A comment and Independence:

Friday- July 1, 2011

A comment and Independence:

Are off color comments appropriate? Are some of the phrases in the Declaration of Independence appropriate?

Americans will judge what is appropriate and what isn’t, based on their ideology and or their political leanings.

When the President stands in front of both Houses of Congress, during the State of the Union Address, was it appropriate for a Supreme Court Justice to mouth the words “ not true” or a sitting Congressman yelling “you lie”? Are these statements appropriate?

Never before have we had a president confronted with the word lie in the House of Congress. Never before has a liberal commentator, like Mark Halperin, said of the president, after being asked how the president did in his news conference, on a National Cable TV news show Morning Joe on MSNBC, that he was being a D*** (description of the male sexual organ). Is this appropriate when Mark asked if there was a seven minute delay and both hosts said yes, go for it?

After the inappropriate comment, the White House called the producers of MSNBC and complained about the use of the D word and, consequently, the news commentator Halperin was suspended. The White House also complained that the news Channel MSNBC hadn’t done enough to get people who are on the president’s side on the news shows for interviews. Was that appropriate for the White House to do that?

These incidents of a judge, a congressman and a liberal commentator all mean something. It means that two nationally known political individuals said that the president was lying. After a fact check was done, it was found that the president wasn’t exactly being truthful. It also means that a nationally known liberal member of the press is now being punished by describing how in his opinion the president was behaving. The slang word that was used, at best, was probably inappropriate especially when the seven minute delay wasn’t working after being told it was, so maybe he should have used the word penis, which is never bleeped. I would have used the A word, but that’s me. By the way I did watch the news conference and I agree with the liberal Halperin’s assessment!

These incidents might seem small, they might seem trivial, they might even sound a bit nuts, but the actions taken by the White House do have an impact on our Independence. In these three examples, the White House was put on defense. In the most recent example, over the comment by Mark Halperin, he was the first commentator to be suspended after the White House complained.

Wasn’t George Bush called worse? Isn’t being called a loser by the Senate Majority leader far worse or at par with these recent comments? Isn’t being compared to Hitler far worse than being compared to a slang word? Did the Bush White House ever complain and ask that some one be indefinitely suspended from their employment during their eight years in office? Did the Bush White House ever complain about the people who were being interviewed not being on their side during their eight years in office?

Does the question of sides have an impact on our Independence? I believe it does. If one side or political band as Jefferson explained it wasn’t victorious 235 years ago, about the question of Independence and freedom, we wouldn’t be here today discussing this.

It is a fact that every dictator in modern history took control of the press and insisted that the news outlets be it the state or public news outlets issue the appropriate propaganda. Look at Hitler, look at Chavez, look at the North Korean leader and look at the Islamist leaders. When the White House gets involved at this level it does affect our Independence.

When I bring up the case of a news commentator, a Justice of the Supreme Court and a sitting Congress man being disgusted over the words and behavior of the President, we should be alerted to the reasons why and not necessarily the political side of the person.

I wanted to write about some other aspects of our Declaration of Independence today, but I thought it was important to write about how Independence works. In most cases it works because people sometimes tell the truth and sometimes lie and sometimes act like a D***. I will let you decide who is telling the truth and who might be lying and who might have been acting like a D***.

Go out and celebrate your Independence this weekend. Enjoy the freedom that was derived from the gift of the written word and the mindful courtesy that Jefferson knew would be an integral argument in gaining our Independence.

Jefferson once said: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. It is natural manure.”

Jefferson once said: “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.”

Jefferson once said: “Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the boisterous sea of liberty”

John Adams, after deciding to cast his vote for the adoption of the Declaration of Independence he said: "If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending; if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious objective of our contest is obtained, we must fight; I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms, and to the God of Hosts, is all that is left us!"

Have a great Fourth of July be mindful of how all this Independence happened and how all of the freedom even the freedom of speech we enjoy must be protected. Be mindful that those who want to protect it might say some unsavory things from time to time. However, in the end, words always lead to actions. Be alert to the actions that takes your liberty and independence away, rather than continues it!

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: This is the time to celebrate liberty don’t be afraid to make a comment and practice your Independence!