On My Partially Facetious Address Concerning The Transition of Years

Oh yes friends; another year has just about come and gone and a new dawn of a new year will soon bathe us in the brilliance of its possibility. Yep, that’s exactly what I told myself last year too. Don’t get me wrong, hope is a wonderful thing and all, and it does spring eternal, however, it was not enough to carry me through the last year. So this year, I am trying a new approach. Instead of trying to do the good, right, just and positive all the time, while having it amount to nil a year later; I will do the exact opposite and resolve to start smoking once again, perhaps drink more and maybe, just maybe, if I lower my expectations enough, the outcome of next year will be sweeter.

I hear some of you arguing with me already, but remember that one year when you made the resolution to quit smoking or drinking? A lot of damn good that did you now didn’t it? Now you crave smoke and drink all the time to drown out the pain of unemployment and an ever collapsing economy, which are profoundly exacerbated by doomsday journalists who, I’m convinced, played a large part in the current economic meltdown by their spreading of fearful predictions that may eventually culminate in bringing about the capitalistic end of days. This isn’t to say its all journalisms fault; no, it’s just Keith Olbermann’s fault. Ah, I kid Keith, but that’s because I can’t meet him. Yet, if I were to meet him I wouldn’t be kidding around with him either, but more so kicking him in the face.

This year did see some good things though, like Barack Obama being elected and becoming the first African-American President in US history. Other notable things were ummm…uhhh…Michael Phelps, winning 8 gold medals, setting a new world record and shattering the glass ceiling set up by the jealous douche Mark Spitz. Furthermore, another pane of transparent fragile material set on high was busted by Hillarly Clinton, who was the first woman to run for the presidency. It’s appropriate with all this ceiling bashing that this was indeed the theme of the whole year. Our country, which had seemed so firm and steady, high above the concept of debt and those other problems that just the rest of the world faces, suddenly shattered, crashing down, cutting and lacerating American citizens with an unrelenting shower of jagged debris. Now we are looking at a complete overhaul and replacement of that ceiling and the coming years are going to be especially crucial towards that endeavor.

We saw the political parties pointing fingers, throwing blame and vilifying any and every position claiming it was the culprit for absurd gas prices, the housing crash, stock market crash, Iraq, Afghanistan, lack of new forms of energy, political corruption, Georgia, Russia, Israel, pork barrel spending, bailouts, bailouts, bailouts, bailouts, and the Polar Bear. This year was categorized by plenty of problems and blame to go around, but no real solutions. Everyone was quick to pass blame and this is what really took place on the senate floor rather than any real progress. You want to fight then that’s fine, but do it behind closed doors after your job is over and you have remedied the situation. A real remedy though. Not Washington’s current answer to everything, which is to throw money at it, money that we don’t have and essentially doesn’t exist. What’s going to happen when someone comes to collect? Yes, I am a Republican and yes I voted for McCain, but I am rooting for Obama. Why? Simply, if he fails, our country does and we cannot afford it. Since this last year has seen the death of the Republican Party already, its time we stop pointing fingers, get off our ass and put some solutions on the table before Main Street, Rodeo Drive, Madison Avenue, Skid Row, or whatever thoroughfare analogy you want to use, all go down together.

Where neutrality was once the standard, we saw the consumption of journalism by ego and now bias is the norm as long as you can back it up with insult. Screw logic and reason! Screw compassion! Screw respecting other people’s opinions and perceptions! Screw civility! No, Hollywood, press rooms and government don’t need civility anymore and neither does the American public, for apparently what is civil isn’t progressive enough and is holding society back. We saw the media vilification of average citizens like Joe the Plumber, Bristol Palin and Trig, Sarah Palin’s baby boy who has Down Syndrome. We saw Caylee Anthony disappear and Nancy Grace, despite her legal background, forget about the foundational concept of presumed innocence within our judicial system. We saw the politically singular nature of liberalism within the feminist movement and watched as MSNBC put Joe the Plumbers tax records all over national TV, while not bothering to look into domestic terrorists who are now professors at prestigious universities teaching our youth with their ideology of hate, violence and death. Now, just before the New Year, we are watching as MSNBC goes after Pastor Rick Warren whose only crime is having a differing opinion and being invited by Obama to give the invocation at the inauguration. Could it be that they actually struck up a friendship when Obama came to the Saddleback church? Furthermore, last time I checked, disagreeing with someone or having an opposing opinion doesn’t make you a bigot and if it does, guess what? We are all bigots, for we all disagree with someone out there. Hate terrorism? Then you’re a bigot, bigot.

