Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of our great men, once wrote a friend:
“I agree with you in deriving our physical calamities from moral causes…. A bitter and unchristian spirit has likewise divided our citizens. We have not, it is true, erected a guillotine in our country, but we enjoy similar spectacles of cruelty in the destruction of public and private characters in our newspapers.” *
Things haven’t changed much, have they?
I’ve watched Maddow, Olberman, Matthews and others similar on MSNBC many, many times, so I don’t need anyone to tell me what to think about them. For those of you who have been told how horrible and racist Fox News is, but haven’t watched it for yourselves, you might want to take it upon yourselves to actually see if what you have been told is true. Give it at least two weeks. Fox News has excellent and fair reporting (not perfect). And they truly have nice, good and decent people working for them – they are not the rotten devils you have been told they are.
Some of you who watch MSNBC and other Liberal news outlets have been led to believe that most Republicans are racist. You have been lied to. Why? Because by demonizing their opponents, the left prevents people from listening to Republicans’ ideas, which may have merit. Another reason the left makes charges of racism is that it provokes in some people an immediate, prejudicial response, which requires no critical thinking. The trumped-up charges of racism and wars on women are nothing but propaganda meant to manipulate the feelings of certain groups. Independent, critical thinkers generally are not fooled by such propaganda. There is no Republican war on Gays, or Hispanics, or Women. These are all distractions meant to control these groups and maintain them as constituents in the Democrat party.
Why did MSNBC run the Rubio sipping water clip over 155 times? Answer: It’s part of a larger effort to neutralize an up and coming Hispanic conservative and make him look like a buffoon. It’s part of the left’s war on conservative minorities. That, is a real war. Many on the left show no respect for conservative minorities and heap nothing but disdain on them.
As far as our leaders go, we must not tolerate politicians who prefer to sow seeds of division, hatred and confusion, rather than discuss the difficult issues facing our country with well-reasoned and substantive arguments. The time they waste spewing their nonsense means less time spent offering solutions. Decent people do not try to manipulate others with false accusations of being homophobic, or racist or whatever.
Benjamin Rush’s observation about the media still applies today. Unfortunately, it appears we have learned nothing in the 220 years since he observed it. It’s time to stop once and for all the public name calling and character assassination that is so prevalent in our politics. We need to begin devoting only our intellects and all of our energies towards solving the dangerous problems that face our nation. That goes for Republicans too.
Our number one issue is economic, so lets start there. We need to revive the economy mainly through private, not public initiative. We must reduce government spending before the federal government becomes insolvent or destroys the value of our currency and our savings. We need fewer regulatory constraints on businesses. We must revise the tort system. If we do these things, there is no doubt in my mind that America will rise again. For that, I am sure, some will call me a racist.
For those of you who are not familiar with him, I would like to call your attention to that great man who was Benjamin Rush. Born in Philadelphia in 1746, Rush became a physician, patriot, author, educator, humanitarian and an early abolitionist. He was one among those brave men who pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor when they signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. According to L. H. Butterfield, editor of Rush’s letters, “Rush’s fame sprang from his own vigorous and magnetic personality; from his substantial accomplishments in medicine, psychiatry, education, and social reform; from the great body of his published writings; from his gifts as a teacher and lecturer; and finally, from the letters he wrote to scores of friends, relatives, patients, pupils and colleagues on both sides of the Atlantic.”
“Long regarded by everyone except himself and perhaps a few other Philadelphians as the leading citizen of Philadelphia, the recipient of uncounted honors from his countrymen and from European courts and learned societies, Rush had achieved a reputation not surpassed by that of any other American physician for a century or more.”
Dear Reader: Please check back in the future for a page which I will wholly devote to Dr. Rush’s life and accomplishments.)
Frotho
*Benjamin Rush to William Marshall, September 15, 1798. Letters of Benjamin Rush, Vol. II, p. 807