Notable Quotable and more

When you think you start to deserve your blessings, you don’t.

Remember people, when you start to feel that you deserve the blessings that have been bestowed upon you, you need to step back and realize that you don’t. It is the expectation of being recoginized for everything that is leading to an attitude of entitlement. You and I are entitled to nothing more than what we have truly earned. Not everyone deserves a trophy/ribbon, but yet, we’re making sure every kid gets one just for walking out onto the field. A child, and even adults, will never learn to appreciate their victories when they are not earned. When everyone gets the same reward, why try? When contests are no longer about skill or effort, but tweeted popularity campaigns, what is the point?

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I did something today. I decided to hit a few different politician websites for fun. One thing that I saw on one in particular really bothered me. Whenever this politician mentioned a person they disagreed with/disliked, they came up with a “cute” name for them. The name was something that would not immediately draw attention, as a person reading it would not equate it with an insult or an attempt to tear them down, but that is the purpose the name serves.

By referring to a person as something else, you are trying to remove the human element from them. When you remove the human element, you remove the humanity of the person, thus allowing you to attack an item, not a person, without fear. It is scary that we as a people have no problem seeing the evil of attacking a person, but when we can itemize that person, we no longer harbor the same feelings and appear to attack at will.

Day after day, I hear people complain about “backstabbing politicians, corrupt officials, lieing Republicans/Democrats”. When we lump them into an itemized group, and remove the human element, we loose site as to what is really going on. It’s not a party or group that in itself is causing the problems. It’s an individual. We need to stop walking on the eggshells of political correctness. If you have a problem with a person, use their name. Referring to a person as “the perky one” devalues who they are as well as their experience. Would people be as willing to accept this behavior if we referred to President Obama as “That Oreo in charge” or Sarah Palin as “that mom of the whore”? See, I even dehumanized two people there.

Look, we are not always going to agree on things. We can’t, because not everyone has the same belief system or values, but walking on eggshells or dehumanizing an opponent is not the way to solve the issue. Face it head on, and don’t be afraid of pissing off a person or two along the way. We have Freedom of Speech, not Freedom to not be offended.

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07SEP10 Is Zeal the Enemy?

While not an overly polarizing issue politically, this is still worth discussing in detail as ‘zeal’ and ‘zealots’ have been polarized, and wrongly so…

I say “NO”!  Zeal is not the enemy of mankind.  Nor is religion.  What is painfully obvious to me from recent news events (especially the James Lee incident at Discovery Channel, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/01/AR2010090104795.html and for the demands… http://www.savetheplanetprotest.com/) is that nuts are in every walk of life and point of view.  Atheists and EnvironMENTALists are just as much ‘religious zealots’ as Jihadist’s and Westboro Baptist [sic] Wackos.   Indeed, when one sees the work of Religious Zealots like Mother Teresa, Ghandi, or Martin Luther King Jr.; perhaps zeal in the right area is indeed an HONORABLE trait we need to embrace more often in our society.  Zeal doesn’t mean passion out of control like the current consensus seems to indicate, but rather an adherence to a path above and beyond the normal scope of society.  One certainly doesn’t consider it normal to drop everything, all earthly possessions, all wealth, all status, just to go forth out into the streets of Calcutta and embrace the lepers.   This takes zeal in every sense of the word.

(This is an exclusive re-posting of Sudsy’s webcomic and commentary for especially Politics4Nerds.com)

Notable Quotable

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for redress of grievances.” — First Amendment to the United States Constitution (emphasis added)

Is this being followed today, or can you think of any subtle infringements on this amendment?

Notable Quotable

“Mr. [Peter] Sylvester [of New York] had some doubts….He feared it [the First Amendment] might be thought to have a tendency to abolish religion altogether….Mr. [Elbridge] Gerry [of Massachusetts] said it would read better if it was that “no religious doctrine shall be established by law.”…Mr. [James] Madison [of Virginia] said he apprehended the meaning of the words to be, that “Congress should not establish a religion, and enforce the legal observation of it by law.”…[T]he State[s]…seemed to entertain an opinion that under the clause of the Constitution…it enabled them [Congress] to make laws of such a nature as might…establish a national religion; to prevent these effects he presumed the amendment was intended….Mr. Madison thought if the word “national” was inserted before religion, it would satisfy the minds of honorable gentlemen….He thought if the word “national” was introduced, it would point the amendment directly to the object it was intended to prevent.” — August 17, 1789 from Annals of Congress June 8, 1789 to September 25, 1789

I recently started a book titled “Original Intent: The Courts, the Constitution, & Religion” by David Barton.  This quote (found in said book) was notable because, when trying to understand the meaning of the Constitution, it is always good to get as close to original sources as possible.  This quote, obviously, is about as close as one can get.

