Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

The 5 Dumbest Ideas That Have Taken Root In America
Townhall.com ^ | April 7, 2015 | John Hawkins

Posted on 04/07/2015 5:18:06 AM PDT by Kaslin

Humans are extremely adaptable creatures; so we tend to quickly acclimate ourselves to our circumstances until they become the "new normal." However, sometimes when you have a hole in the bottom of your boat, it's a better idea to try to address it than to just keep bailing water all day long. For example, here in America we seem to believe that...

1) The only religion it's okay to mock is the most popular one, Christianity: Roughly 80% of Americans are Christian; yet which religion is openly mocked by Hollywood and the mainstream media? Is it Judaism? No, that would be anti-Semitic. Is it Islam? No, those guys might kill you. Is it Hinduism or Buddhism? No, there aren’t enough of them around to draw notice. Ninety five percent of the attacks on religion in America are against the faith held by the majority of the people who sadly are a little too inclined to turn the other cheek to put a stop to it. All major religions deserve to be treated with a modicum of respect and that’s doubly true for Christianity since this nation was founded and shaped by Christians seeking religious freedom. If Christians don’t demand respect, no one should be surprised when they don’t get it.

2) Diversity is all about skin color: A lot of people would tell you that Nancy Pelosi, Sheila Jackson Lee, John Kerry, Dan Savage and Luis Gutierrez all together would be a “diverse” group. Well, what’s so diverse about five people who say the same things, think the same things and march in lockstep on every issue? The only real value of diversity is that it interjects new ways of thinking about and approaching a problem. If you take that away, diversity is meaningless and may even do more harm than good. If you don’t have diversity of thought, then you don’t have diversity.

3) The federal government doesn't have to pay off the money it owes: Ever notice that as our national debt grows larger and larger, people talk about it less and less? That’s despite the fact that by “2030, the Congressional Budget Office is estimating that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid will make up 75% of our budget spending.” You may notice that defense spending isn’t included in there, nor is interest on the debt, Obamacare or any other government programs. We’re only 15 years away from that point and neither party is doing ANYTHING of significance about it. Worse yet, the Democrats are insisting that we’re not spending enough money. People may give lip service to the idea that the debt is bad, but if we’re judged by our actions, most Americans apparently believe that we don’t ever have to pay off what we owe.

4) Ethics are irrelevant for politicians: There was a time in America when politicians were held to a HIGHER standard of ethics than the average person. If you were a scumbag, people didn’t want you in office and if they caught you telling them a lie, it could cost a politician his job. Since the Clinton era, we’ve reversed that idea and suddenly scumbags are fine and we don’t care if politicians lie or not. When one of them misleads the public, the attitude is, “Well, what do you expect from a politician?” Incidentally, Republicans may not have as fully embraced this attitude as Democrats, but there are an awful lot of GOP politicians who seem to believe it’s acceptable to lie to the people that put them into office. If holding the politicians -- who are expected to lead us and make life and death decisions -- to a higher standard is wrong, then Americans shouldn’t want to be right.

5) It's fine for black Americans to be openly racist toward whites: Given America’s history, it’s rather ironic that the overwhelming majority of white Americans seem to want Martin Luther King’s colorblind world while a large number of black Americans actively support Bull Connor’s view that discrimination based on race works fine. Similarly, for every dumb jock in a fraternity who makes national news for dropping the N-word, there are probably a hundred black Americans openly expressing contempt and loathing for white Americans. Not every black American feels that way; in fact a majority of them probably don’t, but the biggest bastion of race-based hate in America is unquestionably in the black community.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: ethics; hillaryclinton; ideas; nationaldebt; racism
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-36 last
To: Kaslin

The left, and all Americans who support them, simply are not sane.


21 posted on 04/07/2015 6:51:23 AM PDT by afsnco
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: rarestia

“It’s terrible that in the course of American history, whites went from being benevolent landowners with an end game to cowering corporate drones injecting money into a corrupt, redistributive system for the benefit of those who want to procreate without consequence and commit criminal acts without conscience.”

