Political Correctness Gone Wild   by Tim Frady

Perhaps the worst enemy of a free people and democracy around the world is the evil dark force we all have come to know as political correctness. The best way to describe political correctness might be to compare it to the Pharisees from Jesus day who took the Ten Commandments and created tons of detailed rules and regulations to accompany the Commandments until nobody could keep all the commandments. The Pharisees had gotten to the point that walking too far or lifting just about anything was considered wrong if it was done on the Sabbath day. Pretty much the same thing happened during the very early days of the United States when George Washington got into trouble riding his horse on Sunday for important business. In some places back then, even kissing your wife in public on Sunday could get you put in stockades.

Today it is almost impossible to see America, or other democratic countries, going to the extreme on religious principles as to be at the same point as Pharisees so many years ago, but instead of God being the excuse given to go to extremes with public policy, political correctness has taken over.

Recently in the UK, the Boomerang channel has agreed, on the original complaint of only one person, to edit out smoking scenes from Tom and Jerry cartoons. Popeye better watch out; he’s probably next. At one point Cartoon Network had practically banned Speedy Gonzales cartoons because he might be offensive to those of Mexican origin, even though in Latin countries, Speedy was one of the most popular cartoon characters.

With this type of mentality, you can see how our hands are tied when it comes to security. We know that terrorism is originating primarily from Middle Eastern countries, so in order to not offend those of Middle Eastern origin, shakedowns at airports have gone as far as to examine 12 year old girls, and even Al Gore was patted down once in order to avoid the appearance of favoritism or racial profiling.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want my kid to smoke, or everyone who looks like they are from the Middle East to be put in jail or harassed, but a little common sense would go a long way. Editing classic cartoons is just stupid, and whether or not Al Gore is your favorite politician, I really don’t think he’s going to carry a bomb onto a plane, do you?

Take classic TV shows like F-Troop, which was recently been released on DVD. It is as family friendly as you can get, but it has been almost nonexistent on TV stations. Even TVLand has only shown a couple of episodes here and there in the last few years. Could it be because American Indians are shown to have a sense of humor? I don’t know about you, but just how interesting would comedy be if only white Americans were allowed to participate in order to avoid any possible offense to a minority? Having watched the F-Troop episodes on DVD myself, I can only say that it’s great fun. Everybody falls, everybody does stupid things, be they Indian or Calvary. It’s comedy. Comedy isn’t supposed to be serious.

Will Bewitched be next? It might be offensive to those who claim to be witches. It’s amazing the Dukes of Hazzard has been able to beat the political correctness net with their confederate flag. Even that ruthless Granny on the Beverly Hillbillies was radical enough to carry a confederate flag in defiance of her uppity neighbor Mrs. Drysdale. Will those scenes have to be edited out? For years censors have tried to keep Bugs Bunny and the gang from shoving anvils and rocks onto the heads of their fellow cartoon characters. Remember how boring some of the cartoons got in the 1970’s when nobody could hit anybody? How much better would the Superfriends been if Superman could have actually punched Lex Luthor instead of talking him to death?

Life is too short to be taken too seriously. Perhaps political correctness does just the opposite of its intent. After all, I think we can all get along a lot better if we learn to laugh at one another just a little. It’s hard to hate someone that makes you smile. So let’s watch the F-Troop, Speedy Gonzales, & even Popeye and laugh again. Just tell your kids not too smoke after the show.

About the Author

F-Troop at http://www.tvcrazy.net where you can find out about DVDs, collectibles & trivia for all your favorite classic television shows.

Macaca And Terror Politics – America Is Headed The Wrong Way!   by James Opiko

“Let’s give a welcome to Macaca, here. Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia.” — Sen. George Allen, Republican Presidential hopeful calling a student of Indian descent a “Monkey” in coded racist language. Allen then began talking about the “war on terror.”

The recent terror arrests in Britain show the need to fight “for our security in a rational, serious way rather than being bogged down in a war than is harmful to our security.” — Ned Lamont on the terror arrests in the U.K. after beating incumbent senior Senator of Connecticut, Joseph Lieberman.

Ned Lamont’s Connecticut victory is a victory for “level headed” America. George Allen’s xenophobic slam is a demonstration of the extremist and desperate direction that some section of this country is so hell bent on steering it to…a one hundred year backtrack.

George Allen’s apology is pure nonsense for his record of “accomplishments” speaks volumes. This same man:

1. Led the charge against a holiday for Martin Luther King – a prince of racial peace.

2. Is a key figure in fueling the rampant anti-immigrant mood in the country today – kick them ALL out (legal & illegal), they are contaminating our culture, taking our jobs, raping our women and introducing new diseases to our beloved motherland.

3. Had been dogged by numerous allegations of racial insensitivity for years as governor – his record as Governor of the state of Virginia (1994-1998) reeks of racially intolerant acts.

4. Has a past that includes a vociferous admiration of the Confederate flag and an office that once displayed a noose.

What more does one need to catalog this man as a die-hard racist?

Senator Allen is not only “foolish” and “mean” as some of his moderate Republican colleagues have called him but he is just a well-chronicled racist….period!

Because of his desire to become president in 2008 and due to the cognizance that an extremist will never be elected president in modern America, Senator Allen has introduced a half-baked anti-lynching legislation in the Senate and promised to lead the charge for an official apology for slavery…desperate political gerrymandering tailored to flaunt an extremist as a moderate.

The two Republican administrations of George Bush and Dick Cheney are textbook examples of how not to conduct the affairs of any government. I have watched this administration bungle and mangle the affairs of this great nation in the most alarming and reckless manner.

