Sunday, December 23, 2012

E PLURIBUS UNUM – OUT OF MANY ONE PEOPLE IN NEWTOWN


Jessica Rekos
 
An American Girl, Age: 6

 
    
Perhaps finally we can all put last fall’s class warfare rhetoric to one side and try to absorb a true lesson from the Newtown Massacre.

Take one look at the picture of 6 year old Jessica Rekos in local papers.  She has the gift of her age, angelic innocence and purity.  She and her fellow classmates, twenty in all, woke up that cold Friday morning in December and after giving a good stretch for her parents, scampered down to breakfast and off to school – Sandy Hook Elementary School.  The rest is painful history.

With all the suggestions pouring into Newtown, CT from around the world, I have one that has been percolating below the media radar - it deals with us as Americans.  Please stop breaking our country into factions – especially people, like the president, who continually talk about the rich, the top 2%, as nefarious interlopers who are only interested in money and greed.  Think about it, the top 10% of income earners pay nearly 70% of the federal income taxes – is this a group shirking their obligations?

Jessica is the daughter of parents living in Connecticut (the wealthiest state in the nation by per capita income) – she and her family also live in Fairfield County which is the 9th wealthiest county out of 3,000 measured according to Ralph Stewart of the Federal Bureau of Economic Analysis.  That puts Fairfield County in the top .3% of all American Counties.  The Sandy Hook part of Newtown is a very wealthy bucolic town on the Housatonic River; a quintessential New England Village founded 65 years before the Declaration of Independence was issued.  In short, don’t blame Newtown for being the stuff of Norman Rockwell’s America.

One look at Jessica and you’ll realize how precious ALL American children are – possibly you’ll find in your heart to remove that faux rage and that manufactured anger and reach out to your fellow Americans, even among the 2% and say, we’re all in this together, Newtown, how can I help?  Word total: 335


Geoffrey G. Fisher is a federally designated highly-qualified state-certified history teacher working in southwest Florida as a guest teacher.  He holds a BA in History from the University of Connecticut and a MA in Public Policy from Trinity College in Hartford, CT.  In addition to teaching he is a former elected official and speechwriter.  Mr. Fisher now writes the political blog: THE THINKING CAP at:  

Monday, December 17, 2012

McDonald's Should Honor Christmas Day

MCDONALD’S SHOULD HONOR CHRISTMAS DAY

This week, I entered a local McDonald’s restaurant here in Sarasota, Florida for breakfast and was met by a sign at the door: McDonald Will Be Open Christmas Day.  My immediate reaction was, “This is just perfect – the forces of political correctness has now conquered my McDonald’s, is anything sacred anymore?

I spoke to the manager on duty and she said it’s not her call, the decision was from Corporate.  She proceeded to hand me a soda cup and said call the number on the cup for Corporate.

I did so one day later and spoke to a very pleasant woman who assured me the decision was done locally.  I explained to the corporate spokeswoman that this decision to open on Christmas day was foolish for four reasons: 1. The solemnity of the day – to Christians it is the birthday of the savior of the world. 2. The cultural significance of the day – from the lighting of the Christmas Tree at the White House to the institution of Santa Claus who shows favor to all good little boys and girls, to the lights on Main Street across the country, Christmas is a steadfast American tradition born of English and German traditions. 3. What about the employees of McDonald’s?  Is it right to require them to come in on this solemn day especially when the majority of them are Christian or it is okay to show sensitivity to every group but Christians?  And finally number 4. A public relations brain freeze.  My political blog is a local affair presently, but if this story is picked up by the New York Times or Bill O’Reilly, Yikes!  This type of misstep reminds me of the biggest blunder in advertising history when the venerable Coca Cola Company, the makers of the coke that followed our GI’s across war-torn Europe during WWII, changed their formula on April 23, 1985.  The collective cry was you blundering idiots, you mad men muskrats, leave our American icon alone – you don’t own it, we do! 

The same is true of Christmas only more so.  We may allow members of the American Civil Liberties Union to speak freely but we certainly don’t have to listen to them nor follow their advice.  According to the most recent poll of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, more than 78% of the adults in the United States identify themselves as Christian – indeed, it is safe to say that when nearly 80% of a population is Christian then that religious designation makes this a very tolerant Christian nation.  The next major religious group in America is the Jewish faith: 1.7%, with Muslims coming in at 0.6%.  Perhaps most significant is atheists (believers in no God) come in at only 1.6% of the population.  To put this more simply the Judeo-Christian block is more than 80% of our population – that to any fair minded person would represent the religious ethos of a nation. 

Even the world of children’s programming contributes to our Christmas ethos.  Today it may boggle the mind to think that Charles Schultz insisted that Linus (van Pelt), that perennial blanket lover, quote from the King James Bible (Luke 2:8-14) on the true meaning of Christmas or that the ultra liberal new dealer Lutheran Theodor Seuss Geisel (BKA Dr. Seuss) should write an entire book chastising the idea of someone stealing Christmas – a book worthy of our times. 

The big picture for McDonald’s is not to listen to your pointy headed media people who are trying to please the Politically Correct (PC) Monster.  Rather stand for something wholesome, traditional, and quintessentially American: Honor Christmas by giving your employees the day off: "And so, as Tiny Tim said, ‘A Merry Christmas to us all; God bless us, every one!’"  Then we can all say: “I’m Lovin’ It”
Word Total: 635

Geoffrey G. Fisher is a highly-qualified state-certified history teacher working in southwest Florida as a guest teacher.  He holds a BA in History from the University of Connecticut and a MA in Public Policy from Trinity College in Hartford, CT.  In addition to teaching he is a former elected official and speechwriter.  Mr. Fisher now writes the political blog: THE THINKING CAP at   

Newtown Shootings Unleashes Liberal Vitriol

Dear Bob:

I see your vitriol hasn’t diminished since the election.  As you know, I do not own a gun nor have I ever fired a gun.  Yet, the second amendment guarantees gun ownership and whether you like it or not there is a gun culture in the United States that is as significant as any subculture in our mist. 

It seems your motto to celebrate our differences and embrace diversity, only applies to those cultures that you like.

My take on all of this confusion is just this: the problem of gun violence is complex and needs a multi-pronged solution.  We need to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally unstable.  Adam Lanza was a ticking time bomb that never had any sustained therapy.  Even with therapy he should not have had access to guns and jet planes for that matter.  His own mother taught him to shoot and left out the very guns he used in the slaughter – she was killed by her own son using her own gun.

A major problem of our society is the disintegration of the American family.  More than 50% of marriages end in divorce and people just walk around like that’s okay.  It has never been okay for the children of divorce.  Now the family is under attack again by well-meaning progressives who want same sex couples to be seen as just another alternative to marriage.  Really?  What’s next, same sex incest?  Is it any wonder that minors in America are so screwed up?.

A friend of mine relayed a story about the senseless slaughter in Newtown with the following conversation.  An atheist complained to a Christian about where God was during the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  The Christian answered that God is not allowed in public schools anymore.

Something to think about.

Your buddy, Geoff