The issue of how our Constitution is interpreted by current courts versus how it was in the first 150 years of our Republic is a very interesting research project.

What are your thoughts?

Notable Quotable for June 8th, 2010

The 30th anniversary of PacMan was marred by the deportation of Mario and Luigi. What they were doing in Arizona is still a mystery.
–adam (site contributor)

First, I would like to apologize for missing last weeks quote. As a person who works two jobs, my free time to contribute to this site is not what I would like it to be. I will do my best to continue the NQs on a more correct and timely basis. Now, time to expand on that quote!

I’m a big believer that people’s personal rights are slowly being eroded. The law that passed in Arizona is just one small way. Do I think we need to protect our borders? Yes. Do I think that those people here on Visas/Permits should keep a copy of their Visa/Permit on them (as is already required by law)? Yes. Do I think the cops have the right to stop a person walking on the street and ask to see their ID because “they look suspicious”? No. You see, here in American, a person can legally walk down the street with no ID in their possession. In fact, you only need to have an ID on hand if you are doing something that requires you to be able to prove that you are doing something you are legally allowed to do, such as drive a motorized vehicle, purchase a controlled substance such as alcohol or tobacco, or to even purchase an iPad. You are not required to have an ID on hand to walk or ride your bike down to the store to buy groceries. To me, this requiring of carrying an ID is strangely familiar. I wonder if I can remember which country it was that kept asking for “papers”…

No, before you get all riled up, realize something. I’m not against the idea of the law, just the enforcement of it. I do believe we need to protect our borders. We also need to start protecting our rights. Just because a Hispanic person is in Arizona at Home Depot, that does not make them an Illegal Alien that should be stopped and asked to provide ID. That is profiling and harassment, and that is what is going to happen.

Perhaps if we actually enforced laws that fined companies for hiring Aliens, this would not be an issue, but then again, how many of those companies would just open plants in Mexico or somewhere else.

Notable Quotables

All your base are belong to us
–English translation from the Japanese game Wing Zero

First off, let me say thank you for this quote. It was the fist submitted quote I have received, and not the one I was planning on using. I actually had a nice article written on a different quote, that by next week might be outdated, so I might publish it tomorrow.

Although I could talk about how the different sides are viewing take over differently with this quote, I’m going to try something a little different. This quote came from a person translating speech from one language to another and not having a proper grasp of both languages in question. In gaming/literature/movies, we call these localization errors. In politics, we call these mistakes blatant attempts to sabotage the other side.

Gaming companies, as well as publishers, have learned that it is worth the effort to properly localize something you are going to put out to people who may not speak your language. Look at the Harry Potter/Twilight/Xanth books. Would they be near as popular if they were not localized?

If localization works, and it helps people, why don’t politicians learn to localize their points. To many politicians use $1000 dollar words, which when strung together in an odd order, often cause the original point to go missing. Perhaps, if politicians could learn to give us the facts, without the opinions to go with it, we might just end up better informed.

What are your thoughts?

Notable Quotables

A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader.

Samuel Adams, letter to James Warren, February 12, 1779

I can’t say I disagree. What are your thoughts? Have you seen a dissolution of pinciples and manners in those in charge over the last 20+ odd years? I feel I have, but what are your thoughts?

Notable Quotables

What Jefferson recognized… that in the long run, their improbable experiment — called America — wouldn’t work if its citizens were uninformed, if its citizens were apathetic, if its citizens checked out, and left democracy to those who didn’t have the best interests of all the people at heart.
–President Obama

Allow me to welcome you to Monday. Each Monday, I’m going to try to post a “Notable Quotable” based upon, or about, a Founding Father, politician, or public figure. Please, take the week before the next post to talk about and discuss.

I’ll happily start this conversation off. Yes, I do feel that as a country we have gotten apathetic. I also feel, sadly, that our country is starting to lower itself to “the lowest common denominator”. Look at the current popular TV shows, movies, books, or music. Can anything be learned by partaking in it? Does anyone care? Nope, not that I can see.

Do you have a Notable Quotable that you would like to see discussed? If so, use the contact form linked at the top of the page to submit yours!