Reflections From a Murky Pond

The National Football League (NFL) isn’t having a good season so far and the season has just begun. This certainly doesn’t bode especially well the national organization.

A Bloodied and Battered NFL

Hellfire! Even Congress and the White House has laid into them lately over Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice beating his fiance in an elevator.

This quote seems to sum up the issues that NFL is currently experiencing. It equally well sums up one of America’s more self-destructive flaws of character and thinking.

The season hasn’t exactly gotten off to a roaring start for the National Football League. With the release of the infamous Ray Rice elevator video, questions about whether the NFL properly investigated the Rice incident and treated other domestic violence incidents with the seriousness, concern and respect they deserve, and more recently the disclosures about Adrian Peterson’s treatment of his son, the NFL has been battered by bad news.

— Bob Webner
“The Bloodied NFL Shield”

One – We have the tendency to make role models out athletes even though athletic ability has no moral or ethical component and the majority of professional athletes, especially in football, come from backgrounds that never fostered any sort of proper behavior in them. And, of course, when our false gods of sports celebritydom disappoint us by reverting to form, we rant and rail at their employers to punish them harshly – less because of what they did then that they betrayed the image we painted of them.

Two – Our society has reached the point where we want employers to be accountable for the actions of their employees off the job and to harshly punish those employees – termination of their livelihood being the preferred punishment – who violate public sensibilities on their own time.

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I don’t think it possible to overly stressed just how bad and how societally destructive these two belief structure are to our nation.

While Obama’s legacy will be both limited and unflattering, the boy has been significant in some ways. Obama’s installation as POTUS in 2008 ushered in a new, modern school of economics…

Modern School of Economics

Apparently, in a total departure from all previous Western schools of economic though, this modern, Obama-inspired set of economic theories is predicated upon completely separating remunerations from labor effort or worth. This is a new and significant economic idea and one that Obama and the Congressional Democrats should be given full credit- and remembered for.

I can understand the Liberals’ and Progressives’ panic over “Militarized Police.” As these Leftists have always been against the police and are equally always more attached to image than substance, their doomsaying and strident complaints about law enforcement being well-equipped to handle rioting, looting, gangs, and other serious threat is consistent with the Liberals’ and Progressives’ normal behavior.

So-Called Militarized Police

What I have a harder time understanding is that Americans seems to be exhibiting the same reactions to well-armed and well-armored police units as the Liberals and Progressives are. This strikes me as odd because, much like the Liberals’ and Progressives’ gun control agenda, this is issue all about image control and nothing about substance. Normally Americans are better than that.

“Assault Weapon” and “Militarized Police” Are the Same Fiction

The terms “Assault Weapon” and “Militarized Police” are the same sort of fiction and manufactured concern. In both cases it is a phobia based upon something looking scary or dangerous without regard to whether it is more so or less than other exemplars of its kind. Also, both fears are predicated upon the delusion that having certain equipment causes one to behave in certain manners.

I really thought that Americans were better than that.

That was Then, This is Now

The simple truth of the matter, despite all the hype created and promulgated to the contrary, is that local and state law enforcement departments are less heavily armed than they were in past decades and that there are far, far, far fewer casualties during riots and (un)civil protests than there were in days gone by.

Sure, modern police tactical and riot response units look “scary” but their actual armaments are far less “militarized” than their predecessors’ were. From the 1920s through the early 1970s it was common for local and state law enforcement departments to have at their disposal Thompson submachine guns.

So, in America’s past our police forces were armed with fully automatic weapons, whereas now they armed with semi-automatic weapons. What they have now that they didn’t have in the past are: tactically practical uniforms, top flight body armor, and trained, specialized units to respond to more intense levels of threat. That is what “militarization” actually is – increasing the survivability of police officers in more intense and dangerous threat situations.

This may be a large part why there are far fewer fatalities resulting from riots, (un)civil protests, and any of the variations of gang-related police operations now than there were in the past.

As I said, I can understand the Liberals’ and Progressives’ panic over “Militarized Police” but I cannot understand why that same sentiment is so prevalent among Americans.

Despite the pressures of vacations, golfing, and attending fundraisers – the things that Obama should be kept at – the boy does find or make the time to address or, at least, speak about the grave threats that exist out there in the world.

Obama Wants To Address A Grave Threat

Of course, to Obama the grave threats are those which are threats to his ego and his legacy, which is indeed in grave peril when even Michael Moore has declared that the boy will only be remembered for being the First Black POTUS.

When the history is written of this era, this is how you’ll be remembered: He was the first black president. OK, not a bad accomplishment, but that’s it. That’s it, Mr. Obama. 100 years from now: ‘He was the first black American that got elected president.’ And that’s it. Eight years of your life and that’s what people are going to remember. Boy, I got a feeling, knowing you, that — you’d probably wish you were remembered for a few other things, a few other things you could’ve done. So, it is, on that level, a big disappointment.

— Michael Moore

The Obama’s handlers and overseers, of course, see this as a threat to the birth of the nation that they want to replace America with. Their token’s plummeting popularity bodes ill for their hopes and dreams.

The Congressional Democrats know and understand this threat as well. Their livelihoods are on the line with the 2014 midterm elections being right around the corner and their having, by and large, having sided and voted in lockstep with Obama. Hence, we can expect a lot of defections among their ranks and equally many claims that they’re now against Obama’s destructive policies and/or the boy’s at least equally destructive lack of policies.

Many Democrats See This Threat As Well

Our job as Americans is to not allow these Democrats to distance themselves from Obama and evade the just consequences of their allegiances and actions. In this case, they should not be allowed to choose between hanging separately or together; we need to make sure that each and everyone one them hang.

Television vs. Reality aka Mayberry vs. Dingleberry

The truly sad part is that the dingleberry which is leaving skid marks all over the White House and America at large wouldn’t even be funny on a television show.