Flags, Kindnesses, and Other Mid-summer Musings

          Flags, Kindnesses, and Other Mid-summer Musings

               Published in Marietta (GA) Daily Journal, 7/25/20

            Sorry, but on my desk in a mug full of pencils stands my little 4x6 Confederate flag. Beside it is another 4x6 flag, Old Glory. Those are the two flags, one or both of which all of my immediate kin have lived under. I love both flags.

             No, the Confederate flag is not evil. And those who say it is are guilty of judging a thing by its misrepresentation. Should Christians abandon the cross symbol simply because the KKK sullied it? Then why should those of us with Southern ancestry abandon the Confederate flag just because it too has been sullied or misrepresented by one group or another? It’s a piece of history.

            The Confederate flag is all about regional love and allegiance. How many of the Confederate troops do you suppose had the defense of slavery on their minds as they fought, bled and died? How many ordinary Civil War-era Southerners, most of whom were dirt poor, were dedicated to maintaining the institution of slavery?

            When the Civil War began in 1861, South Carolina, the first state to secede, had been a state for only 73 years. Do you suspect there may have been many South Carolinians who still had deeper love for their own region than for the vast, growing nation they had joined? If the states were wrong to secede from the union, was America wrong to separate from Britain? Of course we didn’t call that separation secession, or Brexit, but that’s exactly what it was.

            Cave, cave, cave. That’s what people do when they are afraid to fight, or when it’s not politically expedient, or when they think they will suffer economically. Wherever they lie buried, Cicero, Robert E. Lee, and Churchill are weeping. They were not cavers. Those who taint Robert E. Lee show their ignorance of him. If Georgians cave on Stone Mountain, …

            But on to a positive note. In the midst of the coronavirus season, kindness is being reported everywhere. Fast food managers have reported that many who are driving through to order their burgers, etc. are paying for the vehicle right behind them. Tipping generously in various and sundry venues has been widespread. When I said to a young man in business for himself who had just repaired my garage door, “If it won’t mess up your books, I’m going to add a little to this bill,” he thanked me profusely and broke down.

            As a whole, Americans of all races are still good people. We know what is meant by “neighbor” and “fellow citizen.” That’s one reason the expression, “white privilege,” is misleading. Anyone who believes they are privileged should do something about it like divesting themselves of it by giving some of it away. Otherwise quit saying it…

            Verbal silliness is getting out of hand. Whatever “woke” means, the fashionable word is bound to die soon. I’m praying. Even the word science is being manipulated. (More about the “man” in man-ipulated in a moment.) Politicians and media stars are trying to deify the word, science: “We must follow the science,” “The president doesn’t believe in science,” or “Everybody knows that such and such is settled science.” Thinking people will ask, “Whose science? Ptolemy’s or Galileo’s? Isaac Newton’s or Albert Einstein’s?” “Albert Einstein’s or Andrea Chez’s?” Professor Chez, professor of physics and astronomy at UCLA says, “Einstein is right about relativity, at least for now.”  Chez rightly implies that true science is never settled. But invoke the word science and you’re considered smart.

            More verbal silliness: the UK Royal Navy has banned the words “manpower” and “unmanned.” (Guess those words are man-ipulative.) We know enough about the proper Brits to know they would never originate such silliness. They caught it from us…

            Kudos to churches and other religious entities that rejected Payroll Protection money. My pastor, Dr. Perry Fowler of Kennesaw First Baptist Church has led the church and school in not accepting it, urging us to “put our faith in action and trust God to provide.” God has. Pastor Fowler added, “Our community’s small businesses need assistance and we don’t need to limit their opportunities if they desire to take the loan.”

Amen. Also, when churches accept money from the government they allow the government’s foot in the door and strengthen the argument for the taxation of churches …

            Beware of “training” these days, especially if you work for a corporation. It’s  simple indoctrination. If the “training” is about racism, sexism, diversity, same sex marriage, or hate crimes, you can be sure someone is insisting that you think as they think. All of this “sensitivity training” is the most un-American thing going.