It has come down to today, where the world continues to crumble and even at this very hour war rages in Israel, which terrorists consistently attack, but in the end that won’t matter, for it will somehow become the fault of the US and Israel anyway. Hamas will ride the waves of a worldwide over-sentimentalism and walk away unscathed as usual. Now come the New Year and now come Obama. What hope is there? Now this might raise a few eyebrows amongst my conservative brethren, especially if you have read previous entries I wrote, but too often perception equates to truth and with the perception the majority of the public has of Obama, on who he is and what he may be able to do; perhaps it can entice people to try and shape our country into something better. People live their lives adhering to their perceptions, and hope, which Obama seems to signify, has the ability to inspire and to motivate. If he truly has this affect on so many people, then perhaps it may lead to a revival of prosperity.

Now is the time. The time when we need to work together in mutual respect and look past ourselves to the greater cause, which is this country, this world and the following generations that will be reared within it. Furthermore, we need to practice what we preach in order that a proper beneficial perception may be maintained and used to better, not only the individual, but society as a whole. This means you cannot advocate peace and respect for a countries borders and then throw a garbage can through a Starbucks window during a protest march. This means you cannot advocate for free speech then insult or trash on other people’s right and utilization of the same liberties you are protected by and so wholeheartedly cherish.

For 2009, let us respect each other, even in the face of other ideals. Within this argumentative culture, let us work for our causes on an individual level, concentrating on what we believe and furthering ourselves rather than seeing it in a context of winning or losing in relation to those of differing perceptions. This is no easy task and one may need to confront truths about themselves that they would much rather avoid. Trust me, I know from experience. Yet, it is essential and beneficial, not only for the individual, but also for society as a whole and the comprised parts thereof. These are some steps every one of us can take without diving into presidential economic policy and other complicated issues that the American people are feeling increasingly disassociated with. However, we can make a difference by the furthering of our character. It is imperative for the sake of our nation and our children, who will subsequently dwell on this very soil after this generation has run its course, that we shape our country and lives into something better.

We all know the mistakes of the past resonate within the present and I for one don’t want following generations to have to bear the brunt and burden of our mismanagement of government, economy, our core ethics, and the decay of character and tolerances which have now become now so prevalent in America. At the stroke of midnight the year will change along with the world. The world has changed over the past year, we all perceive of this and no matter what change will happen, either good or bad, change will certainly come. History will look back on this era as the time we either slipped further into the abyss of despondency or the fulcrum point when we turned our world around and made it a better place. We should not look at it as if it is up to the administration and the three branches of American government to dictate which one occurs, but rather within and to ourselves, where real change is manifest and real progression is carried out.

For tonight however…lets all get drunk!! Have a wonderful night everyone and I will catch you on the flip side of the New Year. Cheers! (I am on the left just to clarify.)

--Brandon Myhre

On The Privileged Birth of One Caroline Kennedy

In their desire and efforts to break away from Britain, the founding fathers held several principles dear. One particularly important aspiration was to break away from the old monarchal aristocracy that had ruled over Great Britain for so long. This was to be accomplished by adopting a democratic system of election, in which the public would decide those candidates who were best suited to come into power. Yet, the founders weren’t completely ignorant of the elite’s still potential power over policy either, for President John Adams, whose son John Quincy Adams was ironically elected president in 1825, once said, “Birth and wealth together have prevailed over virtue and talent in all ages.” This certainly seems to be the case and provisions were put in place, within our system of government, to combat the effects the social elite might have, which was believed, by people like John Adams, to be an inevitability of the human condition.

We can clearly see its affects throughout American political history, from the Adams’s themselves, to Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Edward “Ted” Kennedy, George Bush, and George W. Bush. A pretty sound argument can be made that Adams was indeed correct and it is truly an inescapable factor all men need to be wary of and take into account. However, all the people previously mentioned were elected by the public, so in these particular contexts, I myself have no qualms.

The Kennedy’s are the greatest example of this truth, and in the race for the senate seat of New York, we may indeed see it come to pass by the eventual appointment of Caroline Kennedy into the vacant spot left by Hillary Clinton, after Clinton herself was appointed to a prominent position within the Obama cabinet. Caroline Kennedy has no political experience, but is certainly a talented woman, of this I concede, for she did graduate from Columbia Law School and co-author two books on civil liberties, which are no small tasks. Yet, I can’t help but think; would she really be considered for the senate seat if she wasn’t a Kennedy? I don’t see any reason why she would and I feel troubled that due to the stigma her last name has, she is able to waltz into a senate seat without any legitimate election.

