Economics of Mass Deportation

This is a special posting of a video made for one of my classes during my journal to becoming a journalist. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

The Presidents Speech to Nations Schools: Good or Bad?

There has been a lot of debate recently about President Obamas' speech to all the nations schoolchildren. Many parents have been up in arms about the idea of their kids being forced to watch. This seeming ly knee jerk reaction stems from the fear of their children being brainwashed with political ideals that do not match their own. That is a valid fear and they have the right to be concerned. However in this instance the reaction has been unfounded, uniformed and frankly does not speak well of us as a nation.

That's right folks, The Common Free Man is defending President Barack Obama. There is no need to adjust your monitors.

This unfortunate situation is a superb example of the utter futility of the "us and them" mentality that pollutes our society. Until we can move away from that we will never evolve as a people. For the past two weeks we have been hearing screams of "propaganda" and "socialist agenda". If this speech is an example of a socialist agenda then I must be a closet socialist. Sorry to say folks that it looks like the only propaganda being sold here is coming from the right.

I would like to ask all of the parents who read this to go through the speech (link below). I would like you to read through it carefully, forgetting everything you have heard from Limbaugh, from Beck or from any other media outlets. Approach it as if this is the first time you ever heard about it. Then I want you to decide for yourself, using only what you have read in that speech if you still think it is brainwashing the little darlings. I would also like you to ask yourselves if you would have had the same reaction a year ago under a different President.

We need to put this petty squabbling behind us if we are to move on. This is going to mean that each of us needs to start thinking for ourselves and not just going with what "your" party says. Remember that the next time you go to vote. If you truly do not like the GOP candidate or the Dem candidate, then find a third party and vote for them. The idea of voting for the lesser evil is making a mockery out of democracy.

So to answer the initial question of good or bad? In this case I would say good.

Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama Back to School Event

This Flag Does Not Fly.

June 28th, 1940

A little island sitting off the coast of France is suddenly rocked by the sound of German bombers attacking it's main harbour. Two days later a Nazi invasion force took control over this little "Jewel of the sea". And so began 5 years of hard Nazi rule over the people of that little island. Food was scarce and times were tough. People had to survive on what they could find and by helping each other. Of course, as is almost always the case, there were those who only wanted too help themselves.

The Germans had instituted a program that rewarded people who turned in neighbours, friends and even family members that dared to go against the word of the occupying forces. Being a small community it was normal that everyone knows what everyone else is doing. This was a goldmine for those who would exploit such information for their own gain. Those that had been "snitched" on were often sent to a prison camp in Europe. This would become a death sentence for many of them.

1945 to 1991

Jump forward several years and you have the former Soviet Union. During the period of the cold war it was common practice for you to "snitch" on neighbours, friends and family if you suspected they were talking or thinking against the party agenda. All it took was one discreet phone call and suddenly your neighbours would disappear. You may also find that you have a little something extra in your rations as "thanks" for your loyalty to the party.

August 2009

"What has any of this got to do with me?" I hear you shout.

We look back on these events and think of them as wrong, as the tools of a totalitarian state. That could never happen here in the land of the free right?

I wouldn't be so sure.

A recent blog entry from the Whitehouse is asking citizens to send anything "fishy" they see or receive concerning the current healthcare bill. Seems fairly harmless at this point right?

At first glance it may seem so however I want you to consider this. We can see from the two examples above that this is a tactic used to suppress the ideas of anyone that disagrees with the ruling class. Is this really going to be any different? What are they going to do with the information they receive? Is it the information itself they are interested in or is it the names of the people who are spreading the information? Is this not a direct attack on the first amendment?

These are all questions that we need to ask. Sure right now they are only asking that you send information received via email or on the web on this one subject, but how long will it be until this becomes a common practice? And how long before it extends to more than just emails and web content.

For those that wish to take advantage of this wonderful new service you can forward any emails or websites to: flag@whitehouse.gov


"Rat out your friends. Snitch on your neighbours. Fabulous prizes to be won"



There is one last thing I would like to add. It's an addendum to the occupation story. Those that did feed information to the Germans were forever marked as collaborators. Once the occupying forces were defeated this people lives suddenly became less pleasant.

New Gallup Poll Information Added

You can now get the latest Gallup Poll results straight from The Common Free Man. We have added a widget to the site that will give you a daily update on everything from Presidential approval to the current evaluation of standards of living.

Health Care Reform Link

Hi Guys,

My apologies for spamming but I thought this might be of interest. I have put up a pdf of the proposed health care bill. This is not exactly easy bedtime reading to don't expect to be done in one sitting.

Current Health Care Proposal

An Unhealthy Idea

It cannot have escaped your notice that health care is the current hot topic across the nation. It was one of the key issues that then Senator Barack Obama ran his campaign on. Now, as promised, he has, with the help of other leading Democrats, put forward the plan for socialized health care for the American people. "Fantastic" many will shout; "No thanks" will be the response from others.

So why the opposing views? Free health care for all is a good thing isn't it?

Well first we need to get past this notion that anything in this new legislation is going to be free. Most, if not all the conversations I have had with supporters of nationalized health care have used that term. Each time I hear it I pose the question:

"If it's free for everyone then who is paying for it?"

The answer I normally get actually frightens me more than anything I have seen in ObamaCare. "Oh government is going to pay". Huh? Remember the lady on election night who was all excited because "Obama is going to pay my mortgage and all my bills"? This is similar thinking. There seems to be a mental block in our nation when it comes to government spending. The only money government has is that which it takes from us on the form of taxes (stealth or otherwise).

So if the government gets it's money from your taxes then that must mean that they are spending your money.

The predicted cost is estimated to be in the region of $1.5 Trillion. That's money they don't currently have, so where do you think it is going to come from?

Okay now that we have that little fact sorted out we can move on to the next problem. How many of you reading this do not currently have health insurance because you can't afford it? That has been one of the main concept being brought to the table by the bill supporters. The problem that so many Americans cannot afford health insurance. Now there are many reasons for people to not have their own insurance and I am not going to go into those at this time. If this bill was aimed at helping just those that needed help, when they needed help. Would this not be a better way of doing things?

I say let us, the people, have a choice in what health care we have. Let us choose who our families see without the added (and predictable) government bureaucracy. The only thing the current plans can lead to is health care rationing. Oh you will be offered treatment, just pick a number and wait in line. There you can happily linger in pain until you are eventually seen or until you die. Will we see a change in the quality of healthcare? Yes, but not for the better. I do agree that treatments should be decided by your doctor and not by some insurance guy in a suit. This legislation is not actually going to do anything to change that. Except of course now it will be a government agent in a suit.

What this boils down to is who gets to decide who lives and who dies. There are many things we are not being told. Many details that are not being reported in the media. The bill, which our President is trying to rush through, is over 1000 pages long and written in legalize. How many of your representatives will have had a chance to read through this extremely important piece of legislation properly before a rushed vote? We have seen this tactic before with the bailouts. Don't let that happen again. Write to your congressman, write to your senators and let them know your opinion.

So next time you are at he DMV take a look around. Because that is what life will be like the next time you go to the emergency room under this proposed plan.

Poll of the Week

The subject of this weeks poll is something very close to my heart. Should we be required to have a permit to carry a firearm?

Letters to Soldiers

It's never easy to leave your loved ones, even harder when you are serving your country overseas and don't know when or if you will be coming back. Morale can get pretty bleak for those serving in the armed forces so let's show our appreciation by taking a little time out of our day to let them know by writing a few lines.

Go to letterstosoldiers.org and drop them a line.

New Poll - Should we mourn the passing of the constitution?

I recently received a question from a friend on Twitter asking what would happen if we had a funeral service for the constitution. Would it receive as much media attention as the memorial service for Michael Jackson? Would anywhere near as many people care?

To get an idea I have set up a poll here on The Common Free Man to get an idea of what people think. So go ahead and put in your answer, then have all of your friends and colleagues do the same.

July 4th

Nothing from me today. I will leave this post in the hands of men a lot more capable than I am at putting across what July 4th truly stands for.

Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident:

That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and, when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining, in the mean time, exposed to all the dangers of invasions from without and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to, the civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution and unacknowledged by our laws, giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us;

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states;

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world;

For imposing taxes on us without our consent;

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury;

For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended offenses;

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies;

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments;

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.

He has excited domestic insurrection among us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms; our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have we been wanting in our attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity; and we have conjured them, by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation, and hold them as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of these colonies solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; and that, as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

[Signed by] JOHN HANCOCK [President]

New Hampshire
JOSIAH BARTLETT,
WM. WHIPPLE,
MATTHEW THORNTON.

Massachusetts Bay
SAML. ADAMS,
JOHN ADAMS,
ROBT. TREAT PAINE,
ELBRIDGE GERRY

Rhode Island
STEP. HOPKINS,
WILLIAM ELLERY.

