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Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy, Dream or Nightmare?

by Colonel Bob Pappas, USMC, Retired  

Recently, Forest Whitaker in an interview on ABC TV related that he had been accused of shoplifting in a Manhattan store; he was stopped, frisked and humiliated.  Shoplifting (stealing from a retail store) presents a serious inventory control and profit loss issue, so stopping someone is not uncommon. However, one supposes that in a city like New York celebrities are well known about the town, but evidently Oscar winner Whitaker was not known to the offending employee. The employee was fired and the store apologized.  On that note, if he did shoplift, it would not be the first time that a celebrity engaged in illegal behavior.

Am I surprised by the incident? No, not surprised, but disappointed! One should be satisfied that the employee was fired and the store apologized, and hopefully the apology carried with it a discount on purchases as partial compensation for the embarrassment. There is no doubt that such slights are commonplace among blacks in America...so how do we get past them? I'm not sure given human nature; but, God can change hearts if people are willing.  However, episodes are universal and even happen in Africa where the populations of most countries are overwhelmingly black. Obama cited an example in his first book, “Dreams from My Father, a Story of Race and Inheritance,” in which a racially motivated, discriminatory slight by a black waiter at a posh Kenya Hotel made him and his cousin furious. I don't blame them.

As much as I love my black brothers and sisters, I would not want to trade places...I would not want to wake up each day, thinking about the color of my skin. I would not want to wonder who was watching me, nor would I want the slights, the whispered remarks, the car doors locked as I walked by. I would resent the assumption by too many that I am defective because of my skin. I would not want the basic assumption by too many that because I am black I am not to be trusted. As a non-black person the only time I think of my skin color is whether or not I got too much sun; would I burn or tan? Well, there is one other time I think of it, that is when it becomes the topic of conversation which admittedly during the last five years has happened more often. But even then I feel no “disempowerment,” or change in self-worth because of it; nor should anyone.

On the other hand, if I were black I would not want to feel entitled to government support because of my skin color or my Cherokee-English-Scottish-German-Greek-American heritage. Admittedly, unlike most blacks my progenitors came here for opportunity, not enslavement, nor a handout. Even my Cherokee progenitors migrated here eons ago for better hunting and a better life. But, I would not want front-of-the-line educational opportunities, food stamps, and the more than one hundred other forms of taxpayer assistance that exists as an entitlement primarily due to the color of my skin.

 

If I were black I would not want my family broken up so that I could receive welfare; I would not want more babies so that I could increase the size of my welfare check; I would not want my defacto leaders to be Sharpton or Jackson...or Obama. I would be ashamed, just as ashamed as I am of G.W. Bush and his "Compassionate (i.e. Socialist) Conservatism" B.S.! I would not and do not want the government to be the central focus and arbiter of my life, where everything I own or do is dependent upon it. I would not want the basic assumption to be that I cannot make it on my own, so I must depend on government to help and guide or manipulate me. I would not want perpetual anger, fear, marches, placards and demands for more welfare to be the focus of my life. I would not want to be a slave on the Democrat plantation so that my vote was forever obliged to that Party, a Party that has actually done more to harm my people than good.

 

August 28th is the fiftieth anniversary of Martin Luther King’s (MLK) magnificent "I have a dream" speech. Civil Rights Legislation, trillions of dollars in grants and assistance has been spent, yet blacks in general have made pathetic little progress in relation to those vast sums.  I venture to state that culturally, blacks are worse off today than at the beginning of the Civil Rights Era. By culture I mean: family and general way of life. Today there is more black crime, black on black and black on white violence, out of wedlock children, abortions, school dropouts, greater social disintegration and worse overall race relations between the black community and all others...especially since Obama's tenure as President, then before MLK's speech. What a tragedy! And, in an earlier decade I voiced hope that my black brothers and sisters would lead our country back to a path of righteousness and civility. And that hope remains albeit muted.

