Traditional Values – GrumpsReport

Rest In Peace Queen Elizabeth

September 9, 2022 Grumps Family, Headlines, History, Politics, Society & Culture, Values

Writers far more articulate than I are crafting tributes and condolences which pour in from across the globe. Flower bouquets are piling up at the gates of Balmoral and at Buckingham Palace. Years from now the question will be asked, “Where were you when the Queen died?” Momentous events etch indelible images and circumstances in our minds. We can all recall where we were on 9-11. Those of us who were around will recall where we were when Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon.

What can I add?

She was many things, but I would characterize the life of Queen Elizabeth as the embodiment of Traditionalism. She was its archetype. While talking heads will continue the debate as to whether a monarchy, even a constitutional one, is or is not an anachronism, the fact that in 2022 it exists and is still much revered is testament to what I believe is a human longing for the Traditional.

“Modern”, “Post-Modern”, “Contemporary” and the repulsive “Progressive” are all synonyms for what I might call “Anti-Traditionalism”. I spend most of my time and writing excoriating the values and behaviors of those to whom these labels can be applied so I won’t do so here.

I have long argued, on the other hand, that there are principles, values and human norms or standards that transcend all periods of time, all epochs, all generations. They are immutable and exist whether or not they are acknowledged by some or all of the world’s population. Some are couched in religious terms. Some in political. Some in sociological.

Among these are acknowledgment that irrespective of our circumstances every human being has worth, has inalienable rights, has a soul and free will. Honor and respect for the family, meritocracy, diligent work ethics, absolute values of right and wrong, honesty in business practices, wholesomeness in leadership, respect for authority, moderation rather than excess, self-responsibility, charity, trustworthiness, loyalty, helpfulness, friendliness, courteousness, kindness and above all, reverence.

Think of Queen Elizabeth II in these terms and you will realize she exuded ALL of them!

By way of contrast, try to apply these terms to the political class and wealthy elites, the so-called “leaders” of today.

Ok, you can stop now…you won’t find too many examples of them being exhibited, especially by Leftists and the majority of Democrats but also too many on the Right. You certainly won’t find the whole array in any one person.

Queen Elizabeth was the exception. She manifested them ALL, every day, in every place, in virtually every circumstance.

The so-called “leaders” of today all occupy space on the world stage due to their positions. Yes she was a Queen, but she took up the whole stage because of who she WAS, not because of her office. The only leader in my lifetime who exhibited anything close to her in terms of allegiance to Traditional values was Ronald Reagan.

Queen Elizabeth’s entire life was and will always be a monument to Tradition, to what in my judgment are the values and principles which when espoused and practiced by mankind have resulted in the greatest good for the greatest number of people. She lived it with dignity, with class, with noblesse oblige, with grace and with honor. Kudos is due her, as are praise, gratitude and the utmost respect for her contribution to the human story.

Rest in peace Elizabeth and may God bless your family at this painful time.

Act Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace

October 28, 2021 Grumps America, Economy, Education, Government, Headlines, History, Media, Morality, Politics, Reason, Religion, Science, Society & Culture, Technology, Values

Some of my readers have asked recently why my posts come in bursts and why they seem to have tapered off in recent months. The answer is simple. Actions speak louder than words. I have markedly stepped up my activities that, for lack of a simpler description, consist of championing the “Let’s Go Brandon” movement. And if you don’t know what that slogan means, you have your head in the sand and should pull it out and look it up. It’s not just an anti-administration motivation that drives me. It’s the recognition that despite my reservations, despite the impingement on my time and energy, I must actually DO something, not just talk about it.

So I have. I have worked to expand my network of like-minded people also disgusted by what they see transpiring before their eyes. We meet regularly and discuss the atrocities of the day and what our extended networks are telling us about leftist overreach and right-minded push back. We talk about contingency plans. We speak in public settings (e.g. in bars, restaurants, at the grocery store) openly and unabashedly about the toxic drivel coming out of the Biden administration, the lies, deceit, misinformation of the main stream media, and we openly applaud those who sport patriotic tee shirts and hats.

And here’s something I’ve learned. As angry as I am about the Democrat daily atrocities, I’ve found that the Democrats who surround me respond better to subtle encouragement rather than overt condemnation. As much as I’d like to grab them by the neck and rub their noses in the excrement they’ve left all over the ground, I’ve found a better formula, one that doesn’t corner and confront them, but that gives them an escape route.

For example, the other day I was deployed as a member of our community emergency response team and as we worked on setting up our equipment I overheard one of the members say something about attending a Democrat meeting of one sort or another. As the conversation ended and the Democrat and I came in close proximity to one another, I said to him, “Wow Bob, I would have never pegged you for a Democrat.” His expression was priceless. It was clear he was embarrassed to have been outed!

My statement was, of course, both a compliment as well as a dig. I acknowledged he was a good guy, with smarts and skills and organizational ability, while also pointing out my surprise that anyone possessing these attributes could be a Democrat!

I’m encouraged by the fact that there are more and more traditionalist/conservative blogs, videos and other forms of media published every day. As I’ve often stated, there are many who’s ability to articulate the outrage we all feel far surpasses my own, and it’s clear, reading or viewing their work, that we all have similar sentiments. Thus, I’ve frequently begun a post only to find that someone has already covered what I want to say, and far better than I could.

I’m tempted, and may in fact act on this, to add a curation feature to GrumpsReport. Curation, by the way, is one of those terms, usually applied to the selection of displays in a museum, that the tech world has co-opted and abused. But its apt. What I’m suggesting is the establishment of a section with links to specific articles, videos, tweets, etc. that are particularly intriguing, thought-provoking or bile-inducing. Thus, my readers will have a sense of what I’m made up of. As we all know, “we are what we consume”, and that goes for what we read, watch and listen to as well.

In the meantime, please understand that the fewer hours I spend writing the more I spend actually doing something about the stuff I’m so pissed off about!

