thedrifter
11-21-05, 06:59 AM
The Two Americas
Written by Burt Prelutsky
Monday, November 21, 2005
Some cynics insist that there are no longer standards in our society. I disagree. We have plenty of standards, but they’re double standards. For instance, there’s one for blacks and one for whites, one for Christians and another for Muslims and atheists, one for conservatives and one for liberals.
For instance, if a white person speaks critically even about black thugs, crack dealers, and unwed teenagers, he’s immediately tarred as a racist. Blacks, on the other hand, are not only free to denounce whites, but they’re lionized for their efforts. Recently, a black ex-professor, while on a panel at Howard University’s law school, claimed that whites had a plan to kill blacks--and the only solution to the problem was for blacks to exterminate the entire white race. C-Span saw fit to broadcast his insane diatribe, sharing his hate speech with its worldwide audience. Can you in your wildest dreams imagine their covering a Klan convention? No, neither can I.
Every black minister can count on being trotted out for photo ops every time a Democrat runs for dog catcher, but let a white parson speak out on an issue, and leftists start running around, screaming about separation of church and state.
If a Christian wears a cross in the work place, the ACLU will be only too happy to nail his hide to the wall of the nearest courthouse. But let a 25-year-old Muslim with a Syrian passport be searched at the airport, and the liberals will hold a candlelight vigil in his honor.
Another obvious example of double standards can be seen in the way the major media reacts to misdeeds, depending upon whether they’re committed by those on the left or the right. For example, ever since the election of 2000, the media have been all a-twitter about Cheney’s connection to Halliburton, but the fact that Bill Clinton was on more intimate terms with Communist China than he was with Monica Lewinsky barely caused a ripple of indignation at the New York Times or the Washington Post.
Besides which, Halliburton, in case you hadn’t noticed, was doing better during the 1990s with a Democrat in the White House than it’s done with Cheney just a heartbeat away from the presidency.
Or compare the brouhaha over I. Lewis Libby to the reaction to Sandy Berger’s destroying those classified documents he swiped from the National Archives. The way the media sharks are circling Mr. Libby, you’d think he’d sold nuclear secrets to North Korea. Mr. Berger, on the other hand, who should be serving a long sentence at Leavenworth, received a slap on the wrist which essentially ensures that for the next three years he better not even think about shoving classified papers down his pants. And nobody in the major media raised a stink about his getting away with the equivalent of a parking ticket.
Something else that politicians on the left get away with is the pretence that they’re just a bunch of regular guys and gals representing average Americans. Whenever I hear one of these millionaires trying to pass himself off as an average Joe, I’m reminded that some years ago, when sponsors fell under the spell of demographics and decided they wanted to target only a specific segment of the population, the television networks naturally followed suit. Then, in order to program shows aimed at the young urban audience that Madison Avenue hankered after, the networks all hired young urbanites to fill the executive suites. So, if the Democratic party is truly dedicated to representing the poor and the downtrodden, how is it that their leadership, both inside and outside the Beltway, is composed entirely of fat cats like Kennedy, Boxer, Dean, Feinstein, the Clintons, the Kerrys, George Soros, and Michael Moore? And why doesn’t Senator Schumer, otherwise known as the mouth without a brain attached, start the ball rolling by resigning and handing his job over to a nice homeless person?
But, then, you’ve probably noticed that when the liberals in politics, the media and academe, promote affirmative action programs based on race and pigmentation, it’s never their own jobs they’re anxious to hand over to blacks and Hispanics.
As you see, we have plenty of standards. It’s honesty and integrity that are, as usual, in pathetically short supply.
About the Writer: Burt Prelutsky is a humorist, movie reviewer, writer for television series and movies, and author of the new book, "Conservatives Are From Mars, Liberals Are From San Francisco." His website is at burtprelutsky.com. Burt receives e-mail at BurtPrelutsky@aol.com.
Ellie
This is only a PREVIEW of
Written by Burt Prelutsky
Monday, November 21, 2005
Some cynics insist that there are no longer standards in our society. I disagree. We have plenty of standards, but they’re double standards. For instance, there’s one for blacks and one for whites, one for Christians and another for Muslims and atheists, one for conservatives and one for liberals.
For instance, if a white person speaks critically even about black thugs, crack dealers, and unwed teenagers, he’s immediately tarred as a racist. Blacks, on the other hand, are not only free to denounce whites, but they’re lionized for their efforts. Recently, a black ex-professor, while on a panel at Howard University’s law school, claimed that whites had a plan to kill blacks--and the only solution to the problem was for blacks to exterminate the entire white race. C-Span saw fit to broadcast his insane diatribe, sharing his hate speech with its worldwide audience. Can you in your wildest dreams imagine their covering a Klan convention? No, neither can I.
Every black minister can count on being trotted out for photo ops every time a Democrat runs for dog catcher, but let a white parson speak out on an issue, and leftists start running around, screaming about separation of church and state.
If a Christian wears a cross in the work place, the ACLU will be only too happy to nail his hide to the wall of the nearest courthouse. But let a 25-year-old Muslim with a Syrian passport be searched at the airport, and the liberals will hold a candlelight vigil in his honor.
Another obvious example of double standards can be seen in the way the major media reacts to misdeeds, depending upon whether they’re committed by those on the left or the right. For example, ever since the election of 2000, the media have been all a-twitter about Cheney’s connection to Halliburton, but the fact that Bill Clinton was on more intimate terms with Communist China than he was with Monica Lewinsky barely caused a ripple of indignation at the New York Times or the Washington Post.
Besides which, Halliburton, in case you hadn’t noticed, was doing better during the 1990s with a Democrat in the White House than it’s done with Cheney just a heartbeat away from the presidency.
Or compare the brouhaha over I. Lewis Libby to the reaction to Sandy Berger’s destroying those classified documents he swiped from the National Archives. The way the media sharks are circling Mr. Libby, you’d think he’d sold nuclear secrets to North Korea. Mr. Berger, on the other hand, who should be serving a long sentence at Leavenworth, received a slap on the wrist which essentially ensures that for the next three years he better not even think about shoving classified papers down his pants. And nobody in the major media raised a stink about his getting away with the equivalent of a parking ticket.
Something else that politicians on the left get away with is the pretence that they’re just a bunch of regular guys and gals representing average Americans. Whenever I hear one of these millionaires trying to pass himself off as an average Joe, I’m reminded that some years ago, when sponsors fell under the spell of demographics and decided they wanted to target only a specific segment of the population, the television networks naturally followed suit. Then, in order to program shows aimed at the young urban audience that Madison Avenue hankered after, the networks all hired young urbanites to fill the executive suites. So, if the Democratic party is truly dedicated to representing the poor and the downtrodden, how is it that their leadership, both inside and outside the Beltway, is composed entirely of fat cats like Kennedy, Boxer, Dean, Feinstein, the Clintons, the Kerrys, George Soros, and Michael Moore? And why doesn’t Senator Schumer, otherwise known as the mouth without a brain attached, start the ball rolling by resigning and handing his job over to a nice homeless person?
But, then, you’ve probably noticed that when the liberals in politics, the media and academe, promote affirmative action programs based on race and pigmentation, it’s never their own jobs they’re anxious to hand over to blacks and Hispanics.
As you see, we have plenty of standards. It’s honesty and integrity that are, as usual, in pathetically short supply.
About the Writer: Burt Prelutsky is a humorist, movie reviewer, writer for television series and movies, and author of the new book, "Conservatives Are From Mars, Liberals Are From San Francisco." His website is at burtprelutsky.com. Burt receives e-mail at BurtPrelutsky@aol.com.
Ellie
This is only a PREVIEW of