Honor vs Dishonor: Restoring faith … in ourselves
As many of you know I have become a big fan of John Hayward, a columnist for Hot Air, better known as Doctor Zero. His most recent column on honor and dishonor in American life is one of the most inspiring pieces I have read in some time. It helped me understand once again the meaning of American exceptionalism, and helped me understand that being patriotic in America is to stand firm in your defense of individual liberty and personal freedom even in the face of personal criticism.Doctor Zero will be a guest on the show at 10:00 AM. Here’s an excerpt from the column, which I think reads more like a speech … a very good one. “The Honor of a Great People”.
We have listened too long to the poisonous whispers of those who say we’re too old and feeble to stand up and deal with our own problems. The doom they have written for us can be swept aside like so many cobwebs. Honorable people do not fear risk and challenge. We dishonor ourselves by believing we have no moral claim on the entirety of our labor, or responsibility for the maintenance of our needs. We dishonor ourselves by paying trillions to hear the same old fairy tale about limitless entitlements distributed by friendly giants wearing power ties. The American people have wasted enough time reading the elaborate limited warranty on the inside of the coffin lid our Left is preparing to nail shut.
We reclaim our honor by turning away from those who believe the great mass of us are beneath their contempt, and compassion is best expressed through domination. They have no power we didn’t give them, which means they have no power we cannot take away. Let us begin.
Take the time to read it all. Some day I hope to recite this speech. I would be honored.
31 Comments
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Jim, This is inspiring and as I despair at the people who do not back the Primary winners, it serves to spur me on. We need to take back our country and in every state. It is time to stand up for all of the Republican House and Senate candidates, they are our best chance. Republicans are so independent, they fall apart. This is not the year for that. Thanks
I think doctor ZERO is a fitting moniker.
Again, scott: what did you find offensive in that excerpt? Be precise.
The assumption here is that we have lost our honor.
I guess the people that feel they have, the small portion, believe they need a con man wrapped in the flag and holding the bible (the Beckster) to restore it.
Someone has a small get together to raise some money for wounded soldiers and the left still has to do their hate mimongering. You socialists are unbelievable. Whats the problem you didn't get your cut.
Anxious to see what percentage of the money taken in will go to the wounded soldiers.
Saturday morning, or maybe Sunday, I opened the WTIC home page, for a bit more news. There, under the ENTERTAINMENT listing, at or near the bottom, was a headline mentioning Mr. Beck's gathering. ENTERTAINMENT??? Shame on you, WTIC! Shame on you, CBS!!
Who lost the honor? And another "definition" of patriotism in America.
chris: you mean Beck has the power to distribute entitlements? Amazing. Actually, if you read it, the assumption is that we are losing our honor, the honor that made this country great.
"The purchase of Restoring Honor Rally merchandise is not a donation to SOWF, but all net proceeds from the sale of Restoring Honor Rally merchandise is being donated to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation." -from the Restoring Honor site. All charities have expenses that are covered by donations. Even the Salvation Army (one of my favorite recipients) with an almost all volunteer workforce, has overhead costs. Did Beck give money, time, effort to the cause? I imagine so. Let us know when you find out.
Wonderful, inspiring words, but my fear is that behind them is the same old "divide and conquer" strategy employed by the monied/corporate powers that want to divert attention from their own bad behavior. We have a two party system that is roughly divided "left" and "right". The right's passion is the defense of individual freedoms. The left's is universal justice. The left seeks "progress". The right's job is to govern the pace of change, and remind us of our traditions. Neither should be demonized for doing its job, but monied/corporate interests are interested only in advantage and profit. Their relentless control of the debate is designed to keep the electorate off balance and ineffective, by fomenting division. As always, it's about money. I'd be curious about readers impressions of Frank Rich's NY Times op-ed from 8-2910: "The Billionaires Bankrolling the Tea Party".
