The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

You can find my new Substack article, "You can't spell 'slave' without 'SAVE' (Act)" at the following link. -  https://craigrozniecki.substack.com/p/you-cant-spell-slave-without-save?r=5axds0

My first Subtack article can be found at the following link, and is titled, "But it will never happen to me..." https://craigrozniecki.substack.com/p/but-it-will-never-happen-to-me?r=5axds0

While it's human nature to be more emotionally impacted by a tragedy when it affects an individual personally, I find it progressively more commonplace, and frankly progressively more disturbing, to see large quantities of people not exhibit a shred of empathy, nor sympathy when said horrific occurrence occurs outisde their orbit. If and when I ever inquire how the aforementioned tragedy impacted them, I'm typically met with a shrug of the shoulders and the same sentiment - "It will never happen to me." Yes, I'm more or less referring to the MAGA cult, or, I'll be nice and call it a movement (yes, in line with bowel movements, but I digress). Hard-line members of this...movement firmly believe, no matter what happens to people like Renee Good or Alex Pretti, there's zero chance of a similar fate meeting them. You'll hear them defend the ICE agents, who committed the murders of Mr. Pretti and Ms. Good, as just doing their job; following the rule of law;...

We are truly living in Idiocracy. MAGAs regularly, and ironically I might add, like to declare America has lost itself, ever since it parted ways with Christ. I say 'ironically,' because these same individuals worship a man (Trump) who is the antithesis of Christ and his teachings. If you don't believe me, read the Bible sometime. Trump is literally antichrist. No matter what one's religious beliefs are, however, if one believes in 'free will,' said beliefs are not determinative of a country's production and overall standing. That's not the case when it comes to 'rule of law' and 'truth,' however. Donald Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts. He was charged with 54 additional felonies. The man was found liable for: fraud, defamation (twice), and raping a woman. In his first term, he was documented as to having lied 30,573 times. It was commonplace for both he and members of his administration to use language such as: - "Fake news...

Whether deserved or not, American-exceptionalism has been a common mindset in the U.S. If you're American, odds are high you feel your country is a bastion for freedom. In our Declaration of Independence, it is said, "All men are created equal." The Constitution declares all men possess freedom of speech and religion. Even the final line in the country's anthem is "the land of the free." Well, as I sit here today, I can now confidently tell you, all of the aforementioned idealistic rhetoric is pure hokum. America isn't exceptional. America isn't a bastion for freedom. In America, not all men are created equal, let alone women. In America, not everyone possesses freedoms of speech and/or religion. America isn't the land of the free. Sure, roughly half the nation strongly believes in equality for all, but the other half does not, and unfortunately, they have control of the country.  I wanted to believe in the American vision. I wanted to believe in...

The land of the free, home of the brave - that's on what America claims to pride itself. However, as COVID has clearly shown, that's not reality. The unfortunate reality is much of America prides itself in willful ignorance, and there's nothing brave about that. Absolute freedom is a myth. Wherever one travels, regardless of the country's founding documents, restrictions are present. Don't believe me? Yell "FIRE!!!" in a movie theater or "BOMB!!!" on an airplane; tell your boss what you really think of him/her; participate in a solo nude marathon around your house in broad daylight. Being protected from prosecution by the federal government does not equate to protection from any repercussions. A person in a "free" country can still be arrested and/or fired for exercising their First Amendment rights.  So what are many up in arms about when it comes to the latest so-called violations on their falsely-held notion of absolute freedom? Rece...

Time with friends and family, barbecues, music, and blowing sh*t up. What wasn't there to like about the 4th of July growing up? I especially liked lighting the fireworks in the street and then walking back, feeling all cool, like I had just done something profound. As I entered middle school, high school, and college, I became increasingly more likely to watch free fireworks shows, let other people do the lighting, and actually take into account what the holiday represented. I mean, honestly, when we were kids, how often did we actually associate the 4th of July with this country's independence? That brings me to this year's celebration, if you want to call it that. While "President" Trump was able to hold a waste-of-bigly-money parade and prove he didn't know history during his speech, I, like a lot of Americans, I think, felt an unseeming sadness when all the fireworks were going off. The holiday is supposed to celebrate our independence, our freedom, wh...

