Monday, June 28, 2010

Will Geoffrey Breathe Easier?

As we mark the passing of West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, I can't help but wonder if sometime visitor Geoffrey will feel thathis death relieves us of the burden of having to recall that he is still among those stealing oxygen from the rest of us. Try as I might, I could never find anything attributed to Helms that matches the level of evil racism this Powerline piece attributes to Byrd. So I'm surprised that as of this writing (11:34PM CST), Geoffrey has yet to post the same celebratory obituary that he joyously posted for Helms.

It's easy to rip on southern politicians of the generation of Helms, Byrd, Thurmond (I wonder what Geoffrey thought of Trent Lott's speech to Strom on his 100th birthday---he must have gotten the vapors!), as they all came up in a time when racism was just the way things were. We look down on them for their racist beliefs (those who actually had them) and lump them all together if they ever uttered the "N-word". But there are differences between Byrd and Helms (Thurmond was somewhere in the middle leaning more toward Byrd than Helms, as far as I can tell).

For some, and Geoffrey's input will help clear the air as far as he's concerned, the differences are mostly political. It was hard to find stories of Helms that didn't label him as the worst kind of racist. But despite the fact that he claimed not to be a racist, and despite the fact that he had black people on his staff, he was (and still is) vilified more because of his politics than for him actually being a racist. He never supported affirmative action, which is racist in a different direction. He didn't support making MLK JR's birthday a holiday (Oh. The. Horror!) He didn't support propping up third world countries with tax dollars. And of course he didn't support abortion or homosexual "rights", which makes him Satan.

Byrd, on the other hand, was an officer of the KKK, a recruiter and as the linked article shows, fully expressed the worst kind of racist sentiments as part of his duties in Congress. He said that his time with the Klan was "a mistake", but good gosh, what a doozy! What in Helms life ever compared to THAT? And apparently, in March of 2001, Byrd allegedly called someone a "White Ni**er" while miked. Is there a Helms anecdote like that anywhere?

Hey, I'm not saying there isn't such things about Helms, but only that I've not found anything. I've looked again before beginning this post. What I'm seeing is that there are a ton of websites and blogs listed on Google that talk about Helms being an awful racist. One needn't even click on a link; it's right there. Google "Was Jesse Helms a racist" and see what I mean.

The question is, will we see the same for Byrd? Will he get the exact same treatment in the many obits that will appear, or will that "(D)" next to his name mean he gets a pass? As this AmericanThinkerBlog post shows, he'll likely get the latter.

But at least Geoffrey will be able to rest assured that the oxygen Byrd was stealing is now available for some really deep breaths. Kinda like springtime after a gentle rain, ain't it?

Thursday, June 24, 2010

No Truce On Social Issues

I came across two articles from Illinois Family Institute that I found to be essential reading for conservatives and Republicans. The first is from Laurie Higgins and the second by David E. Smith. They both refer to comments made by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniel(R), a guy I think on the whole to be a very fine governor. He has done a lot to keep Indiana from suffering the fates of other states that have fallen from the effects of liberal thinking. The state of Indiana is doing quite well by comparison to my own Illinois, Ohio, California, Michigan and a host of others in these hard economic times. (Indiana is also the home of Republican Congressman Mike Pence, an example of superior conservative thought and a long-time champion of many of the policies Daniel has put into place in their state.)

But the point here is in reference to something Daniel has said regarding social issues and whether or not it is wise for Republicans to spend much time and effort on them. I personally have heard a right-wing friend or two suggest that spending time on issues like abortion would be detrimental to the cause of steering our nation back toward the clearly superior conservative leadership. As I stated in a humble piece I wrote at American Descent, I don't see how standing for truth and facts can ever be a bad thing.

Some would say that winning enough seats in Congress to regain Republican majorities and/or winning the White House is what matters most. We can't do much if we're in the minority and have no audible voice in the White House. I can't knock this argument entirely, because it's true. We're seeing this now.

But to totally ignore the social issues, especially now, only serves to allow those who are on the blatantly wrong side of those issues (that would be pretty much everyone in the BO administration, most of the Democratic Party and everyone Barry would ever think to appoint to any judicial post) to dictate laws and legislation and policies that would wreak havoc on our culture.

The second article to which I linked counts the costs in dollars to our nation as well as to our national character and it is our character as a nation that concerns me most. Of those issues Smith lists, we have a stituation by which our character is defined by the lust of sexual gratification. I'm no prude, but I can't see how bowing to our lusts makes us a better nation, particularly with all the negatives that go along with it, such as abortions, unwed child mothers, STDs, etc.

One of my liberal visitors has commented that we (mostly me) seem to be obsessed with sex. This is truly a poor understanding of what I have been trying so hard to make clear. What concerns me is the obsesssion of our nation with sex. It has lead to so many problems in our society and indeed, has been a problem throughout history. The left proudly views itself as progressive for its position on human sexuality, but to compare today with all of history shows nothing progressive at all. Instead, it shows the left deludes itself that it has a better grasp of human sexuality which it then uses to justify its own unsavory lusts.

The right needs to find a better voice for defending virtue amongst our citizenry. Like it has with so much else, the right has failed to articulate the benefits of a moral society creates for itself. It has cowered before the mockery of leftwing criticism so that it feels such defense is a losing proposition.

But really. Who cares about mockery if it comes from those so fixated on pleasuring themselves? Are these really the best people to guide us? Look what they've done to our nation so far. It's morally corrupt, it's decadent and it's trying to become more so because for too long, on the social issues, good men have done nothing.