"Generation X at War"

A nice op-ed by Bryan G. Stewart in today's Orlando Sentinel:

.... We have often been told that we are a slack-jawed generation -- MTV-watching, hedonistic buffoons of navel-gazing fame. Untucked shirts, poor table manners and sloth were supposed to be our hallmarks. Clearly, it was said of us, we were incapable of sustaining America's greatness, let alone able to defend it with honor. Slouching toward Gomorrah was to be the story of Generation X.

But that is not what I see, nor is that who most of us are. You may see this, too, if you look hard enough. The recent images flashed across your television screen from the Far East and Middle East stand as an electronic record of this assertion.

As the war progresses in Afghanistan and Iraq, I have seen the acts of my chronological peers, and they are not acts of self-indulgence. They are acts of bravery, determination and sacrifice. Witness the sailor and the soldier in Iraq. Observe the FBI agent who arrests terrorists in Tampa or Buffalo, and the NSA cryptologist who deciphers al-Qaeda codes. Watch the CIA operative on horseback in Afghanistan or the Marine inside Saddam Hussein's palace. I am exceedingly proud of my generation.

But you don't have to travel abroad to see these acts. On Sept. 11, 2001, I saw the firefighters and police officers of my generation go into the World Trade Center, the members of our armed forces putting out fires at the Pentagon, and I heard Todd Beamer say "Let's roll" on United Airlines Flight 93 over the fields of southwestern Pennsylvania.

Rather than see American flags being burned or ROTC cadets being spit upon at our universities, in my generation you're more likely to find rallies for America than you will war protesters....

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sat. 04/26/03 06:42:42 PM
Categorized as Social/Cultural.

"Coming Out of the Conservative Closet"

An extraordinary column by Elizabeth Nickson in today's National Post:

.... In any case, coming out as Christian or conservative is terrifying, as is, I'm certain, coming out as gay. You will be discriminated against. The crimes of the past will be held against you. Your income, unless you stick close to your kin, will be threatened. People will frown when they look at you. People will hate you without knowing you, they will call you names if you say anything, they will send you coruscating hate mail, you will suck it up. This will make you crazy and you will understand extremism because you'll see it in your own soul, called up from the depths by the hatred in which you are held.

The reason it will make you crazy is that so many things that need deep public discussion are ignored. Voting surveys for the past 30 years have identified that as many as 90% of all journalists are left-wing. This war, along with polarizing social life and opinion, has revealed that weakness in all its glory. If during the first weeks of the war, it was on the front page of the Globe or The New York Times, it was pretty much guaranteed not to be happening. Why were these stories not previously, exhaustively investigated: Saddam's insane brutality, and his decades of theft from the Iraqi people? The repulsive corruption of the Food for Oil program, the direction of which was personally overseen by only-I-can-confer-legitimacy Kofi Annan? The utter head up your ass-ness of Hans Blix inspection routine? Those with a clear choice voted with their feet. In the States, Fox News now has 4.52 viewers to CNN's 3.4. Hello?

There are many more conservatives in Canada than you would think, given most of our news sources. Intimidated by charges of racism, sexism, homophobia and fascism, they are silent. My gay friend told me Monday that three of his friends told him they were fed up by the left, hated being portrayed as victims by the press, and were turning right. Perhaps they can teach us a little about courage.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sat. 04/26/03 11:03:17 AM
Categorized as Social/Cultural.

"Catholic Politicians Feel Church Heat on Abortion"

A propaganda piece an article in today's Chicago Tribune contains the following hilarious line:

.... Because the Catholic Church grants bishops great latitude in their dioceses, it remains unclear whether the bishops' recent actions represent the beginning of a broad shift toward harsher public sanction of Catholic officeholders who disagree with the church on abortion....

Let's see. In Iraq, we find a children's prison, torture chambers, and mass graves. In Cuba, left-wing hero Castro imprisons political opponents and journalists for decades. But Catholic bishops in the USA actually suggest to pro-baby-killing "Catholic" politicians that they stop pretending to be Catholic, and a cognate of the word "harsh" is employed in an article about it.

And note how "fair and balanced" the article is: it quotes the subversive traitor Richard McBrien and the editor of the liberal Jesuit magazine, America. No identifiable real conservative Catholic is quoted. And, by my count, the word "conservative" is used four times; the words "liberal" and "progressive" are not used at all.

And note the ominous "warning" with which the article concludes: oooh, you foolish bishops; get some spine, stand up, and demand that Catholics be Catholics, and you're going to get it!

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sat. 04/26/03 10:19:45 AM
Categorized as Religious.

Thrown Back Again

That amazing disappearing, reappearing, disappearing again, reappearing again priest, Fr. Rob Johansen, has... well... see for yourself. :)

If Blogspot's #@%*%@% archiving isn't working, look for "Like a Phoenix...", Friday, April 25, 2003, 1:48 PM, on his main weblog page.

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Sat. 04/26/03 08:50:31 AM
Categorized as Other.