302: Political Courage, Part B
 

Three SEALs once hit a terrorist; the terrorist did fine with his fat lip, the SEALs lost their careers….
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“My lie is mine, all mine, only mine” … a secularist notion, one that ruins Western Europe but thrives in New England, California, and American academia. It was expressed, however, by a leader of a patriotic organization and to someone who believes that he should not tolerate the company of anyone who lies, cheats, or steals.

Old Man #1 had announced changing his party registration in order to influence the outcomes of the opposing party’s primary.

I challenged him a week or two later and he admitted his lie but denied that it was any of my business.

“I’ll go when everyone votes me out” … of course, he was never elected in the first place but finessed his role through friendships. And there are no by-laws.

One member told me later that a private conversation is the appropriate intervention for a public lie. This person last week was a Catholic but now proclaims Christian Scientology in an effort to avoid taxes for health care. (This person later explained that she had been “kidding”!)

A second member: “He’s a true conservative and I’ve known him for six years. Did he really tell the lie in public?” This same member reacted “lier” about a representative’s change in election plans.

A third member, one who advocates values over money, reacted “there was not a lie but a strategy.” She is to become a Committee leader for the GOP.

Two members stoned me with their silence.

My parents, however, would have been proud that I’m not a conservative who acts like a Dem.

I’m glad to be alone out here….

302

References:
Kolakowski, Lezek (1990) Modernity on Endless Trial. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Sharansky, Natan & Shira Weiss (2008) Defending Identity: Its Indispensable Role in Protecting Democracy. Philadelphia: Perseus (Public Affairs).
Steyn, Mark (2006) America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It. Washington DC: Regnery.
Steyn, Mark (2009) Lights Out: Islam, Free Speech, and the Decline of the West. Woodsville, NH: Stockade Books.