As a black I would want life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...not the stale calm of utopia where my ingenuity is dulled, my motivation to produce is stymied, where my life governed by the rules and regulations issued by government bureaucrats.  If I were black I would want people to consider the “content of my character, not the color of my skin.” I would want all my actions and thoughts to be focused on what I am capable of doing for myself, not what I am capable of getting from government. I would want to be an achiever of merit, not affirmative action; or, stated another way, from being a racial quota. It should go without saying, but I’ll state it anyway, this generalization does not apply to all blacks, especially those who have lifted themselves with or without assistance out of poverty and now lead a productive fulfillment of the American Dream. Black ball players do it, performers do it, blacks in the Military Services do it, every walk of life does it so, it can be done!

All the while five feet, five inches, 130 pound Tran, who came to this land penniless and not speaking English after escaping from Communist Vietnam, has in the last twenty years, become wealthy through smart thinking, hard work and thrift. Why can't my black brothers and sisters do that? No one is holding them back except the Sharptons and Jacksons of the world and a culture that tells them they can't do it...when all the while they could, if they would remove and discard the albatrosses around their necks!  After all the treasure spent on them government will never get them there...all government can do is to take from those who make it and give it to those who don't. That may be called, “spreading the wealth around,” but it certainly is not, “I Have a Dream!” Don’t be deceived, Barack Hussein Obama is no Martin Luther King Jr.!

Semper Fidelis and Peace
Bob Pappas

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Copyright © August 28th, 2013 by Robert L. Pappas. With proper attribution, this essay may be quoted and redistributed, except it may not be used in conjunction with any advertisement without the author’s expressed written permission.

Flushin’ and Fixin’

By Colonel Bob Pappas, USMC, Retired

I do not ordinarily call attention to the hypocrisy of the media and politicians because it is self-evident. But the recent outcry by many on the left and some on the right about the rodeo clown who wore an Obama mask screams for comments.  If the clown had been wearing a mask of G.W. Bush in exactly the same circumstances, there would be cheers from the left and howls of laughter from the media in general approval. The political left’s arrogance, ignorance, intolerance and general lack of a sense of humor is so obscene that it makes Hillary’s “vast right wing conspiracy,” or her “willing suspension of disbelief” smell like a bouquet of roses. First, this is the U.S.A., politicians are fair game when it comes to mocking them no matter the color of their skin. Second, there is a little bitty thing called the 1st Amendment that entitles Americans to such mockery! Don’t like it? Go elsewhere!

The fundamental problem with the political left is that it incorrectly assumes whatever it says is valid. Truth, on the other hand, is merely coincidental to the left’s “validity.” So, in its frame of reference, it is perfectly logical and ethical to construct an argument without regard to truth as long as it fits its defined validity of a given scenario. In short, the end justifies the means, no matter what the means may be, and is a mental disorder. Take for example the Obama Administration's assertion that the military takeover in Egypt “was not a military coup” because it did not want to terminate military assistance that would otherwise be required by law. Or, in recent Congressional Testimony where lying about N.S.A. functions was “not actually lying” but covering to keep secret its functions, even though the entire world except “Rio Linda,” knows that the N.S.A. has been electronically snooping for decades.  But there’s a difference between cover stories and lying, cover stories are plausible and contain elements of truth for a righteous purpose. Lying, in particular when it is so obvious that testimony contained major lies, diminishes and harms everyone in this case by damaging the fundamental moral character of the nation; that is, of what’s left.

Hypocrisy is a form of lying and the Democrats are masters of the “art.” I have noted before in these essays that former Senator Bob Kerry (D) Nebraska, and Medal of Honor recipient said of Bill Clinton, “Clinton's an unusually good liar. Unusually Good…."  It is no secret that lying did not begin with Bill Clinton, it began with Satan. But Clinton turned into an art form to the extent that Democrats now lay claim to it as if it is their birthright.  The problem is that while lying is the most widely used weapon in the Democrats’ political arsenal, even they understand that it is a two-edged sword. For example, Bill Clinton said in 1995: “The road to tyranny, we must never forget, begins with the destruction of the truth.” Then there was “the pot calling the kettle black” when Clinton said of George H.W. Bush, “There’s just no such thing as truth when it comes to him. He just says whatever sounds good and worries about it after the election.” For the record, there is a distinction between lying and an honest mistake no matter the source… Left or right.

