Liberal culture warriors couldn’t inflict any greater insult on America if they tried
“You couldn’t have walked it out there any better” -- unnamed golf announcer commenting on a pro golfer’s drive on a pristine looking golf course somewhere in America. All of us are prone to hyperbole from time to time. I’ve said the same exact statement (above) to my son when he hits a fantastic tee shot. But unless the ball ends up in the hole every time, there conceivably is a spot you could’ve walked it to that would constitute a superior resting place for the dimpled sphere. For those who play, golf is a constant pursuit of perfection, and perhaps what makes it most enticing to enthusiasts is the fact you can’t actually ever reach the pinnacle. Yes, there are holes-in-one, albatrosses, eagles and birdies, but the former scores are like lightning strikes on a cloudless day. They don’t happen often. In politics, it’s often mentioned that candidate x couldn’t be doing worse if he or she were actually trying to screw up. The saying’s been used a number of times in reference to President Donald Trump, a man who sometimes does things that defy common political wisdom. There are those who say Trump’s tweets are ill-timed and poorly thought-through. It is what it is. The president prides himself on being a different kind of politician, and “he couldn’t have done worse if he were trying” is in the opinionated mouth of the speaker. That being said, there are instances where something happens that leaves people shaking their heads and thinking it doesn’t get any worse than this. Such was the case last week at the outset of the National Basketball Association “opener” (which really was just a resumption of the season that was halted in March) where entire teams of players knelt in protest of the National Anthem. Joe Concha reported at The Hill, “NBA teams knelt and locked arms during the national anthem Thursday as the league reopened its season on courts painted with ‘Black Lives Matter.’ … Every player from the four teams competing Thursday knelt during the national anthem to draw attention to racial injustice. “’That was beautifully done. Done in unity. Nice to see,’ former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal said on TNT. ‘Again, when you have your platform, I think it’s very important that you speak up, very important that you speak your mind.’” Speak up? The idiots took a knee on a basketball court. Great platform to make a fool of yourself, no? Funny how it used to be. Professional ballers have always had political opinions and a good many of them haven’t been shy about expressing them. Hall of Famer Bill Walton was an anti-Vietnam war hippy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar a social activist, yet they didn’t use their hoop forums to shove their opinions down the throats of people who came to watch the orange ball being dribbled, shot and inbounded. Concha additionally reported, “’So we use our voice to raise awareness, now we have to go vote. We have to vote our mayors in — our mayors appoint chiefs of police. We have to vote senators and politicians,’ O'Neal added. ‘It doesn’t just stop with sending out a tweet or just yelling all the time. We have to continue to fight, continue the movement. ... I’m proud of everyone.’” I’m guessing the reaction at many homes to the flag affronting was not quite as positive as O’Neal’s. For lots of folks, assuming they bother tuning-in at all anymore, the likely impression was, “They couldn’t alienate more people at once if they tried.” Full disclosure: I don’t watch the NBA, haven’t for years and probably wouldn’t view a game even if it were the only thing on cable on a dreadfully cold and boring Saturday night with the furnace on the blink and a roaring fire crackling next to the TV. Oh yeah, I still wouldn’t watch if I were parched in the middle of a hot and dusty desert and on the edge of fainting and a cool spring was feeding into a straw positioned just-so on a comfy couch under an awning near the images. Professional basketball lost me years ago when the “athletes” became walking billboards for tattoo and piercing parlors and the “woke” started lecturing people on politics. In recent times superstar LeBron James, among others, has been extremely politically visible, appearing at Democrat rallies and stirring up all sorts of nonsense about “justice” and “gun violence” when he lives in a virtual armed fortress wherever he resides (he’s jumped teams several times). People like LeBron are essentially entertainers without a script. If I wanted to be entertained, I’d dial up a pre-CCP virus Trump rally. Talk about exciting. Now the hoopsters seem fully committed to “speaking out” and joining with competitors from practically every other professional sport in thumbing their noses at the paying public by insulting the American flag. Much has been written about the bankrupt and empty “protests” these spoiled and pampered sports-playing celebrities are partaking in. They claim it isn’t about disrespect to veterans and those who bled for those stars and stripes. It’s about “justice” for “victims” of brutality and “systemic racism” -- the same system that made them filthy rich. Yeah, right. They couldn’t have said it worse if they’d tried to tick folks off. But there is some entertainment value in the offering. For Shaquille O’Neal to mumble nonsensical crapola like “raising awareness” and encouraging people to vote for mayors who appoint police chiefs and also to vote for senators and politicians, while in the next breath referring to “tweet” and “yelling”… why didn’t he just tattoo “Joe Biden for President” on his forehead while holding up a written sign reading “Wokesters hate Trump.” Do these guys think ordinary people are stupid? Do they surmise that the fans in their COVID-19 restricted living rooms don’t know who and what they’re talking about? Last Thursday folks tuned to TNT hoping to take part in the resumption of the pro basketball season and instead were treated to idiots in uniforms donning “Black Lives Matter” shirts and then, in unison, taking a knee while the national anthem was played. What would’ve happened if members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team went to coach Herb Brooks and told them they were boycotting the national anthem? Would Brooks have subsequently said it was “beautifully done” and complimented them on their “unity” in the doing? While it’s true a good many of these basketball players were brought up in poor communities in single parent households, with little opportunity and social problems all around, what excuse is there to act in such a way? The same could be said for Ben Carson. So did Sen. Tim Scott. So did millions of “white” kids