I hope you’ll join me in DOING SOMETHING. Speak up, act out, join with, and by all means, help the unfortunate (I’m being extremely generous) Democrats and independents who think that everything’s just swell to wake up, open their eyes, filter out the bs they’re consuming and start thinking with their heads instead of other parts of their anatomies.

To the Contrary

February 16, 2021 Grumps America, Economy, Education, Family, Government, Headlines, History, Media, Morality, Politics, Reason, Society & Culture, Technology, Values

Before, during and shortly after the 2020 Election I continued to believe and/or trust that truth would prevail, that fraud would be exposed, that a fair analysis and exposition of what happened would materialize and that the evil Leviathan I call the Left would be halted and defeated. I sincerely thought that this last election would represent the high tide of the Leftist Cabal…that finally, the truly insidious dark forces would be exposed and sent back to Hell where they belong. I now no longer feel so optimistic. To the contrary, I now see the inmates are now running the insane asylum.

For the last several weeks I have been studying all of the reports, essays, commentary, reviews, etc. regarding and surrounding the events beginning with the late winter/early Spring emergence of the Wuhan Virus, the convenient crisis it created, the election and all that has transpired since. It’s clear the Left used every arrow in their quiver to win their battle for control. And you know what? They won this battle!

There are no two ways about it. Disgusting and repulsive as their tactics were, they successfully prosecuted their cause and took over the reins of power in our country.

It has been said that World War III has begun. It has also been said that a secession of Red States or armed/violent rebellion against the Swamp are the only two paths forward barring complete submission to the godless communists (because that’s really what they are).

The cauldron is boiling. I know of NO thinking, patriotic, god-fearing, truth-reveling American who isn’t incensed right now. Unfortunately, no leader has yet emerged to coalesce them into a force able and willing to purge the demons. He or she is out there, and many names are being floated, but he or she has yet to step forward.

I, like many others, have wondered why the military didn’t and hasn’t stepped up to defend the republic. Studying this question and speaking to high-level contacts that I have in Washington, it has become clear that just like the country as a whole, there is a Swamp in the military and, I might add, the law enforcement and Intelligence Communities as well. While the vast majority of the military, law enforcement and intelligence community (MLIC) personnel are supportive of traditional American values, their LEADERSHIP consist almost universally of political swamp creatures interested at least as much if not more in their own advancement and careers as in the interests of our democracy and constitutional republic. The command hierarchy being what it is, the patriotic values and sentiments of the rank and file is suppressed, perhaps even more so than the Main Stream Media and the Democrat Party are able to censor, cancel and suppress that of the majority of the general population (and I still believe we are the majority!).

So the military wasn’t going to intervene on January 6th, or on January 20th, and while there is a lot of mumbling going on, so long as the top (swamp) brass is in command, the MLIC personnel will kowtow to their bosses. As an aside, this notion of “fighting for the man next to you” is just a fallback/excuse for not fighting for “truth, justice and the American Way.” THAT’s what they SHOULD be fighting for! In the absence of principles of freedom and right, however, which are nowadays largely absent from MLIC doctrine, it’s understandable the only thing our fighters have to fight for are the men on either side of them.

Like peeling an onion, as I read deeper into the answers to the question “How could this happen?”, I was reminded of all the history and forces behind this Leftist onslaught. As old as I am, and having spent my formative years overseas and seeing in my travels totalitarianism up front and personal, I have been reminded of the underpinnings. In short, the defeat of communism symbolized by the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, Glasnost, Perestroika, Tiananmen Square, etc. notwithstanding, the Left wasn’t defeated, just defanged momentarily.

I say momentarily because since the 80’s and Reagan’s “Star Wars” initiative bankrupted the Soviet Union, bringing it to its knees, the Alinsky-ites have sought to use more insidious means to infiltrate, poison and take over our institutions resulting in what we have today…a complete infestation of Leftist metastatic cancer in our society. It is embodied in the words and actions of the Leftists, from the globalists typified by George Soros, to the stupid, woke lemmings embodied in so many Gen Z snowflakes. With arrogant hyenas like Obama (behind the scenes), EVERY Democrat, from Biden, Harris, Pelosi, Schumer and the rest of them pulling the strings of all these manipulated, leftist idiots, and thunderously spewing forth their propaganda using the tech megaphone and dominance of the media, the Right will have to adopt an opposing guerilla mentality, strategy and tactics to combat the now entrenched enemy.

When I started this blog going on two years ago, I planned to celebrate the virtues of traditional values, the benefits of a free and open society, etc. I intended to remain apolitical.

Anyone who has followed my essays will plainly see, however, that succumbing to the fact that now EVERYTHING in life and society is political, I’ve morphed into a dedicated resistance fighter who with my remaining years and breaths will do everything and anything I can to reverse the slide down the slippery slope we’re on and prevent the downfall of the greatest civilization, nation and republic the world has ever known. I will speak out boldly from this point forth, until and even after I too am “cancelled” by the hyenas, against the spread of the cancer. I will do what I can to kill, yes, kill the cancer that is Leftist, totalitarian and tyrannical ideology and resist…RESIST (!) the attempts to take away more of my freedom and that of my family and friends.

As much as the Left subscribes to moral relativism, in my book, some things are simply morally RIGHT and some things are morally WRONG!

I choose the Right.

I Have a Dream

September 10, 2020 Grumps America, Economy, Education, Family, Government, History, Morality, Politics, Reason, Religion, Science, Society & Culture, Technology, Values

With credit and apologies to Martin Luther King, I have my own dream of what could be. In a sense, what follows is MY version of a Utopian society…not the Dystopian society the Left is pushing.

I dream of an America that stands together, (including for our National Anthem!) as it once did during the Second World War. People from all walks of life, from every background, color, creed, faith, national origin are ALL proud to be American, grateful for the opportunity and freedom we have, bonded together through citizenship in a democratic republic we all believe in and cherish, and where educated, grammatically proper and syntactically correct American English is the national language.

I watched the movie “Miracle” the other night, the story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team’s beating of the unbeatable Russian hockey team and our gold medal win. The period leading up to that triumph was a time of great trouble: the winding up of the Vietnam War, Watergate, the Iranian hostage crisis, the welfare state was growing like gangbusters, the rapid breakdown of traditional families and a continuation of what occurred in the 60’s – a growing fracture between Left and Right.

At that moment, in that hockey rink in Lake Placid, NY, all of America was united irrespective of where we stood on the ideological, political, or societal spectra. Oh that we could bottle and distribute that patriotism and pride today! The same pride we all felt as we heard the words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

I dream of an America with leaders who uplift, who inspire, who seek the betterment of all our citizens and who assert with dignity and nobility America’s rightful role in the world as the “beacon on the hill”. In my lifetime, I’ve watched and listened to a slew of presidents, political, religious, academic, military and business “leaders” pontificate and (with apologies now to Shakespeare) “strut and fret their hour upon the stage” telling tales like idiots, “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Sometimes the rhetoric resonated with enough people that it became, (to use a modern term), a “meme”, and our nation’s course was altered accordingly. Sometimes it just drifted away on the wind and was “heard no more.” Today our politics is more than ever gutter politics. Both the Left and the Right are talking down and at one another rather than with one another. The public, at least those who bother, are watching this “s-show” and shaking their heads, rolling their eyes and asking themselves, “can’t we do better than this?” I hasten to add, as I often do, however, that while both sides participate in these deplorable political antics, you’d have to be willfully blind or just plain stupid to not see that the Left has deepened and putrefied the gutter beyond anything the Right or any grade-school educated person could ever have imagined!

I dream of an America where children are once again taught about its greatness, about its Judeo-Christian roots and underpinnings, about the sacrifices and struggles of those who, imperfect though they were, united together to build this nation and establish it as the greatest engine of freedom, peace and prosperity the world has ever known. Those lessons we learned in grade school about the founding and early history of America, about 2+2 being 4, not 5 (“but Johnny, that was a good try and I’m so glad you feel empowered to give that answer”), those trophies that we received because we WON, not because we showed up, are not QUAINT! They’re an accounting of what made America great (.sic) not to be trampled upon with New Math, 1619 projects, multicultural and globalist, anti-national revisions to history, and poisonous, Leftist, “nobody should have any more than anyone else”, dystopian idiocy.

I dream of an America where traditional views of right and wrong are once again firmly established in our practices, laws, regulations and politics, where principles of equal opportunity rather than equal outcomes are engendered and manifest, where we don’t compromise, alter or eliminate these principles and harm and offend the vast majority of our people because some minority professes to be victimized by their application. One can argue that there is no black and white, but the Leftists would have you believe that there are no standards…that each and every one of us ought to be the arbiter of what is good, what is evil, what is right and what is wrong. Peaceful marches and protests (ones that don’t disrupt commerce, travel and the lives of those who are not involved) are RIGHT. Riots, looting, assault, battery, disturbance of the peace even… are WRONG. The taking of responsibility, restraint and continence are RIGHT. Infanticide and abortion as contraception is WRONG! Practicing and exhibiting manners is RIGHT. Anything goes is WRONG.

I dream of an America where our legal system is purged of distortion and justice is meted out with equanimity and without political bias, where laws are respected, and people understand and expect to abide by them not from fear of judgement and penalty, but because they’re just and benefit all of us. We were taught as kids to respect police officers, firemen, heck, even “our elders”! Today the Left wishes to destroy respect for just about anything! Weaponized law, weaponized politics, weaponized regulations…all these were started and have been fomented by the “it’s all about me” Leftists who were the hippies of the 60’s, the losers who sought to “tune in, turn on and drop out” and who now form the core of what is known as “the Deep State”. How could the Left use the law to persecute (some might say destroy the lives of) its opponents while allowing its own scandalous, obvious and disgusting violations of law go unpunished?

I dream of an America:

Where the rights and thoughtful, not shrill views of all are tolerated but where unlawful and aberrant behavior is not!

Where ALL lives matter!

Where faith is restored in FAITH!

Where we can earn an honest day’s wage for an honest day’s work.

Where government isn’t the source of philanthropy but individuals, families and communities look after one another.

Where technology, systems and artificial intelligence don’t substitute for people communicating directly with one another, where human beings answer the customer service 800 number, speak English and are empowered to solve problems rather than belch canned scripts like “I’m sorry you’re having a problem with…I’m here to help with that.” And where REAL intelligence in REAL humans deliver REAL results, and where parents “just say no” to 10 year olds demanding their own iPhones.

Where drugs, alcohol, pornography, social media and other addictions are dealt with head-on, not excused, tolerated and talked about endlessly.

Where the real racism and bias inherent in the hypocritical Left’s actions are exposed and expunged so that real fairness of opportunity can prevail.

Where men can once again be men and are not automatically accused of being misogynists; where women don’t feel they have to act like men (and behave like misandrists!) and where it’s ok for traditional roles of bread-winning and child-rearing to prevail again.

Where shame is felt for shameful behavior.

Where government no longer tries to engineer social justice through housing mandates, but allows communities to form freely and the pick-winners-and-losers-robin-hood-taking-from-Peter-to-buy-the-vote-of-Paul no longer takes place.

Where the rights of those who seek to obey the laws, focus on caring for themselves and their families, and work hard to be contributing members of society are not permitted to be trampled by the obnoxious, repugnant behavior or those who break the laws and seek to impinge on or take from others what is not rightfully theirs, and who do so with impunity.

Where honest capitalism is not denigrated but celebrated, but where crony capitalism is rooted out, exposed and eliminated.

Where limousine liberals and people who have no idea of what real suffering is remove their hypocritical, self-righteous, virtue-signaling signs from their lawns and instead, take a weed whacker to the overgrown grass and mess by the side of the road.

Where our schools teach kids reading, writing and arithmetic again instead of indoctrinating them in multicultural, gender-confused, anti-American drivel.

Where the term “marriage” is returned to its religious definition, but where the ability of same-sex partners to enjoy the same legal rights as married couples is codified in our laws and where LGBTQ militants no longer try to shove their preferences and ideology down others’ throats.

Where our military and law enforcement, as well as all other public service occupations are purged of incompetents and bad apples, our churches and the Boy Scouts are purged of pedophiles, our colleges are purged of socialists and marxists.

Where we can calm down, lower the speed and decibel level of our lives, aspire to be good and do good, do what is right, and actually “all get along”.

Faith and the Easter Bunny

April 12, 2020 Grumps America, Morality, Politics, Reason, Religion, Science, Society & Culture, Uncategorized

Easter Sunday, 2020. The pews are empty. This is our first “video celebration” streamed through thousands of digital mechanisms across the world. Earlier in the week Passover seders were celebrated similarly. A juxtaposition of the technological and the divine.

How one marks the day depends on one’s belief or lack thereof. There are, in my opinion, as regards religion, three states: either we are atheists, believers or agnostics. And, I hasten to point out, we may be one or the other at different points in our lives.

Atheists, a.k.a. secularists, non-believers or those who worship things other than a deity, make up a significant and growing percentage of the world’s population. While there are countless “studies” marking this growth, one has only to look around at the opposite phenomenon, the decline in congregations, to acknowledge this trend.

Aside from the numbers, there are also countless “studies” that seek to explain why religion is on the wane. Could it be that the rapid advancement of technology has simply made us “full of ourselves”? What need have we of a God when we can summon knowledge, convenience and even virtual human interaction instantaneously and effortlessly from the electronic gadget in our hands? Millennials (Gen Y) and Gen Z seem to be the most secular and least religious of any generation. They are, of course, those who grew up with this technology and don’t even recall much of what I call the Analog World (a separate article forthcoming on that subject).

And who among the political divides in America are the atheists? Exactly whom you’d think: the Democrats. On August 24, 2019 the Democratic National Committee passed a resolution recognizing the “value” of religiously unaffiliated Americans and describing them as the “largest religious group in the Democratic party “. (https://secular.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/DNC-Resolution-on-the-Nonreligious-Demographic.pdf) And here’s some Pew Research Center data that corroborates that boast: (https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/religious-family/atheist/party-affiliation/)

Forget about broad trends for a moment, however, and examine what this means for our families, our local communities and our Country. What happens to a people when they get too full of themselves?

You’ll recall when Moses descended from Mt. Sinai he found this exact circumstance. Not a good scene. The party animals had taken over, they no longer had any need for God, faith or religion and things didn’t turn out well. Isn’t it obvious we’re duplicating that scene at the base of Mt. Sinai right now? What does the future hold if we keep this up?

The battle we as a nation are fighting is a civil war. It is a battle for its soul. I’ve often referred to Bill O’ Reilly’s contention that the fight is between Traditionalists and Secular Progressives. Will we follow a course plotted by a rudderless ship piloted by secularist atheists, or by a people who, irrespective of their denomination, subscribe to traditional principles of right and wrong stemming from a belief in God that have survived the vicissitudes of mankind since the Garden of Eden?

As regards my own views on God and religion. As I begin to think more and more about the subject I’ve yet to codify my beliefs. But here are some thoughts.

Thomas Aquinas tried to “prove” the existence of God in his book Summa Theologica. I’m reasonably well read and educated and no matter how hard I tried, I found it incomprehensible and far more confusing and doubt-provoking than enlightening. The proof can’t be conjured up from within ourselves or “proven” in some way. Whether or not to believe in God has to be an individual determination. Anything else but a personal conviction withers under fire or rusts with disuse. Thus, in thinking and talking to others about God I have often asked others the question: “Who is the only person in the universe who can prove to you whether God exists?” Frequently, the reply has been, “Me.””No,” I submit, “the only person in the universe who can prove to you whether God exists, is God.” Again, it is for each of us to come to our own conclusion.

As humans who reside on an earth that turns, causing sunrise and sunset; as fragile beings who are born and who eventually die, we think in terms of beginnings and endings. Thus, evidence of an expanding universe leads us to conclude that there was a Big Bang that started it all. But that begs the question, “What was there before the Big Bang?”

My suggestion is that if we eliminate the construct of beginnings and endings and assume that there never was either a beginning or end to the universe…that the universe is, in fact, infinite; that it has always existed and will always exist, it becomes a little more logical to think of man’s life as a very very small segment of time within that continuum stretching endlessly (literally, not figuratively) in all directions. It also makes it easier for me to comprehend that there is a being, God, who exists within this infinite continuum and, though I may not comprehend how, also has always existed and will always exist. Similarly, this Easter morning, I can accept that a man name Jesus died and three days later rose from the dead by means that I cannot understand, but which are based on principles and truths that are immutable and exist whether or not either I or anyone else believes them or not. And if the Atonement and Resurrection, and more importantly the purposes and reasons for them made it possible for me to wake up somehow after I die and transform into something else – a different life as wonderful or even better than this one has been, I’m thrilled it occurred.

This morning, thousands of children will go on Easter Egg Hunts. Many will receive gifts from the Easter Bunny. How many will have even an inkling of what Easter Sunday is all about? It has become another so-called Hallmark Holiday for many.

As for me, I pause this morning to reflect on my choice to believe in God. I will seek to do right rather than wrong. I believe in good and evil and hope to embrace the Good and eschew Evil. I believe there are many truths and eternal principles we have not yet uncovered and learned…things that logically explain what we presently see as miracles and the unexplainable. And I choose not to forget that Someone guiding us and worthy of our worship exists and through some truly extraordinary technology, is able to know and communicate and guide each and every one of us.

Happy Easter!

A Lost Generation

September 2, 2019 Grumps Education, Family, Religion, Society & Culture, Values

Once again someone has said it far better than I. Cal Thomas has hit the nail on the head. He describes in eloquent and persuasive terms what I have been saying, often sub-optimally, about the deterioration of traditional values, especially in today’s twenty-somethings…

In his piece entitled “Lost Generation abandoning traditional values” Thomas accurately describes the problem our nation faces from the attitudes of Generation Z. He cites a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll as lending credence to this assertion and then goes on to summarize, beautifully, everything I’ve been trying to say. Some excerpts from the Cal Thomas article:

“There are people in every generation who believe the generation following theirs is either going to the dogs or will ruin the country.

The founders and subsequent generations — perhaps excepting the Gilded Age and the horrors of slavery — mostly believed in the virtues younger people either now reject or approach with indifference.

How can this be? What has happened between the World War II generation, which gave so much so their children and grandchildren might enjoy the blessings of liberty, and the current generation, which seems cool to what once seemed to matter most?”

Generalizations are always problematic, but I have lived long enough and witnessed the general decline to make some.

Prosperity is one explanation. People who make more money than previous generations and possess a lot of stuff seem less inclined to participate in community (how many of us know our neighbors, who are here today and move tomorrow?). Stuff and the personal satisfaction of achievement lead to a decline in one’s need for God — too much money, too little purpose.

Politicians become a god-substitute and politics their religion. Creeping secularism has affected theological truth to the point where people can believe whatever they want — or nothing at all — and escape correction. Heresy, even apostasy, has infiltrated many churches.

Then there is culture. Younger people are exposed to what we collectively call “media” more than any previous generation. Most of what constitutes culture proceeds from a singular worldview that denigrates, or does not promote, patriotism, belief in God and values previous generations not only took for granted, but instilled in their children.

Unrestricted abortion has cheapened how many young people view the value of human life. For growing numbers of the young, marriage has become passé as children witness the pain of their parents’ divorce and decide that living together without a formal, legal or spiritual commitment is better than risking the cost and pain of ending a marriage. For some, children are viewed as a financial burden and an intrusion on adult lifestyles.

Sociologists and historians will tell us these things are cyclical, like weather. That has been true in the past when spiritual revivals often followed a fallow period of faithlessness and a focus on self. I’m not sure that cycle will repeat with younger people, given what they are taught at public schools and in liberal universities.

The values that shaped and sustained America through economic downturns and wars had to be taught and instilled in the next generation. Today’s younger people, as reflected in the poll, seem intent on making their own rules (if they can be called rules) and creating their own gods.

They will eventually learn the impossibility of it all as their substitutions will fail them. The question is can America survive when our moral, spiritual and patriotic foundations are destroyed? If you don’t love your country, what’s the point of having one?”

To illustrate precisely what Thomas is talking about, following is a sample of the comments to his article on the comment blog Reddit. THIS is what we’re up against. Profanity has been edited by me.

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aethsyn • 13h

F*** traditional values.

pegothejerk • 13h

They mean conservative values, traditional American values include genocide, cheating, broken treaties, protesting, rampant immigration, wars, poverty for most, etc.

I’d say those things are still here. The youth just isn’t into their bull***t religious dogma, rhetoric, and manipulation.

teyhan_bevafer • 12h

Same author, earlier column:

God designed norms for behavior that are in our best interests. When we act outside those norms—such as for premarital sex, adultery, or homosexual sex—we cause physical, emotional, and spiritual damage to ourselves and to our wider culture. The unpleasant consequences of divorce and sexually transmitted diseases are not the result of intolerant bigots seeking to denigrate others. They are the result of violating God’s standards, which were made for our benefit. — Cal Thomas, “Immutable Morals”

What a f***ing sicko. Perfect for FOX

MSgtJohnCWoods • 12h

Now I’m curious what insane, kinky s**t he’s into.

Continue Thread

Kkooopp • 9h

Haha. Pedophile priests shaming us regular sinners.

casualphilosopher1 • 12h

I wonder how his fellow Fox News columnists feel about that. I don’t think many of them follow his standards.

-2

VioletBeauregard:flag-va: Virginia • 13h

Gen X, Millenials, and Gen Z are “rejecting traditional values?”

More accurate headline is “Every generation younger than Baby Boomers is sick of patriarchal bulls**t.”

BilltheCatisBack • 12h

I take offense. I am a Baby boomer hippie flower child and my generation really started the rejection of the traditional values. “ The times they are a changing. “

Continue Thread

gringostroh • 13h

F**k Cal Thomas.

TedCruzsAnalFissure • 13h

In his flabby face

Taman_Should • 12h

“But muh traditional values!” they said, when slavery was abolished.

“But muh traditional values!” they said, when women got suffrage.

“But muh traditional values!” they said, when schools desegregated.

“But muh traditional values!” they said, when Martin Luther nailed on the church door.

1991560SEC • 12h

I wonder why people are turning away from Christianity? Maybe because their “God” is a disgusting hateful p**k and so are his followers? Jesus and his kind ways and teachings about the poor and decent are dead to these a**holes. Look in the mirror Cal, YOU are the f**king problem.

__Parallax__ • 11h

Modern “christians” have more in common with the pharisees and money changers than they do with the disciples of christ

heyhey922 • 13h

This article is basically just Fox News crying over that millennials are entirely lost for the GOP and Gen Z currently look exactly like millennials.

jratcliff63367 • 13h

Traditional values of hate against people of color and the LGBT community? Yeah…let’s hope so…

Tylorw09:flag-mo: Missouri • 12h

Where my country hatred gone?

Cobrawine66 • 12h

I’m happily abandoning “traditional values”.

archerjenn:flag-tx: Texas • 13h

F**k Fox News.

None of these things sound bad to me.

Boleen • 13h

Traditional American values such as Trump’s cheating on all three wives?

segvcore • 13h

Cal Thomas! I’d forgotten about that sick f**k. Surprised he’s still around, not surprised that Fox pulled him up out of their gimp box.

Ill_Try_To_Be_Civil • 13h

Yeah, I thought he was dead. He was exhausting and odious 20 years ago.

poloniumpanda:flag-us: America • 10h

Says the party that sacrifced all they claimed to stand for to fellate trump and the Russians.

AthaanShadar • 13h

Enlightened generation abandoning traditional american racist values

grandtheftdragon:flag-id: Idaho • 12h

The fruits of traditional values abandoned us. What incentive is there for people under 35 to view “traditional values,” (whatever that is codeword for) to hold up in the same light as our forebears?

StopTheAltWhite • 12h

Yeah, it’s called “crony capitalism eating up all income in America for the 1%.”

NormP • 12h

A Fox News pundit talking about having values.

milqi:flag-ny: New York • 11h

Wow. This entire piece reads like an angry grandpa on too much hooch.

prodigalpariah • 11h

Racism misogyny and xenophobia?

mclumber1 • 13h

Cal, don’t you support a guy who likes to “grab em by the p***y”?

Tylorw09:flag-mo: Missouri • 12h

And who has been divorced 2 times!

Let’s read about Cal’s views on divorce…

tehmlem • 12h

If there’s a lost generation it’s the boomers who took the values they were taught and warped them into a hateful, bigoted parody. Who abandoned freedom of expression, equal rights, and the highest standard of living in the world in favor of tradition, exclusion, and deprivation.

Ssider69 • 10h

News flash….every generation changes their values. I’m not yet an old guy…but hardly young. I don’t think my peers would have shown up in large numbers to face off against neo Nazis (I often wonder exactly what it is those “boys” are so “proud” of). For that matter a HS student standing up to the jeers of very powerful adults in order to speak out against mass shootings in schools (btw, the grown ups that insulted this kid must be real proud of themselves…way better than popping a toddlers balloon!)

And that is patriotism. It is the act of trying to make your nation a better place.

schoocher • 9h

GOP traditional “values”:

Patriotism: We all work together for the benefits of multi-nat corporations and the super-wealthy.

Religion: There is no god but my God and not other way to worship him then with my ingrained belief system of hate, intolerance, and greed.

GhostBalloons19:flag-us: America • 9h

Traditional = Conservative which is a world view based on hate, fear and the status quo. So yeah.

Amartist19 • 13h

What values? Racism? Bigotry? This country doesn’t seem to have any.

shelbys_foot • 13h

Seems to me they’re rejecting the New Gilded Age and the horrors of Trumpism.

hotbrownrain • 13h

Props for choosing greed as the primary cause but beyond that Cal Thomas is a f**king chump.

deviltrombone • 13h

“Cal” is Nadsat for “s**t.”

dogswontsniff • 9h

Ah yes the hack from the newspaper. Smug, ignorant, intolerant ass.

LucidCharade • 3h

[…]traditional American values like slavery, segregation, and internment camps. Those Ni****s and Japs should have known their place beneath us white men!

I finished that thought for you Cal, no worries. This one is free of charge.

●

ComradeGibbon • 2h

TIL: Cal Thomas is still alive.

●

ViskerRatio • 13h

Note that the ‘traditional American values’ they’re really talking about is valuing other people by participating in a community rather than merely pursuing self-absorption and narcissism.

And that should be worrisome for anyone. Not just from a “keep off my lawn” standpoint of old fogies, but from the younger generations who are going to fritter away their youth on pointless pursuits while not establishing the relationships they need to sustain themselves in old age.

-24

MSgtJohnCWoods • 13h

valuing other people

By caging children, blocking health care access, institutionalizing racism, demeaning women and stripping their autonomy….

Continue Thread

ME24601:flag-pa: Pennsylvania • 11h

valuing other people by participating in a community rather than merely pursuing self-absorption and narcissism.

*As long as said people fit one’s preconceived notion of who belongs to said community

The younger generation, meanwhile, wants to bring more people into the tent rather than force them to stay apart.”

While there are those who argue, “It’s their world, let them have it,” I choose to at least speak up, like Cal Thomas, and warn of the potential collapse of our country and our civilization. It’s spitting in the wind, perhaps, but I’d rather go down fighting in the hope that in some small way a remnant of the time-honored, proven principles I call traditional values will be preserved in my children and grandchildren.

Educational Indoctrination

August 29, 2019 Grumps America, Education, Family, Reason, Society & Culture, Values

What is happening in our schools is beyond shocking. A whole generation has been brainwashed to believe things we and our parents would have written off as lunacy.

A firsthand account by a public school teacher in Gross Pointe, Michigan of what’s going on in the halls, academic lounges and in kids’ heads these days alarmingly summarizes what we should find frightening if we care about our children and grandchildren. The article, entitled “Worse Than Ever: Government Schools After 35 Years“, by Lawrence M. Ludlow (American Thinker, August 15, 2019) describes what he found upon returning to the classroom after a hiatus because the local high school was unable to replace a retiring Latin teacher.

The first clue was the difference between the certification process in 1982, when he previously taught, and 2018. In his own words: “The 1982 certificate only listed the courses I could teach. In contrast, the 2018 version had a 300-word “Code of Ethics” that amounted to a profession of faith in collectivism, egalitarianism, state schools, and diversity (typically limited to superficial things like skin color and gender, not ideas).”

His next exposure was to the students themselves, who were woefully deficient in English grammar much less ready to study Latin. In what was supposed to be a superior school system, many students didn’t bring books to class, complained incessantly about homework, expected to receive high grades regardless of proficiency and performance and the Principal was instituting a process whereby students would not be compelled to take any more than one test in a day! And this kind of education was supposed to be college preparatory!

The warping and rewriting of history, the Leftist brainwashing on the topics of socialism versus capitalism, communism versus democracy, globalism versus nationalism, nepotism versus meritocracy, redistributionism versus self-reliance, moral relativism, collectivism versus individualism, the blatant promotion of gender dysphoria, group identity, victimology and outrage culture…THIS is what’s being taught to our children and grandchildren in elementary and secondary schools and on college campuses today. (I will leave for another time the attack on boys and boyhood, men and manhood.) Oh yes, occasionally the three R’s are thrown in, but increasingly, this kind of harmful, Leftist nonsense permeates every subject.

It’s no wonder that home-schooling is taking off. It’s no wonder the competition for private school slots is cutthroat. And despite ever increasing spending per capita, it’s no wonder “Johnny [still] Can’t Read.”

Where does the fault lie, and who’s responsibility is it to fix this problem?

As regards fault – I chalk this up to the natural impact of what I call the “fat and happy syndrome.” Briefly, I submit that the Boomers, recipients of the peace and prosperity won by the Greatest Generation and not having to struggle through a Great Depression, allowed boredom, indolence, envy, drugs, moral depravity and many other societal ills to infect a “fat and happy” population. “Free Thinking”, “Free Love”, anti-establishment rhetoric and the abandonment of God or thousands of years of right and wrong moral yardsticks resulted in a new educational approach. The result, “New Math” (remember?) and now, the Common Core panacea. In short, the hippies took over academia.

Regrettably, George Bernard Shaw was right. “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.” With exceptions, for example shop and trade-school teachers who pass on truly useful skills and learning, academicians are so caught up in complying with the orthodoxy established by teacher union leadership, publishing or perishing the “proper” material in the case of college professors, or crushed by the collective mob if they try to deviate from the dogma, that there is little chance of a return to the basics.

As for the solution. Somehow, and by smarter people than I, we must eliminate the ability of teacher unions to impose their Leftist canon on our system. Whether we do this by abolishing teacher unions altogether (and ALL government employee unions by the way) or through some other means, we must break up the monopoly and MAKE OUR EDUCATION SYSTEM GREAT AGAIN.

I also suggest that those parents who can place their children in private schools do so. If unable to do so, I urge them to strongly consider home-schooling. Something like 2 million school-age kids are being home-taught today, with extraordinary results as compared to public schooling, and that figure is growing exponentially.

Finally, I urge parents to demand that their children reduce their obsession with social media and technology and create opportunities for them to interact in healthy ways with one another. Supervised play dates for the youngsters, organized sports (left me emphasize here the importance of competitive TEAM sports), participation in interpersonally engaging, non-technical social activities like music and theater, science and outdoors clubs for adolescents.

It’s been argued that our ability to influence our children ends about the age of 8. While that’s debatable, those of us who have raised children know that somewhere around the onset of adolescence we become the enemy and what we say is far less important than the current “meme”.

Yet judging by what I see in college and twenty-something, even thirty-something age kids today, when reality bites and they’re forced to become increasingly self-reliant…they become receptive to guidance and influence once again. All of sudden they discover that their parents have grown up. (As an aside, there is nothing more heartwarming than hearing our own words coming out of the mouths of our older children as they instruct their younger siblings, or their children!)

I urge us to find ways of resisting the temptation to become our children’s friends as they morph into grown-ups and, hopefully, adults, but rather continue to set an example for them, teach them correct principles, and help them understand what was right and what was wrong about the subject matter they were just exposed to over the previous 12-16 or more years.

If they haven’t learned them already, teach them about skepticism and critical thinking. Teach them the manners, decorum and civility that they didn’t receive during their ‘formal’ education. Teach them self-reliance and how to rise on the basis of merit, not political maneuvering or nepotism. Teach them about determination and perseverance. Teach them thrift and self-discipline, and teach them by example whenever possible, the difference between Right and Wrong, and Right and Left.

I submit that the blatant Leftist indoctrination of our children and grandchildren in today’s schools and colleges (whether public or private) is the REAL DOMESTIC TERROR threat in our country. May we who believe in Traditional Values be strong enough and wise enough to arm and teach our loved ones how to fight this scourge.

Courtesy Matters

August 18, 2019 Grumps Family, Morality, Society & Culture, Uncategorized, Values

It’s tough to be courteous to vile people, and the Left are becoming increasingly, unbearably vile.

Yet, we need to try. If we’re ever going to restore civility and traditionalism to our country, we need to respect what our parents taught us about courteousness.

I have a complete repertoire of lawyer jokes and have more than once repeated the old joke about how 5,000 dead lawyers at the bottom of the ocean is, “A start.” But there’s one thing we can learn from lawyers, particularly trial lawyers. Watch any law-themed series on television or better, attend a jury trial in a real courtroom, and you’ll see the attorneys act (99% of the time) with professionalism and courtesy towards the jury, the plaintiff, the defendant, their counsel and the judge. How they do it in the face of the distortions, spin, deflections, etc. that are thrown around by each side; how they can be civil when the integrity of witnesses, particularly, are impugned so viciously albeit courteously, is extraordinary. The performances may be part of the theatrics of litigation, but they’re instructive nonetheless. Often, the attorney who makes the best impression is the one who wins the case, and courtesy is an integral part of the act and how they make that impression.

Many years ago I was recruited to serve as the CFO of an obscure tech company. Seeking a ground floor opportunity in the post Y2K, burgeoning tech world, I responded to the offer to talk to them. One bright, sunny morning I visited its headquarters in Manhattan and was ushered into a conference room to await the CEO.

As I stood looking out the window over the Manhattan skyline, a young fellow came in and began gathering up some used styrofoam coffee cups and arranging and stacking some coasters that sat on the highly polished conference room table. He had on an open collar, rather wrinkled plaid shirt, jeans, and he had hair down to the middle of his back tightly pulled back on his head and gathered in a pony tail with a rubber band at the nape of his neck.He went about his business sheepishly, almost furtively, without speaking.