That being said, I would have no complaints concerning her winning an election and gaining the seat through, what I would consider, more proper channels. Even she herself has stated her appointment wouldn’t be the “traditional path.” Yet, within our system of government the path is “traditional” because it is how it was designed in the first place and our officials need to adhere to the original archetype. With Clinton being called to service by the President elect, it is true that these are fairly difficult circumstances and I know it is a huge, costly deal to have a special election. However, this doesn’t nullify the fact there are other, extensively qualified people with more political experience that can be of great service to the State of New York.

One of these is Andrew Cuomo, who is currently the Attorney General of the State of New York, but his privileged birth and ties to the Kennedy’s cannot be ignored either. His father was the famous New York governor Mario Cuomo, and the Attorney General, until a couple years ago, was married to Mary Kennedy, a daughter of Robert Kennedy, the famous New York senator. I am seeing a little bit of a trend here, but again all these people were elected into office. However, Andrew Cuomo being given the senate seat might not end the issue either though, for then we would have to debate who got the Attorney General spot, which Caroline Kennedy might be a shoe in for too. It may not be realistic, but I would advocate that nobody be able to leave an elected position for any appointment, because I believe they are elected under the pretense that they stay the duration of their term.

Privileged birth or class status is indeed inevitable. It has happened in the past, is happening today and will continue to be a factor throughout time. It is something we should be on our guard against in the political spectrum; especially when it concerns those people who have not been properly vetted by the voter pool, but rather appointed by someone else in a high status position. In this case with Caroline Kennedy, the final decision will be made by David Paterson, the current Governor over New York, who was sworn in following the resignation of Eliot Spitzer after the New York Times reported Spitzer had solicited the services of a prostitute.

The Kennedy’s are no doubt a force to be reckoned with in the world of politics, for they are a sneaky group with many ties. California has its connections to the Kennedy’s through first lady Maria Shriver, wife of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is the daughter of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of John F. Kennedy. Is it really any wonder they are referred to as “America’s royal family?” Let us all just hope the Baldwin’s never decide to go into politics.

On Atheist Signs and The Battle For (Expletive)mas

As a (Expletive)ian I feel conflicted about this, but I just have to say, thank goodness (Expletive)mas is over. Year after year and without fail, the PC police come out anew in their feverish, hysterical holiday romp. Thus, the yearly war against (Expletive)mas begins anew, and a time that is supposed to be designated for joy, celebration, gift giving, and philanthropy, is again marred by verbal mudslinging and the constant bickering amongst those with differing world views.

Luckily, living in Washington State gives me the opportunity to have a front row seat to this insanity. In 2007, Sea-Tac airport opted to take down (Expletive)mas trees after a Rabbi, who later did some brilliant back peddling, uttered some legal threats to those running the airport. This year, it was in Olympia among the cozy confines of the legislative building, where the Governor (Expletive)ine Gregoire deemed it appropriate to allow a sign to be placed next to a nativity scene by the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Now, the message of the Enlightenment movement is a mystery to no one, though now it goes by "the progressive movement", and lets be honest here, neither the (Expletive)mas display, nor the atheist sign is going to convert anyone to one side or another. No, the atheist sign just serves as a distraction to those celebrating (Expletive)mas. Yet, perhaps this was their goal to begin with and if it was, they definitely succeeded. It won’t convince anyone though. I mean as far as signs go I found it a little lacking. I mean, not even ONE of the three Humanist Manifestos? Come on, I mean if I were an atheist I would have put something like this on the poster: (the Vitruvian Man included of course)

