A Dream Interrupted

 

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.  ~  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Some 60 years ago (and just months before I was born), Martin Luther King gave what became one of the most heralded speeches yet to have been delivered in the English language.

At the time, hopes that this dream laid out by Rev. King would become widely accepted were largely aspirational.  His words that day hearkened back - in more than one way - to those of a similarly gifted orator, Abraham Lincoln.  You may recall, in urging for reconciliation how President Lincoln had appealed to "the better angels of our nature," in his first inaugural address.

In both cases, the nation moved forward, however imperfectly, until both of these great men's visions advanced from aspiration to realization.

 

In fact, not that many years ago, acceptance of the notion that all people should be judged by the content of their character was nearly ubiquitous among both conservative and liberal constituencies.

More recently, however, a worrisome trend has emerged.

This troubling new vision substitutes reconciliation with Balkanization.  It is a vision of division instead of unity.  No longer is the appeal to our nature's "better angels", as it once was, but to something far less noble:  tribalism, avarice, and retribution.

This vision pushes back against the very notion of good character as a virtue.  Such ideals have been watered down, redefined - or rejected outright.  No longer is the vision one of character qualities over superficial appearance, but rather tribal affiliation based on skin color over all else.

So in our current political climate, while the conservative cause has fully embraced King's colorblind creed, it seems that the political left has gone in a new and dangerous direction.  In doing so, they have abandoned the dream, and embraced a nightmare.

 

 

The Will Smith incident and what should we take away from it.

My only real interest in the comings and goings-on of Hollywood's culture of narcissim these days is in reacting against their most blatant attempts to spread their poisonous values on our culture.

Having seen that the real entertainment typically occurs at the Nancy Pelosi and Barnum Bailey Circus on the floor of the House of Representatives or at the Jen Psaki comedic disinformation revue over in the White House press room, everything else pales in comparison.  The prospect of a roomful of smug, self-important narcissists exchanging trophies and spewing anti-conservative insults, simply no longer intrigues those who work with their hands - or their brains.

Normally I wouldn't comment on a Hollywood awards show of which I (and almost everybody else) didn't watch.  But in the case of the 94th annual Academy Awards (the Oscars) and the ensuing brouhaha between Chris Rock and Will Smith, it's impossible to not give it some attention since it had become the media focus for two or three weeks in late March and early April.   

That in itself should give you pause to wonder about the whole thing.  Given that their ratings over the past decade have been sagging even faster than the preoperative jowls of an aging overweight actor and plunging farther than the neckline of an otherwise irrelevant Hollywood starlet whose career is in decline, the outside possibility still lurked in our minds that it was nothing more than a orchestrated publicity stunt designed to bolster their ever plummeting ratings.  But after testing the winds of public opinion with a wet finger in the air for almost two weeks, the Academy finally issued a punishment late last week. However reluctantly, Smith was banned for 10 years.

Yes, I know its old news now.  For several news cycles, there was a lot of sound and fury about the altercation between Smith and Rock, even knocking genocide in Ukraine out of top billing.  On the one hand, the Academy was coming under increasing pressure to act, but on the other, was bound by the narrow precepts of it's politically correct Hollywood ideals, that made it hesitant to appear critical of a racial minority.

Nonetheless, having said all that, a few words about the incident is probably warranted.

First, however, what of Chris Rock's character?  We are told that even before Smith issued a public apology, to his credit, Mr. Rock adamantly refused to press charges.  This is likely because he realized his complicity in the matter, in that his ribbing of Smith and his wife had intentionally or inadvertently crossed the line of poor taste.

And what of Smith's character?  A little more of a tricky question, since he clearly, publicly, and violently lost control of his temper.  To his credit, however, he apologized fairly quickly and then late last week, he resigned from the Academy of Motion Pictures.

In the light of all the controversy, conflicting stories, response and counter-responses to the incident, let's be very clear.  What Smith did to Chris Rock was wrong.  It was a clear case of criminal battery.

But that isn't the angle I am interested in, because it also serves as an example of our two-tiered justice system. 

To help put it into perspective, imagine if you will, the very different response if a disgruntled white man had charged the stage that night.  The same action would certainly viewed quite differently...    It's doubtful, he would have been granted the deference to do so.  It's not hard to imagine he would have been tackled before he made it halfway to the stage and roughly dragged off to the side and handcuffed.  Or, if he had made it up to the stage and able to punch the black MC, he likely woud have been confronted, marched out of the auditorium, and arrested - only to later be charged with a hate crime.   ...and become the favorite target of the race-baiting hacks at MSNBC for years to come.