The Beckster's (cudos to Chris) "rally" just happened to coincide with the launch of his new website so he can hawk some more of his snake oil. Wake up!! Beck cares about Beck.
How I see all of this is that it is a call to all Americans, all of us, to reconect to what has made this country GREAT.
I agree with some of your points, particularly the money angle, which is why I keep pointing out that big pharma among others were bankrolling Martha Coakley (a sure Øbamacare vote) not Brown.
Alright, David, let's accept your premise of the "billionaire bankrollers" (what we used to call philanthropists, apparently) of the TEA party. And let's accept the assumption that their doing so invalidates anything they do or say.
Using your logic, then the bankrolling of George Soros and big union groups etc. requires that we similarly discredit anything the Democrats or the president says. What are we left with?
Your presumptions require that Americans have no brains of their own and can't see what is happening before their very eyes. Big questions to ask at any rally from either side is "were the attendees bussed in, or did they come themselves? Were any paid to be there? When asked, can the Tea party folks answer pertinent questions about why they are there? Can they go beyond talking points? Etc.
I think the Tea party folks would do quite well, if my experiences with some of them are any indication.
David: I read the Rich piece and found it interesting but wanting. Lots of speculation, as you would expect in an opinion piece, but few facts. His only reference to Soros was to say "he is a publicity hound and his transactions are transparent". Sure they are. A search of his articles provide no other reference to Soros or any of the bankrollers of the Democrats.
Maybe the former drama critic should put in less drama and more facts to back up his statements.
Dims, you're being a little unfair to the former drama critic. I just read the article as well, he tracks the history of the koch brothers, their ties to American's for Prosperity and Freedomworks, and their ties to the tea party. Considering the length an op-ed is allowed, I though he backed up his premise quite well. Unfortunately, he couldn't keep himself from taking easy potshots at fox news, which tends to make the rest of the op-ed, and all the worthy evidence in it, more easily dismissed by those that don't agree.
I actually first heard about American's for Prosperity from the very knowledgeable "Rick from WH" in the vicevich chatroom months ago. Their involvement does call into question the "grass roots" claim of the tea party. Bringing the involvement ($$$) of the Koch brothers and Murdoch into the light was Rich's point, and I think he made it well.
Honor…what a novel concept. Like charity, it begins at home. I experience such despair when a blog post that praises honor is met with a response making fun of John Hayward's nom de plume and a comment that treats the American flag and the bible as if they are obscene and should be avoided in polite conversation. Some days the vitriol really is disheartening.
But the 1st Amendment is a magical thing…I guess it's, "Let's agree to respect each others views no matter how wrong yours may be". (and yes, that is said in jest)
Dims. I am not taking sides or criticizing the tea party, and I do agree there is significant bias in the Times op-ed piece. What I am saying is when little guys like us duke it out over ideological differences, nothing changes. Big money/corporations go on running the show. All I can suggest to readers is to do their own independent investigation, and follow the money.
You are right on the money there, David!
Dims,-from the SOWF website:
That's weird, I thought. I give $100 to SOWF and it goes to Glenn Beck first, college scholarships for children of deceased special operators (maybe) second? Why? Could it be that that way we cannot track how much was paid to the Beckster and Sister Sarah?
I read the excerpt from Dr Zero and the link to what Dick Durbin "really meant". They took what he said put it into the spin cycle and came out with what they want to hear.
Dr. Zero made a reference to being unfairly compared to the KKK, that may have something to do with the signs at some rallies, things like Obama photoshopped into jungle garb or holding watermelon. Is that part of the honor we have lost?
Not all servicemen have served honorably and deserve the constant praise and glory heaped upon them, note the rape and murder charges in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Abu Graib prison fiasco, the massacre of dozens of civilians in Vietnam including women and children. Those are just some of the things we know about.
So its perferctly honorable to bus in union thugs with signs depicting president Bush with a Hitler stache?