Connecticut
ROGER SHERMAN,
SAM'EL HUNTINGTON,
WM. WILLIAMS,
OLIVER WOLCOTT.

New York
WM. FLOYD,
PHIL. LIVINGSTON,
FRANS. LEWIS,
LEWIS MORRIS.

New Jersey
RICHD. STOCKTON,
JNO. WITHERSPOON,
FRAS. HOPKINSON,
JOHN HART,
ABRA. CLARK.

Pennsylvania
ROBT. MORRIS
BENJAMIN RUSH,
BENJA. FRANKLIN,
JOHN MORTON,
GEO. CLYMER,
JAS. SMITH,
GEO. TAYLOR,
JAMES WILSON,
GEO. ROSS.

Delaware
CAESAR RODNEY,
GEO. READ,
THO. M'KEAN.

Maryland
SAMUEL CHASE,
WM. PACA,
THOS. STONE,
CHARLES CARROLL of Carrollton.

Virginia
GEORGE WYTHE,
RICHARD HENRY LEE,
TH. JEFFERSON,
BENJA. HARRISON,
THS. NELSON, JR.,
FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE,
CARTER BRAXTON.

North Carolina
WM. HOOPER,
JOSEPH HEWES,
JOHN PENN.

South Carolina
EDWARD RUTLEDGE,
THOS. HAYWARD, JUNR.,
THOMAS LYNCH, JUNR.,
ARTHUR MIDDLETON.

Georgia
BUTTON GWINNETT,
LYMAN HALL,
GEO. WALTON.

Independence Day Tea Parties

There will be several tea parties being held throughout Utah on July 4th. You can find a location near you by visiting:

teapartypatriots.org

Common Sense by Glenn Beck

I don't want to make a habit of book reviews on this site but every now and then something comes along that is a must read.

Glenn Beck's Common Sense: The Evolution of Thomas Paine's Revolution by Glenn Beck

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
An excellent look at the state of the nation today and the path which got us into this mess. Many of the ideas he speaks of are things my own family have discussed over the past 12 months.



This is a rare non-partisan political read that takes both sides to task. If you value concepts like freedom and justice you need to read this book.


View all my reviews.

CommonFreeMan On Twitter

You can now follow Common Free Man on twitter:

http://twitter.com/commonfreeman

My Ideals Tis of Thee

We have all seen the reports coming about the protests currently happening in Iran. The country is in a state of upheaval after the recent elections which saw them incumbent, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, re-elected to office. Many claim the election was rigged and the results falsified. If this sounds familiar then you may remember the infamous Florida ballots in the 2000 Presidential election.

"But that was totally different" I hear you cry.

And you would be right in certain respects. When the Florida scandal happened everyone was well aware of what was going on. Information flowed freely through the press and over the internet. In contrast to this we have been seeing a media blackout and almost a total shutdown of internet infrastructure in Iran. Why the shutdown? Because the ruling classes of that country know that change is coming and that they are losing their grip on power.

You have to remember that the internet of today is not the same as the internet of 2000. This is the era of the social network, FaceBook, MySpace. It has never been so easy to organize large groups of people so fast as it is today. Twitter allows us to instantly post information online wherever we are at anytime of the day. This was one of the first services to be blocked by the Iranian authorities. In a desperate attempt to maintain control hey started blocking any and ll social networking sites.

Now we have a saying in the crazy world of IT: "The internet will always route around damage"

This basically means that any attempt at censorship is futile. Someone, somewhere will find a way around it (and normally in less time than it took to implement in the first place). And so is the story here. Over the past week we have seen thousands of hand built proxy servers go up to help those fighting for their freedom get there message out. They have kept the free flow of information coming to the not just their own country but to the entire world. This has lead to rallies outside of Iran. Indeed there have been several held here in the US.



These rallies were intended to raise awareness of the fight for freedom in democracy in Iran. However, after reading through the comments on the KSL5 message boards, I have found an awareness of something different coming to light. This sudden epiphany is disturbing and seemingly contradictory to what we have seen over the last seven days. If you have read through the comments you will see people who will happily proclaim that "This is america so protest somewhere else." "We don't take kindly to your type in these parts".

The irony in this is sadly lost on so many. They have totally missed the point of what these rallies were about. This about being American or iranian. This is about a group of people who want freedom from an oppressive regime rising up and making themselves heard. This, I would hope, should also sound familiar. The US has been slammed for it's invasion of Iraq. The invasion done in the name of spreading liberty and democracy to those that did not have it. Well here we have the same people who fully supported such a move criticizing those who are trying to spread the same thing.

