Posted on 02/18/2013 4:48:16 AM PST by Kaslin
According to Cal Thomas, well-known nationally syndicated columnist, Dr. Ben Carson owes President Obama an apology.
Carson spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC this past week – a bi-partisan annual event held since 1953, attended by members of Congress and usually the President.
President and Mrs. Obama were present this year and Thomas feels that Dr. Carson was out of line for including in his remarks comments about areas considered public policy – our national debt, our tax system, our publics schools, and health care.
According to Thomas: “Our politics have become so polarized and corrupted that a president of the United States cannot even attend an event devoted to drawing people closer to God and bridge partisan and cultural divides without being lectured about his policies.”
Dr. Carson is an African American physician, Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, who rose out of poverty in a ghetto in Detroit. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bush in 2008 and is a role model for every American of every background.
I’m also proud that he serves on the national advisory board of my organization, CURE.
Although Carson did mention these various aspects of how we manage – or mismanage – our national affairs, he never once referred to the president or associated his comments on these issues with any political party.
To the extent to which President Obama might have taken Dr. Carson’s remarks as personal criticism, it would only be in the sense of “If the shoe fits, wear it.”
To the contrary, Dr. Carson began his remarks with citations from Proverbs and Chronicles, and tied the issues he spoke about to his broader theme about the moral crisis of our nation today. He talked about the moral decay of ancient Rome and how “they destroyed themselves from within.”
And he then expressed optimism about Americans being able to solve our problems because “we are smart” and that “we have some of the most intellectually gifted people leading our nation.”
No, if President Obama was offended by Dr. Carson’s penetrating remarks, it is because the president had to be the one losing perspective of the moral tone of the event and Dr. Carson’s observations.
What seems to offend Cal Thomas is that Dr. Carson has not fallen victim to the Washington disease that Thomas himself seems to have contracted as result of too many years in our nation’s capital.
Carson noted the vital importance of freedom of expression in America and how “political correctness keeps people from talking about important issues while the fabric of the society is being changed.” He warned that “we can’t fall for this trick.”
What, after all, is the point of a National Prayer Breakfast, “devoted to drawing people closer to God,” if the core issue now dividing us is whether we are indeed a “nation under God” and whether this means that His Word, as revealed in scripture, is even relevant to our national life and how we conduct our affairs.
This Word has already been banished from our public schools and increasingly from all our public spaces. Now apparently it’s even off limits at the National Prayer Breakfast.
If anything, Dr. Carson was forgiving to not mention the moral disaster of abortion legal under any circumstances and 55 million murdered unborn children -supported by our president. Nor did he mention our president’s endorsement of same sex marriage and today’s collapse of the American family.
The prophet Isaiah admonished, “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me? says the Lord…..even when you make many prayers I will not hear: your hands are full of blood….cease to do evil, learn to do good…”
Religious ritual devoid of content is pointless and destructive. This was Isaiah’s message 2800 years ago.
This is Dr. Ben Carson’s critical message for America today. Certainly nothing to apologize about.
It is amusing that when a real conservative citizen stands up and speaks out that the paid pundits, so insecure in their own conservatism, need to bring him down. They did the same to Sarah Palin and others. They need to shut up.
“Maybe if so called conservative pundits started to show some backbone and spoke out against the commie/socialist takeover of the country, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
From the founding of the nation to the late 1960’s the US had a vigorous and independent press acting as a check on government. From the 1970’s to today, independent local newspapers have been gobbled up by huge media chains and broadcast media has become dominated by huge media conglomerates. To one degree or another these mega companies are dependent on government for favorable tax treatment, licenses of air spectrum, local broadcast licenses, etc. When a political party is in power that will use regulatory power to drive policy, any company or organization that benefits from the government purse or can be hurt by the IRS and the application of regulatory power is going to act in its best interests.
Cal Thomas and Charles Krauthammer are creatures of big media companies. Their columns in newspapers and appearances in broadcast media last only as long as their employer determines they add value to the company. If they become too strident in opposing the tyranny of government, the company may feel threatened and decide to terminate the employment relationship. Hence, instead of being consistently aggressive and loud spokespeople for liberty they frequently soft pedal ideas, qualify statements, or occasionally take the opportunity to curry favor with big government and the administration.
Since the election of Obama in 2008 Fox News has slowly moderated its “fair and balanced” approach. With the 2012 elections over we see Fox moving center left. Certainly, if Krauthammer, Thomas, Bill Kristol and other pundits desire to continue as Fox contributors they will tailor their comments accordingly. Failing to adapt to change results in loss of job and income as Sarah Palin and Dick Morris have learned.
The aggregation of the press into large media companies dependent on government is something the founding fathers could not have predicted. This aggregation was enabled by technology changes and the invention of the modern corporate structure which occurred long after most of the founders were dead and buried. They expected a free, independent and vocal press to act as a check on the inclination of government to infringe on liberty. Today, media companies, seeking to act in a world in which government scrutiny and control of business operations, must curry favor with the bureaucracy and politicians in power.
With the heavy handed intrusion of government into every dimension of modern life a few spokespeople for conservatism (Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck) have the courage to continue speaking out and the independent resources to truly speak freely. Likely this limited freedom is only temporary, Rush’s age suggests he has only about 10 years left on the air and there is no heir apparent. Before that time is up, if the Democrats regain control of Congress under a Democrat president, it is likely strict rules restricting talk radio and the internet will be enacted. By that time the progressives will have the opportunity to replace at least one conservative Supreme Court justice with one of their own.
