The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

It was September 11th, 2001. We were a nation under attack, looking amongst our brothers and sisters, searching for answers. Soon we were told who the enemy was and how we were to stand together against this common foe. Hands were held. Flags were raised. Tears were shared. Songs were sung. Regardless of whether we were men or women, black or white, Christian or Muslim, gay or straight, Republican or Democrat, we were Americans. As we went to war, our president told us, "You're either with us or you're against us." There was no middle ground to be had. Dissenters were deemed traitors, as 90% were unified in trusting the president's call to action. Anti-civil rights legislation was passed in the name of security. Protesters were still scorned. Liberty was preached and praised, yet criticized. This all occurred as we were being told the attacks were due to envy of our way of life, a way to disrupt our freedoms. Fast-forward to 17 years later. Another president who...

Over the past year or two, I've heard with growing frequency, Republican politicians and commentators saying, "Why do minorities support Democrats? Republicans were the ones that voted to abolish slavery, the ones that fought for their Civil Rights!" When discussing the Charleston, South Carolina shooting and Confederate flag debate on C-SPAN recently, conservative author and woman voted most likely to have been a demon-skeleton in a past life - Ann Coulter - continued this trend, as she said the following: "I think it's completely moronic (debating the Confederate flag) . ...This is an awful, awful thing that happened in Charleston. Luckily, it's quite rare. To jump on this and go back to a litany of liberal talking points that make Republicans look bad, how about banning the Democratic Party? They were the ones on the Confederate side of the Civil War. They were the ones who supported segregation for 100 years." This is the point many Republicans...

Recently, I read the following letter-to-the-editor in the Columbus Dispatch  and felt the need to respond. The letter was entitled, "Young people have lost their sense of values." Here it is: "In his Thursday letter 'Young people more flexible on gay marriage,' Ben Meacham said, 'The younger generation is adapting to an ever-changing society.' Well, either it is adapting to an ever-changing society, or it is changing society itself. I recall that back in the 1940s and 1950s (I am 81), abortion, euthanasia, cohabiting before marriage, children born out of wedlock and — gasp! — same-sex marriage were simply unheard of. The problem, as I see it, is the members of the current generation, because many, if not most, are completely comfortable with these developments. Does anyone really think our society is better off by virtue of allowing 54 million abortions to have taken place? It’s really not a question of society evolving or traditions changing. ...