The 9-11 debacle was like a gong going off to mark the inauguration of a “rotten” era in American politics. This grave event has been milked and abused by greedy and selfish politicians at all levels of government, the media, the bigots and the supremacists.

Even the religious sycophants and “Jesus Freaks” such as Pat Roberts of the 700 Club have not been left out. Some are forecasting a third world war with quotations from the Bible…to advance their agenda of theft and deceit.

The Bush administration aided by some sectors of a partisan media has over the last six or so years outrageously manipulated a relatively factually ill-informed populace. A TV educated public that is largely incapable of analyzing news from a non-partisan and logical perspective. A people held at ransom by a marauding media in pursuit of the almighty dollar.

The people of the United States have been hoodwinked, cajoled and totally mesmerized by an administration fueled by “third world like” blood letting. “Scheduled” Terror alerts have been orchestrated for selfish political gain. Some exceedingly comical and outrightly ridiculous.

Intolerance, which until this administration came about, was somewhat subdued and slowly dying its natural death is now above the radar…thanks to George Bush and Co. Hate groups have been rejuvenated and re-invented…fueling hatred across the country.

On Immigration, Hate and “Macacaism”

Politicians are running amok taking sides on this issue to position their selfish selves for the forthcoming November elections. Some like Colorado’s Tom Tancredo have even forged “coalitions” with the most dastardly and virulently predatory hate groups in this country. Newscasters like Lou Dobbs of CNN, Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reily of FOX NEWS among many, are skillfully using their privileged positions in these media organizations to hammer in and stir salt into the open wounds of hatred, unremittingly using fear and misinformation which have instigated horrible hate crimes against immigrants, especially Latinos.

Tattooed Skinheads and the Ku Klux Klansmen wielding pistols and hi-tech rifles are running around the country vomiting hateful rhetoric…proclaiming imminent war on the “invaders,” poisoning the minds of well-meaning citizens.

Reminiscent of the slavery days, Hispanics are being portrayed as “lower forms of life”…it is not too long ago that this was said of blacks and earlier immigrants.

Commentators and Journalists have mindlessly manipulated news items on immigration, repeatedly narrating the most desperate and extreme talking points, in order to inflate their rankings in the Nielsen sweepstakes, a crucial yard stick in generating ad revenues.

Racism in America is on the upsurge and the predatory and ferrety instincts of the bigoted in this country are as sharp as ever. Racism never went away as we all know; we beat it down into a hiding hole, now the intolerant half of this nation is using the “illegal immigration issue” to rear their ugly heads out of their foxholes.

One issue stands clear – no one want’s terrorists in this land and the majority favor an orderly immigration itinerary, but a despicable few have cashed in on this issue repeatedly to transport their agenda of hate and intolerance.

Because of the reckless war policies instituted by the Bush administration, fewer Americans want to join the military, resulting in missed recruiting quotas …now being filled with hate-filled recruits.

It has been widely reported that white supremacists have infiltrated the military forces because admission standards have had to be lowered due to low recruit turnouts, ostensibly to defend the “homeland” from “foreign invaders.”

“Cazamigrantes” (A conglomeration of hate filled immigrant hunters) like the “Minute Men” are on the march and “chapters” are spreading like wild fire across the country igniting more hate.

These in my humble opinion are future “Home Grown Terrorists.” The military training they take delivery of today will be used against their “targets of hate” in the future, and they hate almost anything and anybody. How frightening!

The War in Iraq

In his recent statement, Mr. Lamont elucidates five critical observations:

1. With a force of 132,000 troops and a cost of $8 billion per month, we are currently refereeing a civil war in Iraq with no signs of progress and no credible exit strategy.

2. Our force readiness to face another threat elsewhere in the world has been diminished because of our preoccupation with Iraq.

3. Both anger at America around the world and the number of terrorists seeking to do us harm have increased. We are not stronger and safer because of Iraq; just the opposite is unfortunately true.

4. Potential attacks like the one that appears to have been foiled today are clear and present dangers. Al-Qaeda continues to have operational capacity to threaten air traffic around the world, including into and out of the United States.

5. We need to focus on our security, on apprehending Osama bin Laden and other terrorist leaders and on building a credible, effective foreign policy with our allies.

Osama bin Laden has not been caught, yet Vice President Dick Cheney continues to daydream about “weapons of mass destruction” in Iraq, a country that for all practical purposes is in the middle of a brutal civil war, a civil war emanating from politics of greed and deceit…sinister agendas that have absolutely nothing to do with Osama bin Laden and the war on terror. Meanwhile a hapless Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and an irritating and arrogant Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld continue to strut around like castrated peacocks.

Sure, Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator but what did this have to do with the 9-11? Shouldn’t all efforts have been invested in Afghanistan where Osama bin Laden still perches, taunting America to “pee-pee” fits!

The American people need to wake up

America is a great nation, a nation that must learn from what it endured in the past. A nation that must review its bloody racial history and not repeat the same mistakes. A nation that must vet incompetence when electing leaders of high office, for you voted in “third world” incompetence in 2000 and again in 2004.

“The chain reaction of evil — hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars — must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation,” — Martin Luther King Jr. said.

I sincerely hope that America will recuperate and survive the immense moral and emotional damage that has been inflicted upon it over the last six years.

I rest my case.
About the Author

James opiko writes for AfroArticles.com. Dig here for a listing of all articles in AfroArticles.com, and Submit your articles to promote your website(s), products & services.