After hearing once again about the insanity of political correctness, I banged out the following testament to frustration with our social and political system. The letter of angst (which has a little bit for everyone) below is timely as the stores are already laying out the holiday decorations for another season of gluttony.

19 December 2004

Over my brief 32 years I have noticed a steady decline in civility in the United States. We had a brief respite after the tragedy of 9/11. Americans soon woke up though and it was business as usual. Here are a few examples: all time low respect for law enforcement, authority in general, and the elderly; more people are running red lights; road rage; gangster rap which glorifies drug dealing, pimping, and violence; and the degradation of the family unit. Children are raised by a stupid sponge, a purple dinosaur, or video games because their parents are too busy making money to teach their kids values and personal responsibility.

What is at stake today? The United States of America. We are divided by the far left led by Michael Moore, MoveOn.org, out of touch rich Hollywood types, and Al Franken. The far right led by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, and Michael Savage attack the middle from the right. Who speaks for me? No one, as far as I can tell.

Somewhere along the line we have lost our common sense. If you listen to any media outlet we have drifted from the middle and now lean one way or the other. I think the majority of Americans are centrists and may lean slightly to left or the right depending on the topic. You would never think that listening to the media. One part paints half of America as out of touch with the 21st century and hanging onto evangelical beliefs. The other part paints half of America as whacko’s bent on destroying religion and industry and legalizing drugs and gay marriage. The whole time these two extremes, which dominate our media, are arguing over which is worse while important issues are being ignored in favor of petty ones (just look at some of the cases the ACLU has pursued recently and the criminals the ACLU is defending).

I do not fit into either category, left or right. For one I am an agnostic. However, I respect our history and accept the religious beliefs of our forefathers. I think the Ten Commandments are generally excellent rules to live your life by. I say “Merry Christmas” and not “Happy Holidays”. I am not offended by any aspect of Christmas. I do not have the feeling that religion is being shoved down my throat. In fact, I am angered every year by more and more extreme political correctness taking the important message out of Christmas and replacing it with commercialism. It is Christmas not Merry Spend Lots of Money and Dig Your Debt Hole Deeper Day. Get over it. Are you really that offended, or are you just an idiot? Be offended by a more than $7 trillion national debt. Be offended by poverty and starving children in the most prosperous country in the world. Be offended by child pornography. Be offended by battered women and children. Be offended by more than $4 billion being spent on the 2004 political campaigns. Be offended by cancer, AIDS and other diseases that impact the lives of many Americans everyday. Be offended by an inefficient public education system that is not teaching mathematics and science to a level our children need to remain competitive in the world. Please see that there are many more important things in life than whether a Christmas carol is sung in a public place or a tree is called a Christmas tree or a manger scene is displayed in a public place or whether the Boy Scouts are being sponsored by an Army base or whether a tiny cross is being shown on the seal of a county. We are spending so much time worrying about the small, inconsequential BS that we fail to see the larger picture.

After witnessing the birth of my daughter I think that abortion is appalling. Life is precious and I think that this idea has been lost on the throw-away society we have created in America. Abortion is being used more and more as “extreme” birth control. Let’s face it, thanks to Hollywood more and more kids are finding sex earlier and earlier. Maybe we should teach responsibility in this society rather a quick fix for everything.

I am fiscally conservative. I think the government should rein in its spending. I think we should face reality and realize that entitlement programs will not be affordable as they are now structured (economists from our own federal government to the International Monetary Fund have long established this as FACT). I am 32 years old and am not counting on any Social Security from the government when I retire. The baby boomers demand their share. They worked hard, but by giving them everything they think they deserve an insurmountable burden (in the form of an economy crippling national debt and sky rocketing income tax) will be placed on my generation and future generations of Americans. I welcome personal savings accounts. The $2 trillion it would cost to implement this program is nothing compared to the trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities the Social Security and Medicare programs are already running. I have ownership of my 401K, IRA, and other personal investments. I have no ownership over the portion of my paycheck I forfeit to the Social Security Administration every other week.

I am environmentally liberal. I think that the without some form of regulation industry would not be environmentally sensitive in their operations. However, I realize that environmental laws need to be structured so that they work with industry without impacting the bottom line.

I do not support gay marriage. I do not see why this needs to be legalized. However, I do support civil unions. I guess in this respect I am old school. I cannot explain why I lean this way, I just do. I will say this much though; folks like Britney Spears, other celebrities, and ordinary heterosexual Americans besmirch the institution of marriage by their cavalier attitude towards this sacred union.

Where do I fit in? In that silent, middle majority which leans left on some topics and right on others. I ask again, “Who represents me?”