You better say POTATO and not PATATO. And remeber we're wathcing.

     Once again the American people are faced with the task of protecting one of our fundamental rights. Now, we are used to this, and every once in a while someone (a politician, celebrity or commentator) makes an outrageous or quasi-outrageous statement that forces common sense Americans to take a step back and reflect on what our fundamental freedoms and rights are.  The typical outcome of these moments is a newly renewed fervor for the practice and appreciation of our unique American freedoms.  The difference this time is not that one of our rights is being outright challenged, but rather monitored and policed, censored in a way.  Today our most celebrated and fundamental right, the right to free speech, is under such an attack.  This is no more evident than in the events of the past week. 
     First let us look at what occurred on the daytime television show The View. Last Thursday, cable news pundit Bill O'Reilly was the guest and the discussion centered on the prudence of politicians' reactions to the building of a mosque at Ground Zero. All Hell broke loose when O'Reilly exclaimed that Americans were very uncomfortable with the mosque's location because "Muslims killed us on 9/11".  At this point, two of the show's hosts (Joy Bahar and Whoopi Goldberg) screamed at him and then walked off the set (of their own show) in apparent disgust.  The most important part of this occurrence was what co-host Barbara Walters said after they walked off the set.  She asked that the crowd settle down and asked that all listen to her for a minute.  She then told everyone that they just witnessed what SHOULD NOT happen.  She said that we as Americans SHOULD be able to sit down and have an intelligent debate without yelling, washing our hands of each other and walking off sets.  She is very right!  Unfortunately, in today's politically correct society, it is safer to yell and leave rather than to engage in intellectual banter which MAY just actually yield some results.  I notice how often people are content to yell and mock and then withdraw.  Later they badmouth their opponents at another venue where the opponent cannot counter or retort, how convenient and cowardly. 
     O'Reilly would soon apologize for the generalization of all Muslims and said that he should have specified "Muslim Extremists".  All hosts (including the now rejoined Goldberg and Bahar) concurred.  The question is, what was actually wrong with what he had said initially?  Any common sense person knows that not all Muslims attacked us.  They also know that it wasn't Buddhists, Taoists, Christians or Martians that attacked us.  At the end of the day, O'Reilly stated a fact.  The people who attacked us on 9/11 were indeed Muslims, period. Fanatical and extremist as they were, they were still Muslim.  But because O'Reilly did not include the word "extremists" he was treated as if he just told a fabricated story and was being bigoted and hateful.  When did stating a fact become such a dangerous endeavor.  He should of said POTATO!
     The second example of this unique form of censorship is the case involving the firing of journalist Juan Williams by National Public Radio (NPR).  Ironic as it is, this case centers around comments Mr. Williams made on Bill O'Reilly's show on Monday night.  (Damn you Mr. O.)  Juan Williams, a noted LIBERAL journalist and commentator, made the statement that in this post 9/11 world even he was uncomfortable when someone boarded a plane dressed in traditional Muslim garb.  He said this in the context that those feelings were wrong and were a product of the fears of our time.  Well, the uber-liberal NPR (which has employed Mr. Williams as a radio host for the past 10 years) fired Mr. Williams for that statement.  Funny, I thought that the term liberal was synonymous with open-minded, I guess that open-mindedness only applies when you are saying exactly what they want you to say and in exactly the manner in which they want you to say it.  Other NPR radio hosts have made significantly more egregious comments in the past; including wishing AIDS on Jessie Helms and his family.  (The gal that said that is still employed by NPR.)  The crazy thing is that NPR, and the groups that support NPR, are not even putting his comments into the context in which he said them.  He simply did not say EXACTLY the right thing, and that was just unacceptable to NPR and their agenda.  Now there may be other factors involved and maybe those will come to light.  But as of right now NPR is guilty of censoring speech that they did not agree with. 
     Political Correctness is running rampant and is now putting a stranglehold on our ability to speak and debate intelligently without fear of reprimand or being wrongly raked over the coals. In today's age, every word we say can and will be dissected and critiqued to the point where people will no longer speak about tough or controversial subjects.  Our public dialogue will be limited to the weather (as long as we are not discussing global warming). We must remember that the right of free speech as guaranteed by the 1st Amendment is designed to protect speech that is not popular.  I know that is a hard pill to swallow sometimes, but the examples above should be easily digested.

Anutha fine exampul of the Kalifornia educashunal sistem.

This week I learned that the vast majority of high school graduates in the greater Southern California area have never heard of Apartheid or The Killing Fields of Cambodia.  The Apartheid, of course, was the official policy of strict racial segregation and discrimination against nonwhites practiced in South Africa from 1950-1994. It was also the source of worldwide unease in its dealings with South Africa and the reason for a decades long embargo of that nation. Apartheid sparked significant internal/civil strife and violence as well as became the source for outrage for many pop culture icons.  "End Apartheid Now" signs often appeared in front of the White House as well as South African embassies; and yes, music videos too.  A series of popular uprisings and protests were met with the banning of opposition and imprisoning of anti-apartheid leaders. This of course gave rise to Nelson Mandela.  Bothersome as it may be to some reading this, many young Americans have heard his name but have no idea what his significance is; and that is a travesty.  Recent high school grads have told me that they have never heard of Pol Pot, the Kymer Rouge and the Killing Fields of Cambodia.  That event was the holocaust of the 1970s and is equally significant in history as Apartheid.  The period saw the death of approximately 2 million Cambodians through the combined result of political executions, starvation and forced labor. Additionally, in the spirit of his strong communist idealism, Pol Pot ordered the execution of anyone that was deemed a professional or with an education, including anyone who wore glasses (the regime believed that this was a symbol literacy). The concept was that Cambodia should be made up of pure blooded Cambodians who should be kept in ignorance and guided in all things by an educated elite, namely Pol Pot. Due to the large numbers, the deaths during the rule of the Khmer Rouge are often considered a genocide and commonly known as the Cambodian Holocaust or Cambodian Genocide. Lastly and perhaps most troublsome is the fact that time spent educating students about the Holocaust, Hitler and World War II has been replaced by more agenda driven curricula.  20 years ago, schools would dedicate a month focusing classes on that event as a means of ensuring that THAT would never happen again. School walls were covered with reminders about the atrocities that occurred at the hands of Hitler and the Nazis. Today there is a month for every special interest and ethnicity, except of course for the special interest of HUMANITY. Now the purpose of this blog is not to give a history lesson. Since the California school system is more concerned with celebrating plant diversity and petitioning MTV for the casting of one their students on "16 and Pregnant", I encourage everyone to research the Apartheid, The Killing Fields, Pol Pot and the Holocaust as they are crucial parts of world history and lessons learned in civil and human rights. Most importantly, it is our responsibility as world citizens to ensure that none of these events are ever repeated.  It is the responsibility of educators and parents to ensure that the youth of today enter adulthood with the skills and knowledge that will enable them to identfy the trends and warning signs that history has shown us will lead toward another horrific genocide or apartheid.