, you’re racist“.

“Everything’s Amazing, and NO ONE is Happy”

Today’s post title, stolen from the opening minutes of a video we posted a few weeks back, is as good a summation as I’ve heard for our nation today.

Our lives are filled with wonders which were unimaginable just a short time ago: tiny cell phones, huge flat-screen TVs, laptop computers & tablets, and every other sort of convenience for our homes.

And yet, much like spoiled little Veruca Salt in ‘Charlie & The Chocolate Factory‘, too many folks in our nation today want what they want right now, …and upon receiving it are still not satiated. They merely move on to the next “want”. They never seem to be truly happy or at peace.

Which begs the obvious question, WHY?

I’m betting we could ALL guess at a few of the likely reasons:

The Fiscal Cliff is Dead; long live the Fiscal Cliff!!

Ahhhh, ‘Change’….

It seems that the new “Normal” in the age of Obama consists not only of chronically high Unemployment, +$1 Trillion annual deficits, and criticism of even his cabinet members being labeled out-of-bounds, but now will also include the omnipresent fear of the next Fiscal Cliff:

• From SLATE.com: “The Next Fiscal Cliff: Don’t celebrate yet—the next budget crisis is just two months away.”
• From the Detroit Free Press: “Obama signs fiscal cliff bill, attention turns to next crisis.”
• From USNews.com: “Get Ready for the Next Fiscal Cliff“

Wait a sec: we can’t even get through 2 days after the 1st “Fiscal Cliff” is allegedly settled, and the Left is already signalling that they’re just getting warmed up?

And yet logically, shouldn’t all the Lefties, and certainly President Obama, be …happy right now? Contented, even? Just a little?

Rewriting History: the Left’s favorite tool, and how to combat it

It’s been awhile since I’ve mentioned Chris Matthews, which is likely due to MSNBC’s nightly viewership being a number I could roll on a pair of dice.

That said, their parent network (NBC) often references them, which means their influence is magnified far more than their worse-than-dismal ratings warrant. And THAT’s why I still, occasionally, pay attention to the prattling of Matthews & Co.

The following quote is from Matthews’ Wednesday night ‘Hardball’ show, but the date really doesn’t matter: his shtick is the same, every night and every week. Chris Matthews often describes himself as “leaning” left. HA!

He leans so far left, he’s horizontal.

Read the following and you’ll see what I mean: (courtesy of HotAir.com and Duane Patterson, as well as Newsbusters.org):

The State vs. the Individual

I was re-reading an old article by Dennis Prager called “The Bigger the Government, the Smaller the Individual” and I was struck at the wisdom of that phrase. It made me think of the many things which we’ve covered here over the past few months, certainly, but it also reminded me of several other items I’d recently seen and how Conservatism (both political & religious) is connected by that singular concept.

For example, J. E. Dyer had a post on her Patheos blog that concerned the rightful role & scope of  government. Below is the primary thrust of her fairly lengthy piece: