We’ve lost our collective marbles
Not sure when we lost our collective marbles as a country, but it has accelerated greatly in the past several years as the social engineers have gained the upper hand.
The latest mind-shaping has come in the form of historical amnesia, the reinterpretation of marriage and the constant attempts to change the faces on the paper money in this country. Oh, by the way, you can’t have any transfat in your food anymore, either.
So, where to start.
How about revising history. The banning of the Confederate flag from the statehouses, on clothing and on bumpers in the Deep South and the “Dukes of Hazzard” from TV is suppose to erase racism. Hate to say it, but it might not work. Racism is alive and well in this country, and I suspect it always will be whether the Confederate flag is around or not.
The next thing may be the erasing of the Civil War from our history books so as not to offend those who don’t want to remember that conflict.
Jumping onto the revisionist bandwagon is a call in the Twin Cities to rename Lake Calhoun because it was named for a Southern politician who spoke eloquently and vigorously for states rights prior to the Civil War. The lake was named for Sen. John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, who was a strident states rights advocate, which included maintaining slavery as well as other states rights of importance in that era.
Folks, the Civil War was more about states rights than slavery at the start, and Sen. Calhoun was a states-right advocate, and a very good one at that.
So to penalize Sen. Calhoun and South Carolina, Minnesota do-gooders want to rename Lake Calhoun. I’m sure Sen. Calhoun doesn’t really care, but serious historians should. We should not cave into historical revisionists who think this is a great time to forget that sordid part of our history.
As to the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage throughout the country, we knew it was inevitable. I have nothing against same-sex families, but I do object to calling it a marriage like traditional heterosexual marriage. They are not the same, biologically. So, call it something else.
As to putting a woman on the face of U.S. paper money, fine. But to now eye Alexander Hamilton for replacement is like replacing President George Washington on the one dollar bill or Abe Lincoln on the five. Hamilton, the main proponent of a strong central government and the federal banking system in this country, was as important as Washington as our first president or Lincoln for keeping the country together during the Civil War.
While Hamilton was never president and happened to be shot dead in a duel with Vice President Aaron Burr, that does not denigrate him to the historical junk pile in the name of political correctness.
Maybe the country should create new paper denominations, like the three-dollar or seven-dollar bill. Then we can include more women on our currency and not eliminate the important men who helped shape our country.
As long as I’m on my high horse, transfat in our food is the latest target of social engineers who are hell-bent on making us look like Barbie and Ken dolls. Hate to break it to you, but that transformation “ain’t gonna happen.”
I like my transfat. I’m not alone, just ask anyone who had a hamburger or cheeseburger at Oak Leaf Park during the recent Glencoe Days celebration or a brat or hot dog over the Fourth of July.
But thanks for thinking of my health. Apparently I’m incapable of making those eating choices on my own.
Wonder who was around to protect the cavemen from eating those artery-clogging mastodons?
Rich Glennie was the editor of The Chronicle for 23 years. He retired Aug. 1, 2014, but still plans to submit an occasional column.