Or, what if it was one of 'the help', one of the many little people who serve in the background, the rich and pompous - perhaps a server, cook, or security guard?  Do you think one of those serving tables had rushed the stage and punched the host would have been allowed to remain unhindered, for the remainder of the show and party afterwards?

In either case, the reaction of the media mob and the response of the justice system would no doubt be quite different.  Needless to say, if it was you or I, we certainly would have been marched out in handcuffs and spent the night in jail, possibly held without bail awaiting a trial for assault and battery.

Then again, it probably makes no difference since LA county DA George Gascon doesn't prosecute criminals.

 

 

E10 - Error on the Commissioner

There is a huge propaganda campaign being waged by the Democrat party and their mainstream media minions to steamroll their H.R. 1 election-rigging bill through Congress.  Yet despite all that effort, a recent Rasmussen poll confirmed that a large majority of Americans still favor voter ID laws.  You would never know this if you relied on CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS or Lester Holt's 'media fairness is overrated' network - otherwise known as NBC.

It shows a whopping 75 percent of the American people favor Voter ID requirements. What's even more surprising is despite the current political climate, a huge majority - 69% - of black voters also support it. (1)  As much as anyone with a modicum of fairness and common sense, they realize that insuring the integrity of elections is the best way to protect our republic.  People need to have faith in our elections.  Perhaps too, they tire of the insulting condescension of the Democratic leadership constantly telling them they are simply too incompetent to present a driver's license or state ID card at the polling place, just like they do when they withdraw money or cash a check from their bank, board an airplane, or pick up a prescription at the pharmacy.

Nonetheless, Major League Baseball - apparently not to be outdone by all the self-important preening and gutless pandering of the NFL and NBA last year - has decided to wage a full on, left-wing, crazy, race-baiting, politically woke war against most of their fan base.

One could argue they were duped by the lies of the President or Stacy Abrams or the Democratic media chorus, but truth be told, they wanted to be lied to.  Believing the lie was a convenient way to extract themselves from a difficult public relations squeeze.  A squeeze, on the one hand, between negative publicity in left-leaning major market press and electronic media - and - an entire season of dealing with nasty player's union antics like they saw in the NBA and NFL, such as disrespecting veterans, the flag, & the anthem combined with game boycotts that directly affect revenues.  Of all their constituencies, they gutlessly chose to offend the loyal fan base, likely counting on us momentarily accepting the woke narrative at face value and our short, post-pandemic memory.

While I feared this was coming all week, I still had some glimmer of hope that the Great American Pastime would somehow find a way to rise above the partisan political thuggery of other professional sports and do what it does best, provide entertainment that bridges boundaries across generational, racial, and language barriers.  Disappointed does not come close to how this gut-punch made me feel.

Yes I am only one voice, but even if no one else may join me, I wasted no time letting Commissioner Robert Manfred, Jr. know that his decision comes with a cost, however insignificant the loss of one fan may be:

 

Dear Commissioner Manfred,

I have been a fan of Major League Baseball as long as I can remember... and wish you weren't working so hard to change that.

I remember listening to the Minnesota Twins on the radio in the summers on the farm while still in elementary school.  I remember my first in-person  game - a "knothole game" where Kenny Landrieux's hitting streak was ended.  As a young man, calling in for hours on a Saturday morning in 1987, attempting to get a chance to buy World Series tickets at the Metrodome.  My first time attending a World Series in 1991.

Sadly you have made the American past-time a political exercise.  You are making the MLB just another tool in the Democrat Party's propaganda machine, by officially signalling to baseball fans that professional baseball is now aligned fully with the political left.  You can count me out.

I'm done.  I will not watch you play your figurative or literal games.

Interestingly, in the scanty defense of your ill-thought out political position, your primary citation is Joe Biden, a politically divisive figure and a man known both to be easily and often confused and one who frequently supplants truth with his own politically advantageous fabrications (on request, I will be happy to provide you a list of examples).  What you clearly and conveniently do not cite are any specifics from the Georgia election law SB202 that bolster your assertion that it is a threat to "Fair access to voting."  And of course you didn't - because there are none.

In fact, SB202, attempts to ensure fair voting by curtailing election fraud and illegal voting.  So in a perverse sense that seems to be beyond your comprehension, it will indeed, as you say in your press release, "restrict voting access" by ensuring that only lawful citizens of this country, residents of Georgia, and of legal voting age, cast a single election ballot.  Those are restrictions that the political left opposes, since it stymies its favorite attempts at voter fraud.