The fact is, we are all arguing semantics and no one is going to win that argument. Dr. Zero makes a great point that this country has lost it's honor and regardless of where you stand, or what party you support, the people in washington are the ones who have taken it away. I don't care if your a dem or a rep, piece by piece our honor has been stripped away, our rights have been stripped away and in November it is our duty to stand up for what we believe in (regardless of what it is) and take this country back from those who would see it destroyed. I feel like we all can agree on that point and I feel like that is where Dr. Zero was going. This is our country, we put them there, and now it is up to us to remove those who do not best represent us. I'm not trying to start a fight or point fingers because everyone in washington is to blame for whats happened to this country just as we are to blame for electing them.
PS: The topic has nothing to do with rape charges, so what was the point of bringing it up?
I can understand your confusion, chris: you think the SOWF is Glenn Beck. Not so. Check out their board of directors (http://www.specialops.org/?page=boardofdirectors). Beck no more runs SOWF than I run the Salvation Army when I donate or volunteer.
And again: is there any charity that does not cover its costs of doing business first?
From the SOWF site that you seemed to have missed:
Overhead: The Special Operations Warrior Foundation is proud of its low overhead. In 2009, the administrative overhead was 7.7 percent.
Awards: The SOWF was awarded its fourth consecutive 4-star rating for its financial efficiency by a charity watchdog group, Charity Navigator. Less than 7 percent of the 5,300 charities rated by Charity Navigator receive this exceptional rating.
Dr. Zero mentions the 5 million raised, of course that is before Palin and Beck take there share. I'm sure if there is enough of an issue raised they will eventually decline being paid or return the money they were paid. As of now they don't discuss if they were paid or how much.
Talk of restoring honor? Have we lost our honor? It is a matter of speculation if honor is lost or perhaps misplaced or in my humble opinion honor at sleep. The great and honorable America is vastly awake at present. An awake America is one that is attentive and ready to defend its honor at all costs.
Do we need Becks or Palins to do our shouting? I think not, we the people will rally around those who scream patriotic messages however Americans do not need them when stirred to their feet to defend the most honorable and sacred soil called America. It is ours, it is has not yet been given to socialists or communists for their own control, it is ours, We the People have authority over it. Today we see Americans rising up, standing up for all what is theirs, this is honor.
We honor our ancestors, we honor our veterans, we honor all that stands for America yet what we must understand is the honor each America has and deserves, it is our duty to respond any threat against America so as to keep our honor. There is a threat pressing down upon America, the threat comes from within and through an enemy so great as to bleed us out by their sword.
We the People being all honorable Americans need to rally with each other on the common ground of restoring America. Finding fault with others actions, trying to take control, believing one person or other or yourself is right; shall not be conducive to restoring America to its Constitutional foundation. It is my honor to speak out using my rights. I am honored to be ridiculed by the socialist left, to be attacked by them as well, this is displaying honor. Please rally with me, let us put America back upon its foundation.
Beck and Palin did not take "their share".
"A source close to the event has verified to Mediaite that Sarah Palin will not be receiving a fee for her appearance at the rally, and that the funds raised will be used for basic overhead such as audio/video equipment, bathroom facilities, and the like. Beck won’t see any of the cash, and has even made a large personal donation, according to the charity."
http://www.mediaite.com/online/sarah-palin-will-n…
I did see after my post that they did not take a speaking fee and I retract my statement. However Beck and Fox news did time it to coincide with the launch of the new Beck website.
Also, the reason for not taking a fee may have been due to the negative feedback they received, not necesarily their compassion.
Website: so?
Negative feedback: your evidence for this? I mean, beyond idle speculation.
I've determined that scottm like to come into comments sections and drop stupid comments like that on a regular basis, without backing them up, and ignoring specific requests from others to "put up some proof".
If scottm wants to be a member of this community, he'll have to stop the drive-by comments and step up to the plate and contribute with some integrity or he won't last much longer around here.