If it weren’t so tragic it would be hilariously funny that before his election Obama stated, “We will have the most transparent Administration in History.”  If so, Mr. President, when will it begin? Why meetings with only media supporters present; why the lies about Benghazi; why did the IRS focus primarily on conservative tax exempt groups; why did the N.S.A. release harmful information about certain Republican political candidates; and why did Eric Holder tell the Congress that he knew nothing about “Fast and Furious?” And, etc., etc.

Hypocrisy is the mother’s milk of the Democrat Party and sad to say the Republican Party runs it a close second.  It’s time for a conservative takeover of the Republican Party, it’s time to rid it of RINOs and Democrats-lite.  I have noted here that about seventy percent of the country is conservative, so why wouldn’t the Republican Party embrace conservatives rather than focus on “out-Democrating” the Democrats? Would it be, that there is a Democrat Trojan running the Republican Party? After all it did succeed in facilitating major elections for Democrats when the opportunity was wide open for a landslide victory for conservatism. The problem is that Party Republicans, like Democrats, believe that all power resides in Washington, D.C… so, don’t rock the careerist boat.

That last fact alone is reason enough to elect candidates who will embrace among other things the following:
•    Limitations on the terms of Senators and Representatives…no more careerist politicians;
•    Abolish the IRS and establish a fair taxation system to which everyone contributes;
•    No special treatment of Congress or Administration officials, Federal Law applies to everyone, no exceptions and no waivers;
•    Federal Law must spell out the extent of the President’s authority in any given legislation and limit Executive Branch discretion and funding;
•    Terminate corporate and unreasonable social welfare spending including the “food stamp” program;
•    Foster a tax and political climate for business development and expansion;
•    Limit “pork barrel” spending;
•    Terminate long term unemployment compensation;
•    Open federal lands for energy development;
•    Repeal all business inhibiting regulations; and,
•    Strengthen consumer and investor protection;
•    Review and repeal all Executive Orders that usurp Congressional authority and that defacto violate the Constitution;
•    No Government bailouts;
•    Terminate all except emergency assistance to illegal immigrants following which they would be deported;
•    Stop the flow of illegal drugs by legalizing and regulating all drugs;
•    Require positive identification of all welfare applicants;
•    Require positive identification to vote in all Federal elections;
•    Reduce taxes on energy, manufacturing, mining and pharmaceuticals;
•    Abolish Property Taxes;
•    Terminate the “anchor baby” interpretation of the Constitution through legislation;
•    Improve and facilitate legal immigration;
•    Deport all illegal immigrants while reserving the right for them to volunteer for military service upon successful completion of which and spanning at least four years plus any specialized training, those volunteers would be awarded citizenship;
•    Provide no funding for the Affordable Care Act;
•    Depoliticize the Federal Bureaucracy;
•    Restrict Federal Employees except Military, CIA and FBI from voting in Federal Elections;
•    Abolish Federal Government Unions;
•    Strengthen National Defense;
•    Enervate both civilian and government Space Programs;
•    Remove all restrictions against the universal free exercise of one’s religious beliefs that do not impose (as distinct from expose) those beliefs on/to others;
•    Exercise Senate oversight and confirmation of all Special Assistants (Czars) to the President; and,
•    Terminate all judicial appointments for good behavior through legislation.

Although the list is incomplete and debatable, it would be worth the debate and the effort to get most items done. We can do it…yes we can! How about a multi-million “flash march” on D.C.?

Semper Fidelis

Copyright © August 14, 2013 by Robert L. Pappas. With proper attribution, this essay may be quoted and redistributed, except it may not be used in conjunction with any advertisement