            Happy summer! Stay free.

Roger Hines

7/23/20

           

           

           

             

The Left’s Most Recent Cudgel

                          The Left’s Most Recent Cudgel

               Published in Marietta (GA) Daily Journal, 7/11/20

            Nothing is currently hurting race relations more than the unfortunate expression, “white privilege.” What is the goal of those who incessantly throw the term around? Is it to improve race relations or to achieve a diabolical political goal by assigning guilt? The answer to this question is obvious and its repercussions are damaging, dangerous, and supremely unfair.

            Damaging because the expression creates a ready-made wall that ends conversation before it starts. Dangerous because accusatory finger pointing doesn’t ever resolve conflict, particularly regarding race. It only pours gasoline on the fire. It’s unfair because it paints with the broadest of brushes. “White privilege” refers to all whites. Presumptuously it argues that because of their skin color, all whites possess an automatic asset. Tell that to the poor whites who lived up and down the gravel road I lived on during my boyhood. Indeed, poverty or near poverty was the basis of the commonality between whites and blacks. A weird bond, perhaps, but a bond still. Maybe that’s why, even though segregation was the established order, we didn’t always act like it. We labored, laughed, and struggled together.

            Living only two miles away from my family, the black, respected Josh Crudup was better off than many whites and not because of government largesse but because he worked himself half to death with his childless wife on their beloved little farm. Were he alive I guarantee you he would be taking sides with Ben Carson, Herman Cain, Clarence Thomas, Burgess Owens, and the many non-prominent blacks who understand the subterfuge behind “white privilege.”

            “White privilege” didn’t emerge from common usage. Most etymologists point to W.E.B. du Bois, the black socialist of the early 20^th century who occasionally used the phrase. The fluid term’s more recent come-back can be attributed to the Black Lives Matter organization that has hurled the two words in our collective face.

            With its “white privilege” cudgel, BLM is setting back the successful work of Martin Luther King, particularly his method of peaceful protest. At the only King Rally I ever attended – in support of King’s cause – I observed order, solemnity, and dead-eye focus. I heard woeful songs that addressed the purpose at hand, eloquent speeches that evoked emotion, thought and action. And I heard sincere prayers. Compare this approach and its undeniable results (desegregation, the Civil Rights Act, a black president) to what we are getting from BLM in the streets today.

            The difference in the two shows that the radical left is not interested in justice, but chaos. Corporate heads are absolutely blind to this. Are they listening to what BLM’s leaders are saying about police and the constitution? With the Democrat Party wrapped securely around its fingers, BLM gets a pass for dishonoring King’s legacy. King was a minister. Christian precepts undergirded his every speech: “Love your enemies!” he would bellow. “Forgive the white man!” he urged more than once. This is neither the approach nor the philosophy of the hate group, BLM.  

            And oh, the embarrassing cowardice that “white privilege” shaming has revealed.  NFL Quarterback Drew Brees took a strong stand against kneeling during the national anthem only to apologize … how many times now? Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy wore a t-shirt with “One American News” (a conservative cable network) on it and was criticized. For his great sin, pointed out by one of his young team members (yes, these days the pot commands the potter), Gundy asked for a $1 million pay cut. Oklahoma State’s Athletic Director stated he believed Gundy had been “awakened” to what was right. Let’s pray that Gundy can still feed his family.      

Not to be outdone, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, also doing an about-face, has announced that all NFL teams will play the black national anthem at all games during week 1 of the 2020 season. Supposedly two national anthems will bring racial unity. Could we say these feel good measures have become “systemic”?

            The “white privilege” cry is also condescending. To blacks because it presumes blacks can never be whole unless fawning whites like Brees, Gundy, and Goodell repent for being white. To whites because it serves as a cudgel for the left to beat them into compliance. Truth is it deepens our division.

            I witnessed and fought against true racial subjugation. (Ask my wife if I weep whenever it’s brought up.) That’s why I reject radical groups with ulterior motives and outlandish political “solutions.”

