THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MONOLOGUE AND DIALOGUE

I keep in my desk a copy of the Constitution as well as the Bill of Rights. I re-read them occasionally to remind me of the great gifts I receive just by being an American. Today I want to talk about the Bill of Rights and specifically the First Amendment.

I won’t print the entire amendment but you will remember it as the “freedom of religion, press, speech and assembly” amendment. We, as Americans, have the right to express ourselves. We can have our opinions published for all the world to see. We have newspapers who publish their thoughts as well as ours. This is called the “OP-Ed” page, or opinion/editorial page. The paper has an opinion and writers offer their opinions. They often disagree. The page then becomes a discussion of issues page.

You will agree then that there is a difference between monologue and dialogue. A speech is monologue and a discussion is dialogue. When a writer offers a column he offers his opinion and thought or a monologue. When a reader disagrees and offers a counterpoint, that becomes dialogue. We are blessed to have the freedom of expression that allows for such disagreements.

What happened in France was an attack on the freedom of speech and expression. While France doesn’t have a First Amendment, they still enjoy free speech and expression. The terrorists who attacked Charlie Hebdo have no interest in dialogue. They only want monologue. They believe you do not have the right to disagree. You do not have the right to your own opinion. Your only option is to obey.

Well, of course, that is never going to happen. Years ago there was a song that had a lyric, “how you gonna keep them down on the farm after they’ve seen Paree.” Once reasonable, intelligent people have tasted freedom, they will never return to servitude. When you have breathed free air, any other condition chokes the life out of you. The primary reason Radical Islamic terrorism will fail is that the world will never return to the twelfth century. Along the way they will be an ongoing irritant. They will kill some people. They themselves will all die horrible deaths. Freedom will endure and freedom will reign. But it is not now nor has it ever been free.

I welcome the opportunity to offer my opinion/monologue on this site. I value equally your willingness to offer your thoughts/opinions both in agreement and in  rebuttal. I am honored by the fact that my thoughts are read and considered. Dialogue and discussion is the basic foundation of our democracy.

I think an excellent exercise for all would be to get a copy of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and re-read them. They are easily available online. We all need to remind ourselves from time to time of the blessings we enjoy as Americans. We need to remind ourselves of the reasons we are who we are.

Dialogue, discussion, and disagreement are the foundation by which we advance. They are the cornerstones of discovery. “The world is flat.” “No, it is round and I am going to prove it.” Disagreement leads to discovery.

Ron Scarbro

THE RESULT OF LIBERALISM AND POLITICAL CORRECTNESS

How could this be? Masked gunmen rushing into a newspaper office with automatic weapons blazing, killing, as of this reporting, twelve innocent newspaper workers, screaming “Allah Akbar,” in a country known as a poster child for liberalism. What country you ask? Why, it’s France of course. France, the bastion of liberal, progressive thinking. A country with some of the most restrictive gun laws in the world. A country which elected a socialist as their President. A country with open borders who seems to welcome anybody from anywhere with no strings attached. A country which taxes her successful citizens to such a degree that they move out. A country which has adopted “political correctness” in order that no one should ever be offended. There must be some mistake.

Well there is no mistake. What we are witnessing today is the result of liberalism and political correctness run amok. What we are witnessing is the precursor to many countries, including our own, of what these weenie policies create.

The newspaper in question, Charlie Hebdo, happened to be under “police protection” because of previous threats. Where were the cops? Were they on a coffee break? Were they polishing up their Billy Clubs?

The attack on this newspaper office is an attack on the freedom of the press throughout the world. This particular paper was famous for tweaking political leaders, Catholics, Muslims, and anyone they chose. Apparently tweaking the “humor impaired” was their calling. Freedom of the press and freedom of speech is a fundamental right of any free society. When that right is attacked anywhere in the world, the whole world suffers.

The gunmen are still at large. They evidently had a plan to attack and to escape. So far they have been successful. But they will show up. Somebody will rat them out. And when they are found, they should be lined up against a wall, gut shot with buckshot and fed to feral hogs. The Muslim leaders in France should be witness to their execution. These people did not act alone. They had help. They had funding. They had big support. The entire free world should rush to the aid of France and get these perps and make an example of them for all of the Muslim world to see.

Is it just me or can anyone else see a correlation between France and say for example, America? How about Great Britain?  Do we just not get it? How many times must we point out that these radical terrorists are not people with whom we can negotiate? These are murdering thugs, baby killers. They have no uniform and represent no flag. They are just killers. They don’t care what your laws are. They don’t care that guns are illegal. Outlaw killers rarely do.

It is long past time that the free world get off their duffs and hunt down all of  these radicals and rid the world of their miserable presence. This world has passed radical Islam by and it will never return to that century and there is no place in the modern world for this extremism. If moderate Muslims don’t want to be shot down in the street, they had best round up their children and rein them in. The world is not going to put up with this.

Ron Scarbro

THERE ARE NONE SO BLIND

There are none so blind as those who will not see. There are none so deaf as those who refuse to hear. Did you hear Obama’s pledge that he made on public radio just the other day? He promised that he will use his veto power if the Republicans try to alter Obamacare or try to approve the Keystone Pipeline project or attempt in any way to, according to him, take this country backwards.

He probably is refusing to acknowledge the results of the midterm elections. That is his business. He is probably relying on his few remaining Democrat allies to go along with his petulance. That is their business and also their peril.

Here is a reality. The voters of this country sent a clear message to Washington. We are not happy with the direction this country has been headed and we want and expect a change. We will no longer tolerate the scandals, the lies, and the sloppiness with which we have been governed. We will not sit still for “tortured language.” We will not allow the IRS and the Justice Dept. to be used as personal tools for any politician of any stripe for any reason. These agencies belong to the American people and are not for sale.

So here is the challenge for the new Congress. Clean up the mess that has been created over the last six years. Return this country to fiscal sanity. Pass a legitimate budget. Get to the bottom of the scandals that are plaguing this White House. Bring the guilty before criminal courts and prosecute the offenders regardless of their station.

Republicans, you have been hired by the people to take care of business. And Democrats who still have a job in our government, pay close attention to where you might want to be in 2016. Sitting Congresspeople, if you  want to be returned to your seat in the next election, choose wisely as you face the opportunity to overturn petulant vetoes from your lame duck President. Thumbing your collective noses at the American people is a one way trip to unemployment.

For far too long we have allowed party politics to take center stage over what is best for the country. That has to stop.

America has a great opportunity in front of us. We have a Republican majority in both houses of Congress and the very real probability we will have a Republican in the White House in two years. There will be no acceptable excuses then. The business of governing begins now. Test the resolve of the Democrats to see if they have the willingness to go against the desires of the American people. See if they are willing to put their futures on the line for a lame duck President. The new Senate Majority Leader should round up the Democrats and develop a bipartisan coalition designed to overturn vetoes. He might find them far more willing than ever before. The handwriting is on the wall and they can read it too. The only way you can miss the message is to refuse to accept the message.

I started this column by declaring that there are none so blind as those who would not see and none so deaf as those who refuse to hear. That pretty much says it all. Time will tell.

Ron Scarbro

IT'S MAGIC

I love Christmas. I always have. From my earliest memories this has always been a special time. As a young child I remember Christmas mostly as a religious holiday. My parents made sure that we were in church regularly and especially at Christmas. I love the Biblical story of Christmas, the music, just the whole feeling that I get at this time of the year.

I also remember the other side of Christmas, the Christmas tree, the stockings, and the presents. Our tradition was always that we opened our gifts on Christmas morning. Even though it was many years ago, I remember how difficult it was to go to sleep on Christmas Eve. I had two brothers about the same age and all of us had the same anticipation.

We were all believers in the Santa experience. I was a rather precocious youngster and didn’t shy away from difficult questions. For example I was painfully aware one year that we didn’t have a fireplace. We had a chimney because we had a pot bellied stove for heat, but we had no fireplace. I asked my mother how could Santa fulfill his mission to our house without an open fireplace. Her reply was simple and exactly what I needed to hear. It’s magic. Santa, she said, is magic. He can do anything he wants to and get to where ever he needs by magic. How else do you suppose he can get around the whole world in a single night? So, if my mother said it was magic, that was good enough for me.

Years later as I became the father of my own precocious children, simple answers became more difficult to sell. But I still spoke of magic because that is what it was to me. Maybe it is because my children wanted to believe or maybe they were just humoring me, at any rate they seemed to buy into all the magic of Christmas just like me.

Now I’m a grandfather and it has become even more difficult. My grandkids “Google” everything I tell them. There’s an app for everything, even Santa Claus. The Christmas trees are artificial. There is no smell of cedar or fir in the air. Stockings are hung on a fireplace fueled by gas logs. There is no coal to put into the stockings of bad children. But, you know what? There is still magic.

There’s magic in the joy of not just the little ones but in the entire family. There is still anticipation of opening gifts. Granted there seems to be a lot more electronic gifts, but how magic is that? How else would you explain wireless communication, instant answers to any question you could possibly ever have? Oh, there’s magic all right.

But the real magic is in the gathering together of family and friends, the fabulous meals, the wonderful music, and the joy of fellowship. I understand that other peoples and cultures have different traditions. Still most of the world celebrates Christmas in some fashion.

It is my Christmas prayer for you that you too have magic in this season. That you be surrounded by love and peace. That there is joy in your heart and love in your soul, and that Christmas is always, for you as it is for me, a magical time of the year.

Merry Christmas

Ron Scarbro

RANDOM RAMBLINGS

If you are like me, you are probably tired of hearing about Ferguson, Mo. That incident has spawned another conversation however. In New York City an individual who was breaking the law, as he had some thirty times before resulting in arrest, decided to resist this arrest, was placed in a “choke hold” by a police officer, and later died. He happened to be extremely obese and suffered from many health issues. A Grand Jury heard evidence of any wrongdoing by police and decided not to indict any officer for the death of the perpetrator. Protests and marches followed led by the usual suspects. Many people have been arrested.

So what has been the response by the Mayor, the President, and the Attorney General? They say the police need to be retrained. What they are really calling for is that the police be restrained, not retrained. Their irresponsibility will hurt police officers. If just one officer hesitates in the line of duty and either dies or allows someone else to die because of hesitation, that will be the fault of these politicians. In my experience people who dislike cops have evidently had bad dealings with them in their past, probably while breaking the law.  Personally, I have never had any bad dealings with police officers. I have been stopped, cited, and cautioned, but never have I been disrespected nor have I have ever tried to resist lawful action by the police. Maybe there’s a message here.

Hillary has put her foot in her mouth again. In a speech recently, she said we must have empathy for our enemies. We must attempt to understand their point of view. Sorry, Hillary. Any individual or group of individuals whose sole purpose for living is to kill me or my family, behead anyone not of their religion, or whose goal it is to install their radical nonsense around the world does not deserve nor earn my empathy, sympathy, or any part of my understanding. They deserve and will receive my complete attention and if necessary my all out assault. Any gang of thugs who would assault a school in Pakistan and murder 150 children and their teachers are not worthy of any empathy. These baby killing vermin should only be studied posthumously. Any serious candidate for the Presidency of this country should feel the same way. Otherwise they should just write books that nobody buys or reads and make speeches that nobody shows up for or listens to.

In the face of overwhelming opposition, Obama has issued an “Executive Edict” granting amnesty for millions of lawbreaking illegals in this country. Best estimates are that this bit of nonsense will wind up costing this country trillions. His contention is that he had to act because the Congress wouldn’t. What he meant was that he had to act because the Congress wouldn’t give him what he wanted. I remember the last “Imperial President” we had, Richard Nixon, who said that if a president does something, it can’t be illegal because he is the President. Well it wasn’t true then and it is not true now. Maybe, just maybe, the Congress didn’t give him what he wanted because they knew the overwhelming majority of Americans disapprove. Maybe the Congress acted on what was best for the country.

Clearly the midterm elections reflected the will of the American people and they are not pleased with the direction the country has been headed. The denizens of Washington DC had best be aware of this. Regardless of party, only those politicians who get the message will have a future in government.

And to any police officer who might read this. Thank you for your service. Only you and God know what you have to deal with. Remember, the vast majority of America is on your side.

Ron Scarbro

THE AGENDA IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE TRUTH

Recently Rolling Stone magazine printed a story covering what was described as a gang rape by members of a fraternity of a young unsuspecting co-ed. The story went into elaborate detail naming individuals by “nicknames” and describing graphic events to hold the readers’ attention. As it now turns out, the story was false. Something may or may not have occurred. Only the people involved know the truth. The magazine, currently facing major lawsuits and possible financial ruin, defend their action by claiming that gang rapes do occur. Maybe this one didn’t happen as they described in their story, but that the cause needed coverage and exposure regardless of the facts. The story/cause was more important than the truth.

Do you remember the accusations of the young lady who claimed that she was raped by members of the Duke University Lacrosse team? The University harshly dealt with those team members without investigating the veracity of the accusation. When the truth came out and the team was completely exonerated because no rape occurred, Duke defended their actions because the charge was so horrendous. The issue of rape on campus was so important that the truth was just an inconvenience.   

All across the country now people are protesting what they call “police brutality” by burning down businesses, blocking traffic, and looting. I saw an interview with some of the so-called protesters who claimed it was their right to protest in any manner they pleased because their agenda was so important. It did not matter whether the police officers were guilty or innocent of any crime, or that a Grand Jury found no probable cause to indict them, they were not going to let truth get in the way of their agenda. They were going to protest anyway. The  truth was not important. They refuse to be governed by facts. It is much more important to be the victim.

Then we have Prof. Jonathan Gruber. This particular arrogant liberal seems to believe that the passage of Obamacare was so important that truth was inconvenient and had to be necessarily removed from consideration. The “stupid” American people don’t know what is good for them. They need the helping hand of big government via arrogant people like him to lead them and guide them through their miserable little lives. Gruber is on record as saying that transparency is often the enemy of politicians and their legislation. They need to hide facts or couch them in “tortured” language in order to get legislation passed. If we told the truth, the “stupid” American people might reject this law which would be so good for them. We couldn’t allow that to happen.

These are just a few examples of where the truth is not important. It’s all about the cause.

I’m going to give you something to think about. If your cause is damaged by truth, shouldn’t you possibly re-examine your cause? If facts interfere with the agenda you have set, shouldn’t you consider taking another look at your agenda? Is it any wonder that American people are so skeptical of government? Lying has become common throughout our society and our government.

And so we have this obvious conclusion. If truth and transparency are enemies of your cause or agenda, there is the very real possibility that your cause or agenda is wrong.

Ron Scarbro

WHAT IS JUSTICE?

Justice for Michael Brown. No justice, no peace. Justice for Ferguson. These are just some of the signs that so-called protesters have been carrying this past week. This, mind you, is after the Grand Jury had made their finding that no indictment was coming down against the officer involved in the shooting of Brown. After interviewing at least sixty witnesses and hearing hours and hours of testimony, that jury found no probable cause for any legal action against the officer. That is justice. In our country of law and order, justice is defined by a jury hearing testimony and making a finding based on that evidence or lack of it. Justice has been served.

So, what’s the problem? Why, since the Grand Jury made their judgement, has it still been necessary for protesters to take to the streets and try to burn their city down? It would appear that to some of the protesters justice could only be defined as the prosecution of Officer Wilson regardless of his guilt or innocence.

In reality this group of violent, so-called protesters doesn’t care whether the officer is guilty or innocent, they only want revenge. Never mind that the evidence clearly shows that Brown attacked the police officer right after he had robbed a merchant violently and walked down the middle of a busy street defying everyone. When approached by the officer, he showed contempt and disregard for law and law enforcement. He even struck the officer multiple times causing the officer to fear for his life. That’s what we call “suicide by cop.” If you attack a police officer, rest assured it is not going to end well for you.

Why did they shoot him so many times? Why didn’t they fire a warning shot?  These are some of the questions I have heard since the incident. The rules are simple. If you are in danger and you fear for your life, you shoot until the danger passes. This isn’t the movies. You don’t shoot to wound. You shoot until the danger passes, period.

I have sympathy for the parents of Michael Brown. They have lost their son. But the truth of the matter is they lost their son long ago when they didn’t teach him right from wrong and respect for law and law enforcement.

Just last week a twelve year old kid was shot and killed by police officers when he refused to put down what turned out to be a pellet gun that was altered to look like a semi-automatic pistol. Even as a twelve year old, he defied law enforcement. I have great sympathy for his parents also. But at the same time, I feel sorry for the officers who now must live with the fact that they killed a kid, even though it was completely justified.

So, these protesters want justice. So do I. When O. J. Simpson was found not guilty of murder by a jury several years ago, I was upset. I was angry. I believed then as I do now that he killed his ex-wife and her friend, but he was found not guilty. I did not go out and burn down any buildings. I did not march in the street. I do however continue to pray that every time he tries to close his eyes to sleep that he sees the terror in their eyes that he caused and that his days are shortened by his knowledge of his own guilt. I believe that he will someday face true judgement for his actions and he won’t have a slick lawyer defending him.

Justice is not about getting what you want. Ferguson got justice. I hope the hate mongers who created the riots in that city are proud of themselves. All of the violence and destruction is laid at their feet.

Ron Scarbro