But there is something more to this than the rantings of a few armchair patriots. Something that runs deeper and is a lot more troubling. Earlier I mentioned the 2000 Florida ballots. Where were the angry crowds? Where were the screaming masses demanding answers?

So often I hear the words "god given right". People seem to forget that those rights were not always so given. Instead they had to be fought for. When the final battle was won and the dust finally settled, a group of men created a document. This document became to foundation of the society we now have. If not for a these men, who were willing to lay down their lives for the ideals we hold so dear then the US as we know it today would exist. They had the courage to stand up and say "No More!". Are the men and women we see protesting in that country oh so far away any different?

This leads to the question: Is the US simply a collection of states in the middle of the North American land mass? Or is it something greater; A set of ideals.

When I see a global effort to help those who want freedom being led not by diplomats or politicians, but by ordinary people like you and me, I see those same ideals coming to the surface. The concepts of liberty and democracy cannot be forced upon a people. Instead it requires a natural evolution of a society. We must never forget that the struggle for them will not be easy, just as it was not easy for our forefathers.

So instead of simply being a patriot to America, let's try to be patriotic to the ideas that created this great country. Next time you salute that flag, try to remember what it truly stands for.

No Assault Weapons Ban Petition

I urge all of you that care about your freedoms to sign this petition. Even if you are not a gun owner please realize that this ban would be both unconstitutional and unethical. The only effect it will have is disarming law abiding citizens.

NO Assault Weapons Ban Petition

Thank you.

Mr Waddoups Tear Down This Curtain.

Utah, 2009, although you could be mistaken for thinking we lived in a different year. Unemployment is on the rise, several of us are facing unprecedented pay cuts and the state is, like the rest of the country, facing a bit of a financial crisis. But let us not worry about that right now because there are more pressing concerns at hand. The zion curtain is not being enforced properly! Oh the horror.

For those that don't know what this is I shall explain.

The zion curtain is a non transparent barrier found in Utah restaurants to prevent children from being harmed by the sight of seeing alcoholic drinks being made. And no, sadly I am not being sarcastic about that. Think of it as being like a sneeze guard for sin. To get a better idea of how it works and some of the other rules to protect us from ourselves, click the link below.

The Zion Curtain and how it works.

Ok so are we now all up to speed on what it is and how it "works"? good.

Let us move on to the issue at hand. It turns out that several eateries are not adhering to the rules and are putting our children at risk by having transparent barriers. That's right, even as we speak there are children being exposed to the sight of someone mixing drinks along with all of those shiny bottles. This will surely cause irreparable to them and breed a generation of alcoholics right? Well this is what our house president seems to think.

Mr Waddoups is up in arms about this and the lack of enforcement. He is now calling for the responsibilty of this enforcement passed over from the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to the Department of Public Safety. That's the guys that issue things such as concealed firearms permits by the way.

Did I mention that this is being done in the name of the children?

So here is a hypothetical situation (hypothetical because I don't have kids). Myself, my wife and our 2 perfect children go to Applebees for dinner. There is a large impassable barrier along the bar, the sin is being kept in. The waitress comes to our table, hands out menus and proceeds to ask us what we would like to drink. My wife orders an iced tea (her turn to drive), the kids order a soft drink of their choice and I order a beer. UH OH! There will be an adult beverage on the table. Even worse they will see me drinking said beverage.

This is of course the great big glaring hole in the concept of the zion curtain. The only thing it is achieving or has ever achieved is in making Utah look a laughing stock (the 2002 winter olympics for example). Utah is known for having some of the best skiing on the face of the planet and yet we lose a large portion of tourist money to Colorado. if you ask any of these skiers why they chose Colorado over Utah the answer will almost always be the same. Utahs archaic and draconian liquor laws.

So let's take a minute and consider that maybe Mr Waddoups and others in a similar mindset are correct. That the mere sight of someone preparing a drink is enough to turn the young impressionable minds into alcoholic monsters. Surely we should then take the next logical step and demand to have these same barriers in places like fast food restaurants. After all obesity and the related diseases (diabetes, heart disease etc) afflict more children per year than underage drinking. Don't believe me? Then take a look at the numbers over at US Census Bureau.

We could go even further an have these barriers around entire buildings such as churches that are not part of Mr Waddoups' beliefs and the beliefs of those that follow him. While we are at it maybe we should have all women and girls totally covered with just a slit so they can see where they are going (something in black maybe?). That way we and our children won't be harmed by lustful thoughts. Hey that's a great idea, I wonder why no one else has ever thought of doing that?!

