Creeping Attitude

I suppose I am just old and out of touch with reality but that doesn’t mean I am necessarily looking to change. It probably just won’t happen. In fact I’m certain it won’t happen.

In the future I feel fairly sure that one midnight I will have to go to the front door and be confronted with a troop of ‘political correctness’ cops. They will have some type of executive order issued by some federal magistrate (appointed, not elected) who has willingly issued an order to transport me’mind and body to the nearest PC gulag.

My crime’Failure to deal with the reality of the times. Speaking out against what I perceive is immoral, illegal or just downright wrong.

Case in point. In today’s paper there is a story about a state official responsible for contracts worth millions of dollars receiving gifts and presents from one of the companies seeking more contract money. In the article the official states that he just never thought about there being any connection with the thousands of dollars in gifts and perks he received and the company. He just thought these were given to him because they ‘liked him’and they were ‘friends’. When asked whether or not he remembered $700 football tickets, he replied that he was ‘old’and couldn’t recall any events going back a year or so ago. My response is that if he’s too old and senile to recall a football game then he certainly should not be in any position to vote on the handing out of millions of dollars in taxpayer money.

The majority of us have jobs or worked for someone at some point in time in our lives. Most of us came into those jobs with an innate sense of honesty. We knew it was wrong to steal from those who employed us or to lie concerning our various responsibilities. However it seems in our changing times, it isn’t politically correct to do this any longer. In fact the more you can get away with, the more notoriety and attention you can expect to receive. In fact you may get your own reality show.

Take Dave Letterman’s revelation last week of having multiple relations with his office co-workers. This confession consumed the airways for nearly a week. His confession to his audience about his behavior elicited laughs and applause. For what’Adultery and being unfaithful to his wife and children’ Ha..ha’ha’.isn’t this funny’

Not’..

What has happened to just plain old common decency in this country’Or the world for that matter’Don’t honesty, integrity, loyalty and other values have any place in our fast paces internet connected, facebook and twitter world’Is the new order of the day along the lines of do anything as long as you don’t get caught and then loudly declare your innocence’

Last week in one of our courts, we had the trial of a man charged with the killing of six people. The defense argued that this man came from an abused background and suffered from a lack of self esteem. This was the root cause for his murderous streak. He got the death penalty. I know a lot of people who came from abused backgrounds and who have poor self esteem and most of those people sought help for their issues. None that I recall went out and murdered one much less six others. There have been letters to the editor in our local paper complaining that his penalty was too severe. They argued that he lacked the skills necessary to keep him from harming others.

Tell that to the families of those six murdered individuals.

Maybe this man did have a self esteem issue, but does that eliminate him from seeking help to deal with it’Doesn’t the man who takes $700 football tickets see that there could be a connection between what he takes and what he is expected to give’Doesn’t David Letterman realize that his actions are viewed by millions and that men (and women) having their high profiles are models for behavior of others’If they lie, cheat and steal, then have we gotten to the point that it is acceptable for all of us to do the same’

As I said earlier, have we gotten to the point to where nothing is a crime or frowned upon except getting caught’

I hope not and I will continue what I can to stop or slow this creeping attitude. Even if it means being carted off to some remotely located retraining area for the remainder of my life.