             It’s time to speak out against BLM.  They are socialist radicals. Listen to what they’re saying. Their two-letter expression is merely a ploy and, incredibly, many cowardly elites are falling for it.

Roger Hines

7/7/20

Our Recent Embracing of Punks The dictionary says a punk is a young troublemaker, a thug, a goon, a ruffian, or a hoodlum. Recently punk behavior has become prevalent. It has also become acceptable. “Not in my book!” you say. Well, maybe not, but look around and observe what is going unattended to and unpunished. We have always had punks and their shenanigans but having political leaders defend them is an incredible development. The excusing of punks, granting them principled motives, is widespread. For three months they have looted, rioted, stopped traffic on interstate highways, and assaulted cops with little if any official resistance. Punks have set up a guillotine outside the mansion of Amazon owner, Jeff Bezos. Strange since Bezos is as left-wing as they are. But Bezos is a capitalist and that’s a problem. Punks have toppled monuments and bashed in storefronts. Whether Antifa goons or Black Lives Matter ruffians, what does it matter? Their modus operandi is destruction, terror, and shaming white Americans for their ancestors’ sins. No, they are not revolutionaries with a noble cause and their goal is not to change our world for the better. They are anarchists and terrorists who are receiving the blessings of mayors, governors, college professors, and the ruling radical wing of the Democrat party. Supposedly urged on by injustice, our punks are making a mockery of justice. Attempting to erase history they hate, they show an amazing ignorance of it. My first hearing of the word “punk” was during boyhood when my father referred to “punk wood.” Punk wood was a rotted portion of the heart of a tree that was becoming soft and dangerous, the result of a fungal infection. Ironically a beautiful tree can withstand punk wood for a long time, but its presence is still the sign of early death. “Punk wood” was also used to refer to cut, stacked wood that has become too dry (“over seasoned” as woodsman Walter Hines, Sr. would put it). It’s partially crumbly, rotting. If it burns at all in the fireplace, it does so inefficiently, releasing more smoke than fire and little if any heat. As with wood or a stately tree, so with civilization itself. Even if the heart of a civilization is infected with citizen apathy, mediocrity, or punk lawlessness, it can live. But who knows for how long? And with how much of its past glory? This past week I looked on as an outstanding professional cut down my neighbor’s tall river birch tree. From the street the tree appeared to be beautiful and whole. Its unique bark stood out amongst the prevailing pines, yet the heart of the tree was decaying. It had become infected. American culture is being infected by punks. Most are black, though some are white. Perhaps they are the ill-taught fatherless who have known little if any restraint. Or the offspring of punk parents who fell for the London-originated punk culture of the 70s with its intentionally offensive musical lyrics, anger, and social alienation. One thing they are not is true social justice warriors. The intellectual and spiritual distance between them and Frederick Douglas and Martin Luther King is incalculable. Their true intention of chaos and disorder is obvious. Even so, many are bowing before them. Corporate heads scramble to identify with the punks. Supportive blue-state governors have lost their minds, seriously defending the “protestors.” Influenced by the punks, Kansas State University’s football team has declared they will boycott the entire season this year unless the university expels students who have posted “racist remarks” on social media. Kansas State administrators are falling all over themselves to comply. Colleges make so much money from football they have to bow to their demanding teenage athletes. Our punks are after a new social order. Come November they could very well get it, thanks in part to establishment conservatives who have pandered to the punks by joining the White-Guilt Cult. Senators Rubio and Braun, Senate Leader McConnell, Ambassador Haley, and General Mattis are but a few. Imagine Republicans labeling looting a “political statement.” Sociologist Charles Murray has warned us that white America is also “coming apart” and can also get angry. Mayors had better allow their police to stop the craziness. It’s time to put some people in jail. Calls for unity are empty unless we first punish lawlessness. Where has destructive lawlessness ever righted any wrongs? Homeowners, you’re next on the punks’ list. Ask the St. Louis couple whose property gate was forced open by “protestors.” I for one admire the couple for standing up to the punks and defending their person and property. Who but a coward would not? Roger Hines July 1, 2020

                          Our Recent Embracing of Punks

               Published in Marietta (GA) Daily Journal, 7/4/20

             The dictionary says a punk is a young troublemaker, a thug, a goon, a ruffian, or a hoodlum.

