Selective Americanism Against Celebrating the Standard

Tuesday, January 26, 2010



This is why I get frustrated with liberalism.



And sorry - I hate to go all "Beck-Hannity-Limbaugh" on you, but you have to understand - this is ridiculous.

And I'm really not the "I hate liberalism" type of guy. I disagree with it. I stand against it. I don't hate it, though, nor do I hate those that lean in this direction politically.

But, we have yet another example of what frustrates me so.



A series of questions:


Why is it that when we get mainstream liberal messaging such as homosexual parenting ("Jimmy has Two Mommies", for instance) or other alternative lifestyles, there is an argument that roundly states that America must foster this messaging for the good of diversity, even if it means promoting books about gay penguins to kindergarten and 1st grade students in public schools? (And, it should be noted, schools that still fall woefully short on historical books such as the Buffalo Soldiers and other civil rights pioneers.)



Not that I'm trying to prohibit any Americans from their right to free speech as long as it does not physically harm anyone. At the same time, I don't want or need a barrage of messaging going directly to my children at school on issues that are socially controversial or complex. I can do that explanation for them, as I should as a father.



Now, why is it that when it's time to hear the other side of a story - a perspective that leans conservative - there becomes a threat to safety and personal liberty that must be stopped in its tracks.


We hear that civil rights will be rolled back decades if a conservative perspective is shared. We hear that people's rights will be trampled upon if we allow free speech in this instance to be voiced.


In many ways, it ends up becoming an "I love America...but only when it's the America I want" type of situation.


Such is the case coming from the Tim Tebow inspirational story that is becoming a symbol of fervor against the pro-life.


For those of you that don't know the story, it's pretty simple to explain:


Tim Tebow's mother was overseas as a missionary when she contracted an illness that made her pregnancy in 1987 a high-risk one. After being advised to terminate the pregnancy, Mrs. Tebow and her family decided to go forward with the pregnancy due to their Christian beliefs.


The baby that was born of that decision was Tim Tebow, an award-winning and 2-time NCAA champion football player. And, from all accounts, that's the low side of his accomplishments. Known as a proud Christian and a gentleman, Tebow is roundly respected in sports circles for his manner with disadvantaged children, his affability with the media and with opponents, and his leadership within his team.


All Tebow wants to do in a 30-second ad is tell his story as an encouragement for women to consider decisions other than abortion when pregnant, a move that is a lot less powerful than multiple Planned Parenthood buildings standing in urban centers throughout the nation as symbols encouraging women to make that opposite choice.


Yet, to protesters, this move by Tebow and Focus on the Family is a threat to their rights as Americans and a violation of broadcast integrity during the Super Bowl.



Somewhere, Rush Limbaugh is surely yet sadly calling someone a femi-nazi even as I type.


I disagree with his terminology, but I agree with his sentiment 100%.


Only in America can we defend a woman's right to choose while bashing another's right to give both sides of that very complex issue. And regardless of what people want to say about this, it does boil down to liberalism vs. conservatism in a way that makes people draw lines in the sand and refuse to acquiesce to our collective Americanism. The clear contradiction of the left comes across as a response that one would expect from a group of spoiled second graders that are upset that the first graders also got a chance to go on the special field trip that they just returned from. For all of the screaming and anger, there is a clear principle that is being ignored by these protesters from the left: that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander, particularly when it comes to the court of public opinion.


How is it that we can now be at a point of time in America where we can be blitzed with gay characters in prime time dramas, sitcoms, and other avenues in the media on a regular basis - complete with intimate scenes - and not be able to tolerate the social opposite? Again, conservatives are told repeatedly to learn tolerance (which, for the record, I believe in as being accordance with the "love your neighbor as yourself" commandment that many on the Christian right conveniently forget about when addressing these issues), but those following alternative lifestyles are not held to remembering what they truly are: alternative lifestyles. They are not the mainstream. They are not the norm.


Life is, however, and a celebration of a difficult choice and a success story that follows from it is nothing to be scared of.


The same liberalism that wants to prevent this ad from running during the Super Bowl and wants to promote abortion rights without supporting women's right to choose (and, that does include choosing life, not abortion) would continue to block fair debates on complex issues, erect left-leaning institutions in communities that do not need such on-going "influence", and potentially snuff out lives.


This is an issue that is close to home for me. 15 years prior to Tebow's birth, I had a similar story.


My late mother and I were dying while I was being born, a result of my mother's undiagnosed diabetes and me being more than 2 weeks overdue; (I was supposed to be a Christmas baby.) In the midst of childbirth, monitors indicated that my mother and I were suffering greatly during the birthing process. Due to my size (I was born at 10 pounds), my breathing was cut off and my head was being crushed. The stress from the complication caused my mother to have life-threatening issues. Both of our heart rates dropped considerably.


The doctor came out to consult with my father about a painful decision he was giving him to make: save the wife and try again to have another child or save the child at the strong risk that the wife may die.


My father took the third option: go save both the wife (my mother) and the baby (me.)


Perplexed that my father's decision did not include "choice" but only included life, the doctor returned - and we both lived to tell about it.


Not that I'll ever win a Heisman Trophy or throw a collegiate touchdown pass, but I am glad to be here :-)


In a land where life , liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is celebrated as a constitutional right and a backbone statement from our Declaration of Independence, it is puzzling that so many on the left would argue to celebrate choices from abortion that honor the opposite while working so hard to prevent the pursuit of happiness through the choice of life, even in the same annuals of media that their alternative messages have been constitutionally-protected to survive in. Again, I have nothing against the right to hear about alternatives, but I will never stand for the protection of alternatives at the risk of destroying the standards - and, in this instance, if the alternative is abortion through choice, the standard is life.


If the aftermath of abortion - the resentment of lost fathers, the regret by lost mothers, the pain of blotched or repeated procedures - is cast aside by these same liberal organizations in their quest to promote their social agendas, why must the conservative side of the coin do the same by casting aside the joy of choosing life and allowing God the opportunity to present His Glory in what initially appears to be a downturn in one's journey? At some point, if America is going to return to its glory as a nation, it must begin to return to the glory of standards, even as we protect the rights of those from an alternative point of view.


If we can use television to celebrate Super Bowl touchdowns, diversity, alternative lifestyles, and diverging political points of view, why can't we use the greatest American television stage to celebrate the greatest gift we have all received: life?



It may not be politically correct for some, but I'd love to hear an amen to that.