Having turned to see who had entered the room, I offered a pleasant “Good Morning” and then proceeded to help him gather up the cups and tidy up the room. He held open the garbage bag while I tossed in some of the debris from an earlier meeting, and he thanked me as he completed his task and left.

The whole incident took no more than perhaps 60 seconds, and I thought nothing of it. A minute or two later the CEO came in, dressed in a suit as was I, and we sat and had a straightforward and frank conversation about the company’s needs, my qualifications, etc. – everything you’d expect from a standard executive interview.

And then the CEO said, “You know, I’d like you to meet the President of the Company who is really my partner and co-founder. Do you have a few more minutes?” I of course replied, “Certainly,” and the CEO left, returning a couple of minutes later with, you guessed it, the man who previously had come in to tidy up the room.

I am convinced to this day that the judgment about hiring me to become the Company’s CFO was made in that two minute interval when the CEO left to fetch the President. And I am also convinced that the pivotal trigger moment which sealed the deal had nothing to do with the interview, but everything to do with the simple courtesy I extended to the President in that little interchange before the interview started.

A wise man was once quoted as saying, “The true greatness of a person, in my view, is evident in the way he or she treats those with whom courtesy and kindness are not required.” Joseph B. Wirthlin

Most of the time, simple courtesies aren’t recompensed with a job offer, or even acknowledged. Yet, a kind word, treating others with respect and dignity no matter what their station or role in life, is the right thing to do.

Courtesy matters.

Traditional Values, Traditionalists and Traditionalism

July 23, 2019 Grumps America, Government, History, Morality, Politics, Reason, Religion, Society & Culture

Attributed to the American author Samuel R. Delany is the phrase “Words mean things.” Hijacking words and phrases is a powerful tool in the arsenal of the demagogue. And the twisting of usage and meaning into pretzels has always been a favorite device of politicians and pundits. With this in mind, I thought I should explain what I mean when I refer in my writing to Traditional Values, Traditionalists and Traditionalism.

Look up Traditionalism and you’ll receive a panoply of descriptions and definitions. One of the first articles that comes up from a search is: “a school of thought promulgated by a group of 20th and 21st century thinkers who believe in the existence of perennial wisdom, or perennial philosophy, primordial and universal truths which form the source for, and are shared by, all the major world religions.” Look further and one goes through the looking glass and into a rabbit warren of definitions in the context of societal norms, religion, philosophy, economics, culture, etc.

In 1964 Supreme Court Justice Potter Steward famously described obscenity (or rather, what it is not) as follows:

“I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description [“hard-core pornography”], and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that.”
Jacobellis v. Ohio 378 U.S. 184 (1964)

Borrowing on that phrase, I will suggest that Traditionalism may be defined in a variety of ways, but in the end, Traditionalists know it when they see it.

However, a shortcut to how I define Traditionalism is: that body of ideals, values and mores that we were raised on by the Greatest Generation.

Speaking of the Greatest Generation, one of the definitions of Traditionalists refers to those who were born between 1900 and 1945. I believe it is precisely because of their espousal of Traditional Values that they were Great!

We Baby Boomers born between 1946 and 1964 on the other hand, are split into two camps: a) those of us who listened to what our Greatest Generation parents taught us, who were grateful for the peace and prosperity they bequeathed to us and who have tried to live our lives by their example and rules; and, b) the prodigals, the “Me” generation of the sexual revolution who grew up to be the radicals of the 70’s and the yuppies of the 80’s, a few of whom have come home to Traditionalism and the balance of whom have become today’s Leftists.

So what do I mean by Traditional Values? Often the term is conflated with “Family Values.” They are similar, but Traditionalism goes beyond Family Values. To me, Traditional Values include support for:

individual freedom to live as we wish within the basic constraints of Judeo-Christian principles;
the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights as they were intended for then and all future generations;
fundamental patriotism, including honoring our Flag, national symbols, anthems and emblems;
a strong military and national defense and protection of our sovereignty;
the right of self-defense and to keep, bear and utilize arms to ensure that right;
obeying the Law and supporting those who serve in law enforcement;
marriage defined as between one man and one woman (including acceptance of the biological fact that men and women are different!);
support for nuclear families consisting of a father and mother and their children;
freedom of worship and expression;
the Golden Rule;
support for and defense of free-market capitalism;
equal opportunity, not equal outcomes; and,
separation of powers within a limited, and republican government.

Traditional Values also include opposition to:

social engineering and bad (many wouldsay EVIL) social, economic and political ideologies such as socialism and communism;
crony capitalism;
‘free love’ and promiscuity;
abortion on demand and in lieu of contraception;
gender confusion;
LGBTQ militancy;
fascism masquerading as liberal or progressive free expression;
violent protest; and,
collectivism, globalism, cultural marxism and so-called “progressivism”.

The Greatest Generation didn’t have to think about or debate these principles – they lived them. They were part of the fabric of their society.

Today, these principles are under constant assault.

I used to teach a lesson in Sunday School using a glass of water and a dropper full of black ink. The water represented our souls. In the context of this article, it represents the reservoir of societal values. The black drops of ink I slowly added to the water represent, for purposes of this article, Progressive/Leftist ideas, norms, habits, values. Add one drop to the water and nothing seems to happen. As successively more drops are added, however, the water starts to turn grey, then greyer, murky, and finally black.

The metaphor aptly describes what’s happening to our country.

I hope and pray I’m joined by the Silent Majority of our Boomer generation and budding Traditionalists of succeeding generations in fighting for a return to the Traditional principles that made us the greatest nation on earth and in the history of the world.

Tag: Traditional Values

Rest In Peace Queen Elizabeth

Act Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace

To the Contrary

I Have a Dream

Faith and the Easter Bunny

A Lost Generation

Educational Indoctrination

Courtesy Matters

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