“There is no God. There is, in fact, nothing besides the physical cosmos that science investigates. Human beings, since they are a part of this cosmos, are physical things and therefore do not survive death. Human beings are, in fact, animals among other animals and differ from other animals only in being more complex. Like other animals, they are a product of uncaring and unconscious physical processes that did not have them, or anything else, in mind. There is, therefore, nothing external to humanity that is capable of conferring meaning or purpose on human existence. In the end, the only evil is pain and the only good is pleasure. The only purpose of morality and politics is the minimization of pain and the maximization of pleasure. Human beings, however, have an unfortunate tendency to wish to deny these facts and to believe comforting myths according to which they have an eternal purpose. This irrational component in the psyches of most human beings encourages the confidence game called religion. Religions invent complicated and arbitrary moral codes and fantastic future rewards and punishments in order to consolidate their own power. Fortunately, they are gradually but steadily being exposed as frauds by the progress of science, and they will gradually disappear through the agency of scientific education and enlightened journalism.” –Peter van Inwagen
Much more enlightening and progressive. Didn’t need to include that, but figured I would so I don’t get a court summons or get served papers informing me of some pending litigation. At any rate, end of story? Oh no my friends, not in Washington state, by no means! Enter a juvenile who then steals the sign and throws it into a gutter somewhere and it eventually ends up at a local radio station. Great job! Now they get to justly post a bible verse of “Thou shall not steal” on the poster. Thanks there sport! How about next time you try not to get a point across by breaking the law and giving them the FFRF more fodder for mockery? Whoever you are…? Now enter the Reverend Ken Hutcherson who got into the spirit of the season by wanting to put up his own sign reading, “There is one God. There is one Devil. There are angels, a heaven and hell. There is more than our natural world. Atheism is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.” Clever. Of course he revealed this while also declaring the original version to news cameras, which was, “Hey, I believe in (Expletive) (Expletive) and if you don’t, that’s OK because you’re going to fry like a Jimmy Dean pure pork sausage on Judgment Day.” *Sniff* Oh yes, God bless us one and all! Wonderful, this is EXACTLY who I want speaking for me in front of news cameras! He may score an endorsement deal out of the statement, who knows, but it leaves me wondering if he got ordained a minister off the internet or through snail mail.

More requests to put up signs started coming out of the wood work, yet the governor had enough and denied any other displays to be put up. So the question remains, did she make the right call to allow the sign to be put up? In my humble and biased opinion the answer is no. There is one fundamental reason why she didn’t make the right judgment on this one and it is that the sign is simply an attack or retort in response to (Expletive)ianity. The sign, though it contains the phrase “The Winter Solstice” is not celebrating anything, while the (Expletive)mas display is. This fact alone makes it inappropriate, but I need to give the Governor the benefit of the doubt and say she was probably just trying to be PC with the whole thing. Furthermore, it should be mentioned that both the sign and co-founder of the FFRF Dan Barker refer to “The Winter Solstice.” As Barker told CNN, “People have been celebrating the winter solstice long before (Expletive)mas. We see (Expletive)ianity as the intruder, trying to steal the holiday from all of us humans." Concerning the historical facts he is right, but what he fails to mention is that these winter solstice festivals had a large spiritual significance to many different cultures and religious sects. It was a religious ceremony to many people. Among these were the Druids, who celebrated the rather malevolent god Odin’s rise to power, for it was he who ruled over the winter months riding across the sky on his eight-legged horse. Along with the fact he implies that (Expletive)ians aren’t human, it becomes clear that they really don’t care about the solstice celebration whatsoever, but their motives are to attack (Expletive)ianity.

The backlash due to the sign resonated loudly within the media, blogs, gossip and message boards, but its not really surprising. With the now oppressive PC movement and the ACLU out in full force, it was bound to happen and it is a lesson the PC police need to understand. Protecting different viewpoints and people's rights is a goal worth fighting for to be sure, but it also requires a balance at the same time. If it is not balanced then it will only serve to entice even more animosity among all types of social parties. Let’s face it, there are excesses in the PC movement and it is trying to encompass all those people who have unreasonable and immoderate sensibilities(you have probably met some like this, if not you probably are one of these people and probably shouldn't be reading my blog), which in turn actually hinders the very same rights of which they claim to be protectors of. It seems counterproductive to advocate some cause, yet contradict it at the same time.

Now don’t get me wrong, if you don’t celebrate (Expletive)mas and want to recognize the winter solstice, Festivus or whatever, that is your privilege and I respect that. However it does not mean you have the liberty to trash on someone else’s rights and the fact remains that people do have a right to celebrate the birth of (Expletive). Yet, despite the drama, for the most part I find that the vast majority of people really don’t care and are worried about much bigger issues than what kind of seasonal greeting they get from the checkout girl at Wal-Mart, or if they are properly represented amongst the decor in the food court at the mall. Still, others ignore what the PC police say and will even take matters into their own hands, as with the Sea-Tac example mentioned earlier. After (Expletive)mas trees were taken down, the employees brought in their own (Expletive)mas trees and decorated the terminal themselves.