The decision of how much a child is exposed to something such as alcohol is not an issue for legislature, it is an issue for parents. Let the parents do their job of raising their children and let the legislature get back to the important issues that we are facing. Let's get some of those tourist dollars back in Utah where they belong. If I may plagiarize former President Ronald Reagan:

Mr Waddoups, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!

Political Correctness Part 2

I just came across this story from the Guernsey evening Press in my former homeland that highlights the problem with modern day political correctness.

Ban on nicknames at school branded pathetic

How much further does this have to go?

Political Correctness: One Step Forward Two Steps Back

Human history is filled with the atrocities committed against one section of society by another simply for being different. Segregation, the holocaust, slavery; All caused by a proliferation of prejudice and hatred. Until relatively recently you could not vote based simply on your gender or on the color of your skin. Of course that was then and we live in a more enlightened time right?

Well a bit more enlightened maybe but we are still a long way from the free Utopian society we dreamed of in the 1960's. That era gave us the civil rights movement, the free love movement and the beginnings of a new term we now know as political correctness. This was a new philosophy that aimed to end hatred and bigotry by encouraging us to view each other as equal. At it's heart is the ideal that everyone deserves the same chances, should have the same basic rights. A noble philosophy indeed and one we can all get behind. But has this ideal now gone too far? Are we now living in fear because of it?

The problem with modern day political correctness is it subjectivity. It has strayed from the original concepts of equality and moved towards making sure no one is offended by anything at anytime....ever. This is, of course, totally impossible. We now live in fear of everything we and everything we do. This has lead to an unfortunate side effect; The current trend that people don't have to take responsibility for their actions or situation. In fact what we have is more of the same, only this time instead of one group blaming another for all of societies ills we have people blaming others for their own personal failings.

Are things like affirmative action still needed in this day and age? The term was first coined by JFK during his presidency during a time of racial inequality. Does that inequality still exist now? There are many on both sides of that argument that will give you different answers. For those that might not know (and this is a very basic rendering of the concept), affirmative action deals with treating every applicant for a job the same, regardless of race, sex or religion. Unfortunately this is not exactly what this legislation gave us. Instead we got what I personally refer too as ethnicity quotas. Companies being told that they must have a minimum amount of African American, female etc employees. What this ends up meaning is that you may not be able to employ the best person for a certain job. This alone can and indeed has caused a lot of tension and contempt among people. Even now when I see the words "We are an equal opportunity employer I wonder if I will be passed up even if I am the best applicant simply because they have not fulfilled their quota. This is seen as progress by some, I think we need to look harder at what is really happening.

Now I have nothing against affirmative action or really the original ideals behind political correctness. The problem is what they have sadly evolved into. We are now at a point that we have to watch every single word we say just in case someone around us takes it as sexist or racist. What I, personally, find interesting is that often the people who will call you out on something that you never considered any kind of "ist" are often the ones who are more racist, more sexist than any one else. The same people who claim to be completely tolerant are normally the ones who see "ism's" wherever they go, even when none are actually present. An anecdotal example that I experienced happened during the recent presidential elections. I was asked if I was going to vote for Barack Obama. When I said, to their horror, that I was most definitely not I was accused of being a racist. At no point did this person consider that there could be other reasons I wouldn't vote for him. They instantly assumed that it was to do with race. This by the way is not true, I would not have vote for him because of his stance on certain issues; But that's something for a different article.

The response I had was what I like to call passive racism. The passive racist is not a racist themselves, they just see it in everyone else everywhere they go. This is a fantastic example of the almost paranoid state we can be left in if we take modern political correctness to far.

Sadly the very idea that was to have brought us new enlightenment has simply given us a new range of prejudices. We should all have the same freedoms and rights. The right to the best education, the right to be have our voices heard and our opinions considered. That's what a democracy truly is. Is everyone equal? no. It would be a pretty dull world if we were. However we are each responsible for the opportunities that come our way. If we decide to ignore those then we have no one to blame but ourselves. If you dropped out of high school and now find yourself, 10 years later, stocking shelves for minimum wage, then there is only one person to blame.

Some might say that it's easy for me to say that, that I am lucky to have a good, fairly well paying job. I simply reply with a quote form Thomas Jefferson:

I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it - Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)

Political Correctness is not the be all and end all to societies problems. We each need to be able to take responsibility for ourselves as well.

Time for Change

No not another story on our new president, this change is to The Common Free Man. That's right we have a new web address:

www.commonfreeman.com

This marks a new start for the weblog and a promise to ask what should be asked.

- Jim