While I was at home battling a case of the stomach flu on Saturday night, I had no idea what I was about to get myself into when I decided to order the film The Hate U Give On-Demand. The film may be based on a novel, but given the increasingly strong relevance it has in our society and the seemingly personal nature of the picture, it felt more real than other such films, as real as a documentary. THUG (The Hate U Give) centers around a young black man being pulled over, pulling out a hairbrush from the backseat of his car and getting shot and killed by a white officer, with a friend of his in the passenger seat. The young woman is understandably shaken by the event. While she lives in a black neighborhood, she gets educated at a predominantly white school and tries to separate those two lives the best she can. Having to regularly split her identity into two, she soon starts losing herself. Members of the Black Lives Matter movement start protesting the incident, especially after a...

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...

While our freedoms and the protection of them may be no laughing matter, Donald Trump's seeming obsession with that which symbolizes them cracks me up. Let's stand back and look at this entire situation. Donald Trump has consistently gone after NFL players for kneeling during the National Anthem. He's referred to them as unpatriotic (among other things) and suggested they should be fined, suspended, kicked out of the league, or even deported. He's claimed to have felt so strongly about this due to our brave men and women whom have fought and died to establish and maintain our freedoms, and the flag being a symbol of them. Trump has also referred to this country as the greatest and freest in the world. So, according to him, he's Mr. Patriotic. If the man is consistent with anything, though, it's his inconsistency. He campaigned on the slogan of "Make America Great Again," meaning he didn't think it was all too special prior to him stepping into of...

When away from the workplace, people are free to believe as they so choose, no matter how discriminatory or inaccurate those beliefs might be. They're free to believe in God, worship the devil, pray to a stuffed rabbit they call Tiger. However, when at the workplace, while we're still free to believe such things, we can't use them to impose on the freedoms of others. At least, that's what I thought prior to the most recent wedding cake-bakery decision by the Supreme Court, which sided with Colorado baker Jack Phillips and his denial of wedding cake services to gay couples. I'm sorry, but how can we legitimately call ourselves the "land of the free," a believer in the Constitution, if, in professional settings, certain groups of people aren't protected by the law? Jack Phillips is free to believe in the Christian religion, but like everyone else, he has to make some sacrifices when he steps outside of his home and into his workplace. We may be afforde...

While (illegal) immigration has been a hot-button issue for quite some time, the temperature was raised exponentially after President Donald Trump signed an executive order temporarily banning travel for citizens from seven Muslim-dominated countries (Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Libya, Yemen, and Sudan). Due to the short notice provided by Trump regarding the matter and the vague language used in the order, chaos at airports was widespread, as natives from those seven nations who possessed visas or green cards were left waiting and wondering, uncertain what their ultimate fate was going to be. This prompted protests from both inside and outside the country, not to mention over 50 lawsuits (to this point), and plummeting poll numbers to boot. Unsurprisingly, this has led to heated immigration debates, so heated, in fact, many Trump supporters are now threatening to boycott Budweiser due to their pro-immigrant-themed Super Bowl ad. Yes, as Martin Lawrence's character said in the film...

Let's make no mistake about it, the "religious freedom" laws being passed in this country are the 21st century's version of Jim Crow laws. While everyone is free to believe as they so choose in their private time, laws have been continually enforced in order to prevent one's personal beliefs from impeding on others' rights when in the workplace. "Religious freedom" laws, like Jim Crow laws, are allowing people's personal beliefs and biases to be carried over into the workplace, preventing certain demographics from being treated as equals in the process. For those who are supporting such legislation, claiming that these laws aren't discriminatory and are just about protecting religious freedom, allow me to run through a pair of scenarios for you... Scenario #1 Chip Beelzebub: "Hi, and welcome to The Sweetest of Cakes Atheist Bakery. How are you doing this fine day?" Mary Virgin: "Good, thanks" Chip: "Wha...

When it comes to Beyoncé, I've long wanted to say to the right, "Doth protest too much." There were Bill O'Reilly's comments in 2014: "She (Beyoncé) knows - this woman knows - that young girls are getting pregnant in the African American community. Now it's about 70 percent out of wedlock. She knows and doesn't seem to care. She should be smart enough to know that what's she doing now is harming some children." There was Mike Huckabee in 2015: "It was President Obama who said in an interview with 'Glamour' who said that some of the lyrics he won't listen to with his daughter because it embarrasses him. Well, here's my point. If it embarrasses you, then why would you possibly think it's wholesome for your children to put it into their heads?" He added: "They're great parents (the Obamas), they're careful about making sure that their kids get a lot of vegetables and eat right, that's te...