in poverty-stricken regions of the country who battled their own set of challenges, including run-ins with law enforcement. Anyone in the hills of West Virginia feel akin to the NBA players? Eastern Ohio? Western Pennsylvania? The northern part of Minnesota? Neither of my grandfathers finished high school. They lived in areas without a lot of modern amenities. They didn’t complain. And they lived good lives. Now we’re told by these morons to look back at history and recognize the “white privilege” our ancestors enjoyed. And it’s not just about skin color. Should a successful descendant of Chinese or Korean immigrants feel guilty for being born into a culture that stressed hard work, respect for authority, academic achievement and abiding by the law? How about African immigrants -- like my old pastor, Elijah -- who were raised in rural villages and grew up in large families, but were taught stringent values by their elders? We’ll hear “They couldn’t have done it worse if they tried” a lot in the coming months. Here’s thinking sports viewers could be divided into several categories. First is probably the smallest group, those who actually agree with the “cause” of the players and watch to simply support their efforts. Second is the avid sports nut who doesn’t care about politics and isn’t bothered in the slightest by the anti-flag gestures. They just want their sports. Third is likely the largest category, diehard dedicated team followers who don’t like the political gestures but will tolerate them out of dedication to family time, etc. They’ll wait until the fury dies down, like with Colin Kaepernick and his absurd “protests” in 2016. The last cluster is tradition-loving Americans who’ve had it with the intentional affronts and will find something better to do rather than be subjected to the non-stop bombardment of politically correct stupidity coming from all sides, including enabling corporations. They also fault team owners for not putting an end to the misbehavior when they had the chance. Too late now. “They couldn’t have done it worse if they tried” -- The issue platform of the Democrat Party It used to be people could have differing opinions on political issues yet still respect the others’ views and defer to the system to determine winners and losers. Ronald Reagan, for example, never enjoyed a Republican-controlled House yet he still was able to pass his economic program thanks to the loyalty and support of conservative (on economics, at least) Democrats who placed partisanship to the side for the betterment of their country. This type of thing just doesn’t happen any longer. It’s not necessarily that the Republican Party has moved swiftly to the right as much as Democrats have gone hard in the other direction. Both sides used to be able to come together on common concerns such as policing -- just ask Joe Biden, circa early nineties -- and immigration, where bipartisan majorities voted in favor of building a border wall, tighter enforcement and pro-American citizen preferences. In the age of Donald Trump, Democrats have wholesale abandoned their previous preferences in favor of opposing everything the president does regardless of its desirability and necessity. It’s gotten to the point where Democrats basically openly advocate for more illegal immigration and won’t settle for “compromise” that doesn’t include full amnesty and eventual citizenship (voting privileges) and benefits for the invaders. “They couldn’t have done it worse if they tried.” Last week’s disgusting interrogation of Attorney General William Barr is a case in point. Barr faced wave after wave of pontificating Democrats lecturing on utopian fantasies rather than accepting the reasoned testimony of the nation’s top law enforcement officer. Anything that contradicts their distorted interpretation of reality is met with open contempt and insulting nastiness. If the national anthem were played before one of these “hearings” Democrats would probably kneel so as to be in unison with their rioting black clad Antifa brethren attempting to burn down buildings and assault federal officers. Could they be any more extreme? Today’s Democrats are an interesting lot, aren’t they? Like with the NBA players, it seems they couldn’t care less what the people at home think. Last week, Roger L. Simon (at The Epoch Times) questioned whether there’s a need for congressional hearings anymore. Simon was right -- what a waste of time. Donald Trump is really a big-hearted, caring guy -- away from the public sphere If it wasn’t obvious before Donald Trump entered politics, it’s certainly well-known now -- the outsider New Yorker loves his tough guy image. But those who’ve known Trump for years swear behind the scenes, he’s a much different human being. Ronald Kessler wrote at The Washington Times, “… Norma Foerderer spent almost every day with the mogul for 26 years as his vice president and top aide. No one knew so well both the personal and business side of Donald Trump. “In the only in-depth interview she ever gave, Foerderer, who has since died, told me there are two Donald Trumps: One is the Trump who appears to the public, making often outrageous comments on television to get attention; the other is the real Trump only insiders know.
“’I mean Donald can be totally outrageous, but outrageous in a wonderful way that gets him coverage,’ Foerderer told me. ‘That persona sells his licensed products and his condominiums. You know Donald’s never been shy, and justifiably so, in talking about how wonderful his buildings or his golf clubs are.’ The private Trump, on the other hand, is ‘the dearest, most thoughtful, most loyal, most caring man,’ Foerderer said. That caring side inspires loyalty and is one of the secrets to his success.” Kessler’s article paints quite a contrast to the establishment media’s depiction of Trump as a boorish jerk who no one can stand to be around or work for. There’s no doubt, Trump demands loyalty and he works long hours. People who work in the White House know what to expect. Trump clearly loves people and he enjoys a fair back-and-forth in public debate. He doesn’t respond well to being unfairly attacked. But who does? NBA players kneel and Democrats bash witnesses at congressional hearings, both forums where there’s no dissent. They couldn’t handle it. Professional athletes and Democrat congressmen and women behaving badly seems to be commonplace these days. It’s almost like they’re trying to get folks riled up rather than providing entertainment and good governance. They couldn’t do worse if they tried… or maybe the insults are the latest salvos in a greater war to destroy what remains of American culture.
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