Frogs and boiling water.

Family Security Matters

They say that if you place a frog in a pot of water and begin to heat the pot, the frog will boil to death without even realizing it. Conversely, if you tried to throw a frog into a pot of already boiling water, the frog would make a quick exit. Now that I have sufficiently terrified my animal rights friends, let me place a much deeper context to the above metaphor.

Common Sense: Survival Fever

What all of these situations have in common is the notion that it is common sense to deal directly and effectively with trouble and issues as soon as one can to avoid things getting worse and innocent people being harmed. It is not, however, common sense to simply ignore the problem, hoping that it magically goes away. Neither is it common sense to be more concerned with offending people than solving the problem itself. If my neighbor is bothering my children, for example, one would assume that it is far more effective, rational and proactive to speak to my neighbor about the problem and, if that does not work, either seek help from the authorities or consider moving if necessary.

In this context, it makes no sense and is quite foolish (if not infantile) to do nothing out of fear of upsetting or offending the offender. If my neighbor is creating an unpleasant odor in his backyard, my best bet is to speak to him directly about the problem or, if that might not be a safe thing to do, consider having the police do so. Only a meek imbecile would just suffer the odor out of fear of getting his neighbor worked up or hot and bothered.

Political Correctness: The Anti-Common Sense

Unless you have been in hibernation most of your life, you are very aware of the absurd deference presently paid to political correctness in our society. People now spend so much time and effort trying not to offend certain groups that they have effectively surrendered their own right to exercise common sense.

In an effort to avoid offending some people who were clearly wrong, the interests of a far greater and much more innocent population were trampled upon. So much for common sense and political correctness.

The illegal immigration problem is a red hot issue today, but all we see is a distortion and corruption of common sense surrounding this topic. There is evidence that illegal immigrants are less susceptible to health and other controls and are thus partially responsible for exposing our population to previously minimized illnesses such as tuberculosis.

There is also evidence that many illegal aliens commit numerous serious crimes and, in fact, are proportionately more responsible for such crimes than the general population. That is not to say, of course, that all illegal immigrants are deadly ill or criminals. What is obvious, however, is that there is a higher incidence of serious health problems, illnesses and criminal activity among illegal aliens than the general population. Common sense dictates that such a problem should be recognized, investigated and dealt with proactively and effectively. Common sense, however, is the oil to political correctness’s water.

Conclusion

This nation was founded by individuals who confronted issues and problems directly and effectively. There was neither time nor patience for walking on eggs in the frontier. We speak of freedom of expression as a hallmark of this nation, yet many of us spend half our time worrying more about how others will perceive what we say or do than whether what we say or do is consistent with what made America great in the first place.

It makes little sense to ignore a fever or pain in the interest of avoiding offending others. One has a primary responsibility to one’s own health and well-being over the sensibilities of others. Likewise, only a nation or society of fools spends most of its time and effort in a pathetic attempt to avoid offending others rather than doing what is right and sensible. Greatness was never and will never be achieved in the grip of meek submission or cowardly retreat. Rather, it can only see the light of day where people are willing to do what is right and rational rather than what is most acceptable and convenient. E Pluribus Unum includes each of us and does not require that we surrender to the whim, fancy or tastes of those with the most political or social clout.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Sphere: Related Content