Kentucky senator and Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul and I haven't seen eye to eye on much through the years, but one area where we agree is with regard to the Patriot Act, which he helped bring to at least a temporary end today. The Patriot Act, which was enacted on October 26th of 2003, just a month and a half after the 9/11 attacks, has been controversial since its inception, and as the public has learned more about it, the more controversial it has become. Due to the fear and paranoia the 9/11 attacks stoked, the bill was rushed through Congress without many members taking the time to read through it, and as soon as it was signed, the United States government made it known that, in order to increase our security, we had to sacrifice our freedom. Of course, this wasn't actually the case. The bill simply provided an illusion of increased security, while it stripped us of freedom. I have been an ardent opponent of the bill since first learning about it nearly 1...

If there's one thing the Republican Party likes to do, it's make asinine comparisons concerning the LGBT community. Some have compared it to: Polygamy, beastiality, pedophilia, alcoholism, drug addiction, and the list continues. Just recently, North Carolina House Republican Robert Pittenger decided to make an addition to that ever growing list of nonsense, as he said the following at a town hall near Charlotte with regard to his belief that companies should have the right to fire or refuse to hire someone because they're gay: "You need to respect the autonomy of somebody running their business. It's like smoking bans. Do you ban smoking or do people have the right to private property? I think people have the right to private property. In public spaces, absolutely, we can have smoking bans. But we don't want to micromanage people's lives and businesses. If you have a business, do you want the government to come in and tell you you need to hire somebody?...

I read a letter-to-the-editor in the Columbus Dispatch today, entitled, "Freedom too much for some to handle." The main point the writer was trying to make can be summed up in one line he uttered, which was that, "Some people don't actually want to be free." Being "free" is both partially wonderful and partially delusional. It's partially wonderful, because it's nice to know I can express my opinions through writing or when out in the public, or that I can practice a religion of my choosing without fear of government persecution. However, it's partially delusional, because the only time a person will be 100% "free" is at death. From birth until death, there will always be exceptions and limits to each and every freedom. Based on some of the language the writer of this letter-to-the-editor used, I have to assume he's a rather staunch conservative ("some people just want free stuff"). So, as unfair as it might be t...

Remember how not long ago the Republican Party contended that President Obama's healthcare law was destroying our freedom? That probably happened earlier today as a matter of fact. Oh, it just happened again. ...and again. ...and again. This could go on for a while, I'm thinking... Well, wouldn't you know it? The same House Republicans whom elected to shut down the federal government and cost this country $24 billion because the Senate and president wouldn't go along with their idea to defund or delay Obamacare have decided to try and pass a bill which would require a person to pay a fee of $5,000 if he or she wanted to file an official protest against a proposed drilling project. House Republican logic Trying to improve our healthcare system through a mandate and more competition - a threat to our freedom Forcing a person to pay a $5,000 fee in order to protest drilling - perfectly acceptable Fortunately, President Obama said that if the Federal Lands Jobs an...

Just as it appears that a growing number of modern-day Republicans have gone off the deep end - going so far to the right that they've completely fallen off the spectrum and have started their own - it appears that a growing number of Libertarians are following a similar path. Libertarians tend to like the saying, "I want the government out of my wallet and out of my bedroom!" In other words, they have attempted to differentiate themselves from the two main parties by saying the government shouldn't be involved in our lives from an economic standpoint (differentiating themselves from the Democratic Party) and from a social-issues standpoint (differentiating themselves from the Republican Party). Sure, that sounds well and good from a sloganeering standpoint, but then many take that very slogan and run with it as far as their minds can wander and it gets them into trouble on multiple fronts. Libertarianism's main concern is in maintaining our freedom. Again, tha...

I found it slightly humorous to read a Facebook post yesterday, where someone I know wrote, "President Obama is the destroyer of freedom!" Upon reading that, I immediately thought to myself, "The president has destroyed our freedoms, yet for some strange reason, you obviously have the freedom to bash the president on allegedly destroying our freedoms. How ironic..."