Original Thoughts:

Monday- February 28, 2011

Original thoughts:

I hope that I don’t sound like a cookie cutter author for the right. I hope that my thoughts come across as genuine and sincere. I hope that my thoughts are original, timely and in step with current events. I hope that when I write, I stay true to the theme and to my message of the day.

When I write, I use words to describe my thoughts and message. The words I use are the words that I use on a daily basis. In other words, I stay well within my vernacular.

I have written approximately one million five hundred fifty five thousand two hundred and twenty two words in my FORUMS since Pinecone Conservatives was founded. A word I have never used is obdurate. It is defined: 1.a hardened in feelings. 2.b stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing 2: resistant to persuasion or softening influences: unyielding syn see inflexible – obdurately adv.

I would hope that many who are reading this know what this word means. I didn’t, so I had to look it up. I heard this word on the television show ‘Blue Bloods’ seen Friday nights at 10:00 pm est on CBS. It is a great show. It is well written and it makes you want to be as good in real life as the characters are in their fictional roles. It stars Tom Selleck, who is a widowed Police Commissioner that comes from a long line of New York City Policemen. Frank Reagan is the character that Mr. Selleck plays. His father a former NYC Police Commissioner, who is also widowed, lives in the family home with his soon the Police Commissioner, played by Selleck. The Police Commissioner has two sons who are also police men and had another that was shot in the line of duty. His daughter is an assistant D.A. for the city. This is a family steeped in tradition and one that does the right thing, because they were raised that way and they recognize what the right thing to do is.

Now that the story line has been described, Police Commissioner Reagan was accused of being obdurate in Friday night’s episode. He was inflexible, because he knew that what he wanted to do was the right thing. When my wife Lisa and I heard this word we immediately had to look it up. Lisa reads about two books a week, on average, and has never heard this word before.

You might be saying so what just, get to the point. Ok, I will, but I had to set up the reference point for you!

On Sunday, Senator Jim Holperin (D) was interviewed on FOX news. The senator is one of the fourteen state senators from Wisconsin who are holed up in some Best Western Inn in Illinois, because he and his party are refusing to vote on Governor Scott Walker’s (R) bill to end collective bargaining in the State of Wisconsin. He was describing how his party has submitted many proposals that would provide for union concessions, so that the state budget can be balanced and within the parameters of what the Governor wants. In essence, the long and the short, is that the Democrats, as is with many democrats around the country who are being asked to give in, have not come up with one original thought in the so called concessions that they say they have submitted. What prohibits them from making any contribution? The answer is that they do not have one original thought to address the budget concerns by some very responsible people who are displaying original thoughts.

The senators who are in hiding cannot give in to do the right thing, because their constituency does not recognize what the right thing to do is. Their constituency is the union members, the union bosses and unfortunately, the common citizens that have bought into the fallacy that worker’s can not work or be represented without a union.

The fact of the matter is there are two classes in America today. One class is the class that says I want to keep what I earn for my own benefit. And the other class is saying that I would like to also keep what I earn but I should be able to take a part of what you earn for my own benefit.

So where does the word obdurate come in? Both sides might be entrenched and both sides might be stubborn or obdurate. However, one side won the election, so they should have the chance to initiate their ideas. That is democracy and that is only fair.

Now that I have established what this mystery word means, I wonder where Jim Holperin heard this word. I would venture to say that he, too, was watching “Blue Bloods” in the hotel room that he is holed up in. I would venture to say that he, too, had to look up the word and I would venture to say that he like me could not wait to use this word. The difference is I think I am being a bit more original with how I am using the word. I would also venture to say that if you Google Jim and make a reference to any speech he has made or read any of his interviews you would not find any instance of the use of this word in his vernacular. I am glad that Jim may have been watching “Blue Bloods”, because there is a lesson in what the right thing to do is every week. Heaven knows a politician a hotel room. Need I say more?

Indiana’s Governor Mitch Daniels had an original thought to end collective bargaining in his state six years ago with an executive order. Indiana today does not have the cost overhead and the deficits that prohibit them from doing the right thing so that everyone wins.

Being original is what we need in government today, despite what the president says, what his party is doing and has done there are very few original thoughts coming from many non original politicians in the Democratic Party.

I will continue to use the word obdurate. I hope to use many more words, as I continue to be original in their use.

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: Our forefathers had original thoughts and I am happy to say they were obdurate in the expression of those thoughts. If they weren’t, we would not be here today and if they weren’t, Jim Holperin could not be obdurate himself.