            Recently punk behavior has become prevalent. It has also become acceptable. “Not in my book!” you say. Well, maybe not, but look around and observe what is going unattended to and unpunished. We have always had punks and their shenanigans but having political leaders defend them is an incredible development. The excusing of punks, granting them principled motives, is widespread. For three months they have looted, rioted, stopped traffic on interstate highways, and assaulted cops with little if any official resistance.

            Punks have set up a guillotine outside the mansion of Amazon owner, Jeff Bezos. Strange since Bezos is as left-wing as they are. But Bezos is a capitalist and that’s a problem. Punks have toppled monuments and bashed in storefronts. Whether Antifa goons or Black Lives Matter ruffians, what does it matter? Their modus operandi is destruction, terror, and shaming white Americans for their ancestors’ sins.

            No, they are not revolutionaries with a noble cause and their goal is not to change our world for the better. They are anarchists and terrorists who are receiving the blessings of mayors, governors, college professors, and the ruling radical wing of the Democrat party. Supposedly urged on by injustice, our punks are making a mockery of justice. Attempting to erase history they hate, they show an amazing ignorance of it.

            My first hearing of the word “punk” was during boyhood when my father referred to “punk wood.”  Punk wood was a rotted portion of the heart of a tree that was becoming soft and dangerous, the result of a fungal infection. Ironically a beautiful tree can withstand punk wood for a long time, but its presence is still the sign of early death. “Punk wood” was also used to refer to cut, stacked wood that has become too dry (“over seasoned” as woodsman Walter Hines, Sr. would put it). It’s partially crumbly, rotting. If it burns at all in the fireplace, it does so inefficiently, releasing more smoke than fire and little if any heat.

            As with wood or a stately tree, so with civilization itself. Even if the heart of a civilization is infected with citizen apathy, mediocrity, or punk lawlessness, it can live. But who knows for how long? And with how much of its past glory?

            This past week I looked on as an outstanding professional cut down my neighbor’s tall river birch tree. From the street the tree appeared to be beautiful and whole. Its unique bark stood out amongst the prevailing pines, yet the heart of the tree was decaying. It had become infected.

            American culture is being infected by punks. Most are black, though some are white.  Perhaps they are the ill-taught fatherless who have known little if any restraint. Or the offspring of punk parents who fell for the London-originated punk culture of the 70s with its intentionally offensive musical lyrics, anger, and social alienation. One thing they are not is true social justice warriors. The intellectual and spiritual distance between them and Frederick Douglas and Martin Luther King is incalculable. Their true intention of chaos and disorder is obvious.

            Even so, many are bowing before them. Corporate heads scramble to identify with the punks. Supportive blue-state governors have lost their minds, seriously defending the “protestors.” Influenced by the punks, Kansas State University’s football team has declared they will boycott the entire season this year unless the university expels students who have posted “racist remarks” on social media. Kansas State administrators are falling all over themselves to comply. Colleges make so much money from football they have to bow to their demanding teenage athletes.

            Our punks are after a new social order. Come November they could very well get it, thanks in part to establishment conservatives who have pandered to the punks by joining the White-Guilt Cult. Senators Rubio and Braun, Senate Leader McConnell, Ambassador Haley, and General Mattis are but a few. Imagine Republicans labeling looting a “political statement.”

            Sociologist Charles Murray has warned us that white America is also “coming apart” and can also get angry. Mayors had better allow their police to   stop the craziness. It’s time to put some people in jail. Calls for unity are empty unless we first punish lawlessness. Where has destructive lawlessness ever righted any wrongs?

            Homeowners, you’re next on the punks’ list. Ask the St. Louis couple whose property gate was forced open by “protestors.” I for one admire the couple for standing up to the punks and defending their person and property. Who but a coward would not?

Roger Hines

July 1, 2020