Civil and honest debate is a good thing and an exchange of ideas is something I fully encourage, but where there is a lack of civility or respect, as in this sign, one has to question the motives of those who are engaged in the argument or discourse. Usually, the venue of where this conversation happens doesn’t really matter, but if parties are seeking to erect tall walls of anger or disruption with their theology or philosophy rather than building bridges of friendship and mutual respect, then the means and surroundings in which the discussion takes place does become a relevant element. Authorities are able to use discretion in such matters without violating 1st amendment rights of free speech and again I think the Governor made the wrong decision, but she didn’t break the law so was therefore in her rights to decide how she did. Much as I hate to admit.

The conflict between law and ethics appears to be an underlying upshot to this particular issue. Frequently, we tend to think that law and ethics are completely aligned and compliment each other perfectly, but in reality this is often not the case. Rather, law and ethics frequently butt heads, for what is unethical, isn’t always illegal. I don’t mean ethical in terms of morality, but rather in terms of sound judgment (that would be a great name for an 80’s hair cover band wouldn't it? Sound Judgment…hmmm).

For example, in Panama(a great 80’s song) City, Florida, Tonia Thomas was allegedly fired because she greeted callers at her work with “merry (Expletive)mas” and refused her bosses request that she say “happy holidays” instead. I think her boss is a jerk, for it is a rather petty and silly thing to fire someone over, but that doesn’t mean he broke the law in firing her. A pretty reasonable case could be made for viewpoint or religious discrimination if it weren’t for a couple things. First, is the fact that she wasn’t fired for being a (Expletive)ian, but because she was insubordinate to her employers demands. More over, the term “happy holidays” is a neutral, comprehensive term that by no means ostracizes the (Expletive)ian faith. Neutrality often disarms any claims of discrimination. Now I am no scholar of the law, but for these reasons I feel she doesn’t have a case and will lose in court.

So, hypothetically, could the Freedom From Religion Foundation sue the state of Washington for viewpoint discrimination if Governor (Expletive)ine Gregoire had denied them? The ACLU might say yes, but I don’t think so. There is too much out of sync between both positions for it to be a viewpoint discrimination case. For one, the scope of focus is a prominent religious figure and the celebration of His birth the motive for creating the display, while with the other, it is the practitioners who are reviled and responded to with nothing being celebrated at all. Context is very important in viewpoint discrimination cases and the context in this instance wouldn't be enough for a victorious verdict.

Washington isn’t the only place almost hilarious buzz kills are manifest. Not at all. For instance, in Frederick, Maryland, Harvey Atler, a community leader and member of a neighborhood homeowners association has demanded that residence celebrate (Expletive)mas “quietly” and called for a couple of the residents to tear down their (Expletive)mas lights and decorations of Santa and Snoopy.

Pittsburgh, Mass. tried to get rid of (Expletive)mas when they demanded that everyone begin to refer to december as “Sparkle Season,” or (Expletive)mas as “Sparkle Day.” Just another holiday treat perfect enough to be included in the American Civil Liberties Union’s stocking. They must have been sad when social outcry was enough to drive it from the public lexicon.

Schools are the place where (Expletive)mas is most under attack, from Kentucky where bus drivers were threatened with disciplinary action if they didn’t greet students with “ho, ho, ho” instead of “merry (Expletive)mas,” to New Jersey, where a high school student got in trouble for singing “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” on school property. Santa is under attack as well and is discouraged, for his image may apparently somehow affect kids by mystically implanting the knowledge of the real fourth-century bishop, St. Nicholas. Though with the problems we have been having with bishops nowadays, perhaps its not a bad idea.

Holidays denote an ideal and are often in conjunction with important events of historical or personal significance to those who observe the holiday as it was initially intended. To be ignorant of these facts serves no benefit and it is unrealistic to think that one can erase a holiday and its importance to so many people, by trying to smother it. Sometimes those who claim to stand for tolerance are really the most intolerant and several of the before mentioned examples attest to that. I think it is best summed up by columnist John Leo, when he said, “You wouldn’t want people to go around thinking that a (Expletive)ian holy day is somehow associated with the (Expletive)ian religion.” The simple fact remains, so many of us like our rights to be protected, but only when it benefits us and adheres to our own personal belief structure. Never mind that these very same rights protect us ourselves and if we strive so hard to silence the rights of others, we may just find out that the rights we have destroyed are our very own.

With that I conclude my overly abundant airing of grievances and hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Awwww…snap! ;-)