Not to procreate, but to fornicate. And paying a handsome commission to the handlers of said redistribution. It’s a sort of forced lawlessness; the ethical law abiding subjects forced to finance the total irresponsibility of the lawless elite “victims” and politicians.


22 posted on 04/07/2015 6:52:11 AM PDT by Blue Collar Christian (Ready for Teddy. Cruz, that is. Texas conservative.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: YouGoTexasGirl

Yep! And I’m just as guilty. We’re far past the point of no return in this country. I don’t believe the ballot box is going to afford us any advantage going forward either.


23 posted on 04/07/2015 7:17:12 AM PDT by rarestia (It's time to water the Tree of Liberty.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Diversity is the belief that adding a cow turd to a batch of apple sauce will improve the flavor.


24 posted on 04/07/2015 7:31:08 AM PDT by taxcontrol
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ThunderSleeps

“Oh, yeah, ‘cause they can make them sound/seem soooo good.”

Because pathos has taken over as the only method of persuasion. That was intentional because, as you point out, the narratives would take over as the new reality. Reality doesn’t allow people to think a man dressing up as a woman and using the women’s restroom makes him anything other than a pervert. The narrative; however, makes him a woman.

Likewise socialism. The 20th century has seen the parallel phenomena of a good idea, freedom, and a really bad idea, socialism. It doesn’t matter where you look, central planning of economies, physical cities, and morality has caused misery like the world has never seen. The opposite is true of freedom and free markets. Yet, the narrative tells us that everyone is miserable because of free markets.

So maybe the worst idea that has taken root in America is that narratives = reality. Hey, I just realized that’s just like Plato’s Allegory of the Cave....


25 posted on 04/07/2015 7:58:55 AM PDT by demshateGod (The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Leep

ATF
BLM
DHS
EPA
HHS
SSA

...That the ruling of one judge can amend the constitution!


26 posted on 04/07/2015 8:02:34 AM PDT by demshateGod (The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

#3 is the biggie. I fear the majority has clearly bought into it.


27 posted on 04/07/2015 8:07:59 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Old Sarge
Number 6: Voting Still Matters.

This.

28 posted on 04/07/2015 8:09:42 AM PDT by dfwgator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Man made Global Warming

Hate crime legislation

gay marriange

ethanol

no spill gas cans. (okay that is way down on the list)


29 posted on 04/07/2015 8:17:00 AM PDT by Leep (To put it in laymen's terms liberal/progressive ist coo coo.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

#1 Abortion is legal.


30 posted on 04/07/2015 10:42:58 AM PDT by OriginalChristian (The end of America, as founded, began when the first Career Politician was elected...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Leep

“no spill gas cans. (okay that is way down on the list)”

I generally hate plastic gas cans — their spouts are over-engineered, leak, don’t last and are a pain to use. However, I finally found one that is actually superior to the others and is a pleasure to use.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/no-spill-gas-can-125-gal

One thing all cans ought to have is pressure bleed-off valves to prevent the cans from collapsing or puffing up due to temperature changes.


31 posted on 04/07/2015 10:47:13 AM PDT by TexasRepublic (Socialism is the gospel of envy and the religion of thieves)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: Old Sarge

Especially mail in ballots which have bastardized and corrupted the voting process. Why don’t they just do all voting through facebook or twitter?


32 posted on 04/07/2015 11:45:51 AM PDT by GoldwaterCountry (Viva Reagan Revolucion!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: GoldwaterCountry

DAMMIT, NO SUGGESTIONS THEY CAN READ!!!


33 posted on 04/07/2015 11:50:36 AM PDT by Old Sarge (Its the Sixties all over again, but with crappy music...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: demshateGod

I think paying people not to work has to be in the top 3.


34 posted on 04/07/2015 12:30:21 PM PDT by jospehm20
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

That everyone deserves, and must have, a college education.


35 posted on 04/07/2015 12:32:24 PM PDT by floralamiss ("Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name....." -Lord & Savior Jesus Christ)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Kaslin

Baseline budgeting


36 posted on 04/07/2015 5:07:58 PM PDT by chemical_boy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-36 last

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson