Better Not Say That...

by Larry Miller

Recently we have seen multiple instances of political correctness overruling the free speech our constitution guarantees. The progressive left is determined to shut out any commentary that exposes the futility of their thinking... all in the name of tolerance.

William F. Buckley summed it up well when he said, “Liberals do a great deal of talking about hearing other points of view, but it sometimes shocks them to learn that there are other points of view.” Although these days, many do know there are other viewpoints, but they regard them with fear and trepidation.

One needs only to look at Karl Rove's surprising perceptive comments about the possibility of brain injury to Hillary Clinton that kept her out of circulation for a much longer time than is normally required to recuperate from a simple fall. He made it a point not to say she had brain damage, yet that is what the progressive press excoriated him for. The uproar was similar to what we could have expected back in the days of my youth if someone had been critical of motherhood and the flag. Of course, today such a criticism would be praised by the academic and media elites.

Who could forget the outrage directed toward Miami Dolphins Don Jones who was “fined an undisclosed amount and excused from all team activities until such time that he undergoes and completes educational training.” Yes, he was sent to a re-education camp for expressing disgust at the distasteful display by draftee Michael Sam and his homosexual lover

Not to be outdone, the Canadian Football League directed its ire in the direction of Calgary Stampeders, Maurice Price. Commissioner Mark Cohon in a statement expressing the league's tolerance of divergent opinions said, “The CFL will not tolerate discrimination of any kind. Whether its race, religion or sexual preference, our values are of acceptance and equality. We fully support openly gay athletes in our league, and in the sports community in general.” What he didn't say was that anyone with a different view had just better keep it to himself.

Of course our northern neighbors do not have the equivalent of our first amendment in their constitution. Canadian preachers can get themselves in hot water if they have the temerity to preach on any scripture passages that tell us it is an abomination for a man to lie with another man as one does with a woman. The them, it's hate speech.

Even in our country, Christians are criticized when they bring up the subject... much like they feel the hatred of the progressive left when they bring up the fact that abortion clinics are murdering unborn boys and girls by the thousands every day. This expression of love for the children is called a war on women... never mind that half of the dead children would, one day, be women.

Then we have the whole idea that criticism of the president or his policies is rooted in racism. The anti-racist attitude is particularly laughable when it comes, as it did recently, from West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller who spent years working with fellow West Virginian and former KKK Grand Kleegle Robert Byrd without saying a word.

This type of name calling is meant to silence the opposition from those sensitive to the opinions of others. It is meant to destroy their credibility and reputation. It is an extension of the politics of personal destruction we saw during the Clinton era.

We are seeing the reality of George Orwell's warning “Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” Will we be silenced as were many people in Nazi Germany? They were people who knew better, yet they let fear control their lives and their tongues. The German people failed to head the words of their fellow countryman, Dietrich Bonhoeffer who admonished them, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

Their country, their lives and the families were destroyed because they did not speak the truth. Some would have paid a price, but we must consider the fact that the price they, and the world paid for their silence, was so much greater.

We cannot let the lies be the only thing our friends, neighbors and fellow Americans hear. That is not being the salt and light our relationship with our Creator calls us to be.