Thank you and Merry Christmas!

To all of the Canadian Armed Forces personnel who volunteer to fight abroad, so that we, at home, don’t have to:  thank you!

Stay safe this holiday season and have a very, merry Christmas!

                              

‘Twas the night before Gun Confiscation

I wish I could take credit for the following poem, but alas, it’s not mine.  This Christmas Eve, I give you an ode to the Gun Control Lobby, written by a fellow firearms enthusiast.  Enjoy!

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the village,
the guns were all locked up they’re not a right but a privilege.
The crack heads and thieves all danced in the street,
In hopes that unarmed victims they would soon meet.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
while visions of escaping socialism danced in their heads.
the wife in the buff, and I in my tin foil hat,
Had just settled down for a long winters nap.

When behind the 2×4 deck there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what’s the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
pulled down the blast shield, unlocked the bars, and peered out the sash.

The moon on the hood of the black SUV,
gave me the feeling antis where coming for me.
More rapid then eagles they kicked down the door,
traumatized my kids and pushed the wife to the floor.

Now, Miller! Now, Cukier! Now Duceppe and McGuinty!
On Soros, on Layton, on Obama, and Iggy.
From the guns in the safe to the gold hidden in the wall,
they confiscated, confiscated, confiscated all.

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
my freedoms were stolen in the blink of an eye.
But then in a twinkling, I heard on the roof,
the prancing and pawing, possibly a reindeer hoof.

Just as the socialists were beating me down,
from the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, and well armed what a hoot,
behind him the Nuge and Chuck Norris to boot.

His eyes how they twinkled while racking his slide,
the grabbers were left with nowhere to hide.
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
the smoke from his guns circled his head like a wreath.

Duceppe became teary and soiled his clothes,
as St. Nick pointed his colt at the bridge of his nose.
He spoke not a word as he went about his work,
slapping the stupid out of Count Iggy the jerk.

His droll little mouth drawn up like a bow,
as he held Layton’s face in yellow snow.
McGuinty and Soros both danced to the beat,
as the Nuge used his pistols to shoot at their feet.

Up snuck Obama and swung his peace prize,
but got gored by a reindeer of extra large size.
Hillary Clinton did hiss and shake fist,
Hoe Hoe Hoe pointed Santa your next on this list.

Now Mayor Miller tried running but got it worst of them all,
as Santa did slough foot him causing a fall.
Out came his footing and on some ice he did slide,
right into a flag pole, one leg on each side.

Wendy got tazed by this jolly old elf,
and I laughed when I saw this in spite of myself.
His cheeks were like roses when he gave back our guns,
the antis and socialists had no choice but to run.

Now our stockings are stuffed with primers and brass,
CCW permits and a rifle range pass.
I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight,
Merry Christmas to all keep up the fight.

Political Correctness vs Democracy

Today we are urged to pause and ponder the sacrifices of those who have gone before us. It occurred to me that our soldiers fought a war with weapons (of which type it isn’t politically correct to mention by name) to stop a dictatorial regime (whose name isn’t politically correct to mention), who’s leader disarmed the race of people (who we don’t want to offend by mentioning) by registering and licensing their weapons (which we don’t want to mention for fear of offending anyone) prior to confiscation. Once that State held a monopoly on weapons it was easy for it to accomplish its ‘cleansing.’ In fact, the twentieth century saw eight major genocides preceeded by civilian disarmament rid the world of over 150 Million civilian lives.  During the World Wars, we realized that protecting innocent lives from genocide (can we mention that?) was a duty, and our brave citizens stepped up and sacrificed their lives for what we, collectively, believed.

I now wonder in this day of political correctness if there is anything we are willing to fight for. Sixty years later, in a bold denial of history, the United Nations is pushing a global Small Arms Treaty in the name of peace that will disarm civilian populations and leave a monopoly of firepower in the hands of the State – and criminal thugs (or is that redundant?) Sometimes Remembrance Day is a reminder of all we’ve forgotten.

~Keith Linton~

The above letter was written by a friend of mine in honour of Remembrance Day and submitted to several major newspapers across the country.  Unfortunately, it never made it to print.  I’m posting it here not just because it’s an excellent letter, but because it touches on so many points.  As much as I’d like to delve into what I think of the UN and the idea of civilian disarmament, today I’m going to focus on political correctness.  I think this letter is a beautifully satirical representation of what being PC has done to our society.

To put it quite bluntly, I think that political correctness is one of the biggest threats to democracy in our world today.  But, ironically, it’s not politically correct to discuss political correctness.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, allow me to take a step back and define “political correctness”.  It has its roots in Marxism-Leninism and has been in regular use since the 1960s.  However, it didn’t become “fashionable” until the 1990s when its use exploded.  The term “politically correct” was added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 1936, where it is defined as: conforming to a belief that language and practices which could offend political sensibilities (as in matters of sex or race) should be eliminated.  

In this age of “emotional enlightenment” when everyone is encouraged to express their feelings, we have become so oversensitive to causing offense to others, that our society has almost ground to a halt.  Nobody is willing to make the difficult decisions anymore because to do so is to guarantee that somebody somewhere will have their feelings hurt.

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be concerned with other people’s feelings, but political correctness has gone way too far.  What began as an attempt to minimize social offense against certain minority/underprivileged groups, has evolved into a form of thought control and social engineering.  

Wait a second, did I say “thought control”? Yes, I did.  Political correctness doesn’t just impact the way we speak, it also affects the way we think.  When we are constantly thinking about whether or not we “should” be saying something, it changes how we think in general.  Instead of focussing on the ideas, we become focussed on the language being used to share those ideas.

Also, as much as our PC-trained minds tend to protest the fact, it’s no secret that some special interest groups are more equal than others, and that all special interest groups are more equal than the average citizen.  So, now we’re not just arguing over language, we’re also arguing over whose offended feelings take precedence in the PC battleground that we’ve created.

And while we’re busy arguing about whether or not the language is correct or whose feelings were hurt the most, the ideas get lost in the confusion.  Without the ideas, our society becomes stuck in an endless loop, forever arguing over words and feelings instead of moving forward with a purpose.  Most people are oblivious to this phenomenon, but there are many who are not only aware of it, they have no qualms about using it to their own advantage (this is where the “social engineering” part comes into play)

Vocal special interest groups hoard funding and push agendas in the name of some politically correct theme, playing on people’s fears and emotions.  They do this knowing it will take a brave soul to speak out against their cause.  After all, who would argue for greater privacy in the face of the scourge of child pornography? Who would argue for more freedom in the battle against “terrorism?” Who will push for gun rights even as deadly gang wars are waged on our streets?

It is the favoured tactic of the manipulator to frame her cause in such a way that her detractors, with their often insightful arguments, risk an affront to the PC Gods. It doesn’t matter that those detractors may be right – political correctness has become a weapon.

So what does the letter I quoted above have to do with all of this?  It all comes down to the line, “I now wonder in this day of political correctness if there is anything we are willing to fight for.”

Fear of social censure is no less damaging to a populace than fear of government/police retribution.  We, as a society, have become unwilling to voice our opinions for fear of offending people. We are unwilling to fight for what we believe in because we have been taught that our ideals must always be secondary to the feelings of others.  In that fear, we are no longer able to openly discuss the issues that impact our society.  When we cannot openly discuss an issue, it can never be solved. 

How long can we survive as a society when the important issues are ignored and swept under the rug?  And how can we claim to live in a democracy when the people are unwilling and/or unable to speak their mind?