I also note that you claim to have "engaged in thoughtful conversations" with your teams and players over the past week.  Yet the reasoning given and the decision you made, and which you claim best demonstrates our "values as a sport" defies reason and denies the facts.

By aligning the MLB with the far extremes of the left, you are unnecessarily politicizing a sport which could unify us as a country, pandering instead to the vocal, extreme minority, and alienating many of your fans.

I am sorry to say goodbye to the professional sport I enjoy the most.  Please let me know when you are ready to denounce the woke and politically divisive tactics of the Democrat party and get back to enjoying sport for the sake of sport again.

Sincerely,

John Scott Niessen
Andover, MN

 

That was my actual letter to the commissioner.  If you feel as betrayed as I do when told your favorite professional sport has gone all woke on you and people like you are no longer welcome, I'd encourage you to let him know your thoughts as well.  If nothing else, I find that putting pen to paper - or fingers to keyboard - can not only be cathartic, but help one to clarify his thinking.

Let's just hope that professional baseball will regain it's sanity and one day soon return to being America's favorite pastime, while there is still an America that is recognizable to us.

 

Postscript:  In the interests of fairness (and very much unlike self-proclaimed journalist, Lester Holt), I am including the entire pathetic original statement from the Baseball Commissioner (April 2, 2021):

 

'21 All-Star Game, Draft moved from Atlanta

2:35 PM CDT


Major League Baseball announced on Friday that it will relocate the 2021 All-Star Game and Draft, originally scheduled to take place in Atlanta, to a to-be-determined location.

The decision comes a little more than a week after the passage of SB 202, a Georgia law that President Biden criticized earlier this week, saying that it will restrict voting access for residents of the state.

Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr. issued the following statement in making the announcement:

“Over the last week, we have engaged in thoughtful conversations with Clubs, former and current players, the Players Association, and The Players Alliance, among others, to listen to their views. I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star Game and MLB Draft.

“Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box. In 2020, MLB became the first professional sports league to join the non-partisan Civic Alliance to help build a future in which everyone participates in shaping the United States. We proudly used our platform to encourage baseball fans and communities throughout our country to perform their civic duty and actively participate in the voting process. Fair access to voting continues to have our game’s unwavering support.

“We will continue with our plans to celebrate the memory of Hank Aaron during this season’s All-Star festivities. In addition, MLB’s planned investments to support local communities in Atlanta as part of our All-Star Legacy Projects will move forward.  We are finalizing a new host city and details about these events will be announced shortly.”

This is a developing story, and it will be updated throughout the day.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(1)  -   https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/poll-75-percent-americans-support-voter-ID

 

 

 

Which Lives Matter?

I've been asking myself, lately, "Why are we arguing over bumper stickers?"  Given the chaos we live in today, is there really nothing else to direct our energy toward?  And why does the argument irk me so?

So yes, I deliberately waited several weeks before posting this observation, because emotions were so raw, many friends of mine were seemingly stirring this pot, and I wanted to be sure I was attuned to the Holy Spirit on the matter.

We hear one person say, "Black lives matter."  Another answers, "All lives matter!"  One group shouts, "Black lives matter!"  Another demands, "All lives matter!"

But is it really an either/or?  Why can't both be true?

The Bible speaks to this issue and settled the matter 2000 years ago.  In the 3rd chapter of John, verse 16, it is written:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Our lives, regardless of race or ethnicity, are so valuable, that Christ gave His own life so that we might have salvation, if one but asks Him and accepts the free gift He offers us.  That said, in light of the infinite value that God Himself places on all persons, does it not follow that both statements are equally true?  Perhaps Christians need to redirect the conversation.  To what end do we waste any time arguing and cajoling others about who's got the better bumper sticker slogan?

I do wish that were the end of it.  But unfortunately, there is a caveat.

In the politically-charged times we live in, it is difficult - if not impossible - to separate the phrase "Black lives matter" from the political organization that goes by the same name.  Many of the political goals of the organization's founders and its statement of beliefs are antithetical to the Christian worldview to which I espouse.  That in itself is a topic for another day, but I urge you to do your own homework.

The use of this phrase has been transformed into a radical political purity test in many corners - a bridge too far for me.  But, despite the fact that I avoid using the phrase or acronym (BLM), I do recognize that the Scriptures have clearly spoken on the value of each individual life.

So which lives do matter?  In closing I quote the earliest song I have remembrance learning as a toddler, "Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight.  Jesus loves the little children of the world."