My conclusion. Conservative pundits are adapting to the new reality in order to preserve their “status” and incomes in the brave new world. These men and women are not fearless spokespeople with a passion for liberty, they are employees of large corporations. Just as the German press in the 1930’s was silent as Hitler slowly increased his control over the German state, we see the mainstream press in America controlling the news for the benefit of the regime. Even talk radio is slowly being squeezed as we see local stations dropping nationally syndicated conservative talk radio and shifting to music or other formats. The internet is the last bastion for free speech today. The bloggers are today’s equivalent of the local 18th century printer issuing a pamphlet and distributing it on the street. Don’t expect Krauthammer, Thomas, Kristol and other conservative pundits on Fox to risk life, liberty, and their sacred honor opposing the progressive juggernaut.
The American Revolution, the anti-slavery movement, and the civil rights movement began in churches. If you can’t speak Truth to secular Power at a religious event, then where can you? As a “community organizer”, you would think that Comrade Obama would embrace what Dr Carson was doing. If the positions were reversed, you know that Obama would have made a similar speech...and the leftist media would have hailed him as a conquering Hero of the People.
Like your tagline.
As far as I can see (and I have watched Cal Thomas many times and consider myself to be as committed a Christian as he is..), Dr. Carson is a kind of prophet for our times and in a short few days has brought hope to about half the population of this country through his great mind, his great logic, his grasp of the history of the world and his recognition that political correctness is paving the way for the total destruction of America. What is the central core of that PC..SHUTTING PEOPLE UP SO THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CONFRONT EVIL IN THEIR SOCIETY. The media should take a contrarian position to all those in power and most especially the President..However, they lick his boots and question nothing..Dr. Carson was led to take that rare opportunity not to criticize the President but to give his learned and earned views of our nation and what is going wrong, educationally, politically and spiritually. He should be applauded for that prophetic moment in exactly the appropriate setting. In my view, it was a moment made possible through the Holy Spirit to inspire people to return to the roots of our founding which established this nation in the first place. Almost everything he spoke about came from the 10 Commandments. Someone in the focus group on Hannity’s SAVING AMERICA program asked Dr. Carson whether he thought the President listened to him and would perhaps change some things because of what he had to say and Dr. Carson replied that he was praying so..So am I. How very great that kind of miracle would be for America.
Cal Thomas is a suck up. I don’t read his articles and it’s going to stay that way.
Heh, just snickered at the thought if Obama and Biden playing Pakleds.
Stopped reading George Will years ago for the same reason I will now stop reading Cal Thomas. They drank the koolaid.
Carson should publicly apologize and stop going on TV doing "victory laps" and proclaiming that reaction to his speech was overwhelmingly positive.
Poor Cal, he's losing touch and, possibly, relevance.
Dr. Carson should not apologize and Mr. Ihomas should take another look at how well the Dr.'s words are being a accepted.
I am not a big fan of Fox anymore...but I happened by Hannity and Dr Ben Carson was on, I stayed until he was over...
Like you, depenzz, I stopped watching Fox some time ago yet I also tuned in. It made my night as well.
“In my view, it was a moment made possible through the Holy Spirit to inspire people...”
Amen.
IMHO
Thomas is correct that there is no safe haven from outbreaks of partisan politics.
But this is what the Left has made sure of, that any and all matters are immediately politicized, a strategy that dates all the way back to the early days of the commisar system under Lenin.
It was refreshing to see someone like the good doctor strike first and straight at the core of the leftist agenda.
American politicians are wimps and cry babies, because they actually resent criticism and do all they can to stifle it.
This government needs stiffening up, and I can think of nothing better than what happens in the English Parliament during Prime Minister’s Questions. The Prime Minister is actually challenged face to face in an amazing joust of words. It is not like the SOTU speech and then a separate response. It is face to face - point - counterpoint.
If this president cowers ( and he will cower being the bullywimp that he is ) then majority and minority leaders should take off on each other. Especially in these times when the media will be in for another 4 years of investigative hibernation. PMQ is the antidote for journalistic slothful supineness.
As for the downward trajectory of Fox News, it fears being isolated and boycotted by the White House and the loss of its sources there. Fox is being toyed with by this White House. Only sustained forceful confrontation ( like their Benghazi reporting ) will force the executive branch to respond. Fair and Balanced just isn’t good enough anymore.
About the only Fox program I still watch is Special Report Online, because it allows listener input.
Something like Prime Minister’s Questions is the only thing I can think of that would get this nation out of its entrenched encampments where half the country ignores Fox and the other half ignores the fascist left media.
HOORAY Star Parker! HOORAY Ben Carson! HOORAY FReepers!
post/thread BUMP!
My vote is for Dr. Carson it’s about time some had the courage to speak the truth.
If O,Bama and Thomas don’t like it ,,,,, Tough Darts.
If only Dr. Carson had the platform to express his original ideas to change health care BEFORE the democrats put their stamp of socialism on the issue. With that in mind, where else can good ideas be heard and responded to? Seems not on Capitol Hill. Sometimes the media has to be forced to cover better ideas. Otherwise, all we see it what the dems want us to know.
Pray faithfully for Dr. Ben Carson.
I see IRS audits in his future.
Quick, someone tell me when this President has EVER been lectured by ANYONE. I never see that happen...ever. When Ben Carson gave his speech, that's my very first recollection of anything even remotely resembling a lecture to our current President. Cal Thomas is WAY off in his assessment.
Where are the OTHER Dr. Carson’s??? We are going to need a lot more of them...we need problem solvers in Congress, NOT lawyers.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.