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The Politics of the DogMan

If You Are One Of THOSE People

If you're one of those people that go to a fast food restaurant, and make your order so complicated that even a genius couldn't figure it out, lol... I hate you.

I had a half hour last night for dinner... So I went for fast food. The lady in front of me was ordering some burgers, about 6 or 7 of them. All of them were different, one only ketchup, another without pickles or onions, another plain BUT with some other kind of cheese on it.... she went on and on and on, added some nuggets, a salad (after all, she's all kinds of healthy eating fast food, right?) and some drinks. It took her forever to order, then of course since I was behind her, it took forever to get my order taken.

So this lady stands there waiting for her food, full on thinking that her order is going to be just what she asked for. "ARE YOU STUPID?" I wanted to scream at her? Where the hell did she think she was? a $50 a plate restaurant? It was McDonald's for crying out loud! Some high school kid is going to totally screw that up.

So of course, she gets her food and immediately starts opening burgers to check her order.. to make sure he list of burgers for her spoiled rotten, overly picky, coddled, McChildren is just so. What do you know? It wasn't even close. Who would have guessed? Let me ask this.... Why did she deem it necessary to open each burger and check it in the first place? CAUSE SHE KNEW IT WOULD BE WRONG!!!!!!!!!!! We all know that, they know that, and she knows that. It's written in stone. So why bother?

Then she has to go over it all again... 4 or 5 times, with the person at the counter. So, again, I can't get my food cause the person who would give it to me is otherwise occupied. 18 minutes. That's how long it took from the time I walked in the door til the time I got my food. That left me 12 minutes, right? It took 5 minutes to get there, and would take me 5 minutes to get back... that left me 2 whole minutes. I ate my dinner 2 hours later, microwaved.

Lady, I really don't like you very much. Every bite of microwaved dinner only escalated that dislike.

Oh, How Soon We Forget

A recent topic of local interest has been about a city ordinance in the small town of Cedar Fort. It has been a topic that has plagued many cities in the county I live in. Its a huge issue actually, with people getting very wound up on both sides. It was an issue in my city just a few years back, and it makes all kinds of news. The local papers are flooded with letters to the editor. What is this topic you ask? The legalities of selling beer on Sunday. Yep. I'm not even sure what to say about that other than I'm amazed it's an issue. In Utah County, I think there are only 2 cities where it's legal to sell beer on Sunday. The rest of the cities, it is illegal. Stores are required in those cities to cover their beer, on Sunday or put up banners across it at the very least, that inform the shopper of the law stating they are not allowed to sell beer on that particular day. Though some cities have moved to just posting a little sign, stating as much.

I so struggle with this. Not because I can't decide one way or the other, but I can't see how its even an issue. Beer is legal. Right or wrong, it is legal so I won't even debate that. (If you don't like that beer is legal -because it can be bad for you- then work to make it illegal. Just remember while you're doing that that 7-11 nacho's are bad for you too, do you want someone telling you that you can no longer by them? Oh, and bacon, don't forget that too. Anyway... since it is a legal item for adults, lets debate the issue at hand. One day out of the week it is illegal to purchase in stores. Why is that? What possible difference can it make? It's an inconvenience at best for beer drinkers. They simply buy it on Saturday, or drive a few extra miles to one of the cities that sell it on Sunday. So what's the harm then you ask?

Name one valid reason for not selling beer on Sunday that does not involve religion. Yes, Utah is a state that is mostly populated by Mormons, dominated by religion. I think it's a wonderful place to live, and wouldn't move if you paid me to. But the narrow mindedness of people never ceases to amaze me. Not only that, but the battles they pick. Outlawing beer sales on Sunday does not curb drinking on Sunday. We have some serious issues here in Utah worthy of our worry and letters to the editor. Yet, we pick something as pointless as this.

Last I checked, we were not supposed to make laws based on religion. I've heard the arguments many times about how our countries constitution was based on religion, that it is an inbred part of it. That the morals and standards of our founding fathers religious values were drafted in the very heart of papers that we consider the basis of our freedoms. Nothing could be more correct. If we've learned nothing else in the last couple hundred years, it should be that the Constitution is an evolving thing. That the Bill of Rights was drafted by men more brilliant than me, with a foresight that they didn't even know they had. Why do I say it like that? Because the drafters of our Constitution owned slaves, did not believe that women had any rights. They drafted an item that was as close to perfect as such a thing can be. Those men, however insightful, were far from perfect.

So over the centuries, we as a nation have evolved. Why did we make it legal for women to vote? Because it was the right thing to do. We did our nation end slavery? Because nothing could be more wrong than one human being owning another. We are far from perfect and we have a long way to go. Race is still a big issue in our country, so are the rights of minorities and woman. Many believe that the tables have even turned to where a white, Christian, middle class, heterosexual, adult male is the one who is in the minority. We have issues like abortion, gay rights, the right to die, the right to wage war, or prosecute those that do, foreign policy, poverty, education, health insurance, privacy, child molesters, a rape committed every 7 seconds, a murder every 21, children being born addicted to crack, nuclear weapons, pollution and depletion of natural resources... There are so many issues along this line that I couldn't even begin to name them all. Yet, we worry about who's selling beer on Sunday and who is not. I just shake my head in awe.

I think I have very interesting politics. In many ways, I'm conservative... in others, I couldn't be more liberal. I'm not a big fan of the government, I am a huge fan of our total right to privacy, and our ability to make decisions for ourselves. I firmly believe that our constitution was not made to protect the majority, it was made to protect the one. It is not ok to pass laws that discriminate against a single individual. It is not ok to pass laws based on the majorities values. If I remember right, that mentality led to women being burned as witches not to long ago, or a black man hung or beaten because he looked at a white girl, or women not being able to work, vote, or own property.

It amazes me -in this community especially- that we are not more tolerant of those who differ from the community norm. (I'll get to that in a minute.) Another hot topic here last year was an amendment to Utah's constitution to ban gay marriage. I was actually surprised at the amount of people who opposed it. The law passed, but not nearly by the margin that I had assumed it would. I was somewhat proud of our citizens for attempting to stand up for such discrimination. Short of religion, again, there is no reasonable justification for banning gay marriage. You can say it's immoral if you want. Maybe it is. Maybe I think it is, maybe I don't. It doesn't matter. The only possible reason for it to be immoral is because it totally defies traditional Christianity. Should we pass laws based on traditional Christian values? Not if they hinder an adult from pursuing something that effects no one else adversely. Ok, back to the start of this paragraph.....

Just more than a 100 years ago, a young man in New York by the name of Joseph Smith claimed he talked with God. He made some phenomenal statements that really contradicted what most Christians believed. He gained quite a following despite this. He was labeled as everything from an enemy of the government, to heretic, to cult leader, to brain washer, to crack pot. He was not very well liked. He was persecuted because of his differing beliefs. He was hated. Our government sent armies to kill him. He and his followers were ran out of town after town. Finally, he died a martyr at the hands of a mob. His legacy didn't die with him. Not even close. He started what is now the fastest growing church in the world. The 10th largest religion in the world. Mormonism. It's big, and it's not just in Utah. It's just concentrated here. After his death, the Mormons traveled west, where they could practice their religion without interference from the government. It still wasn't quite enough. Armies were again -unsuccessfully- dispatched to rid the nation of Mormons. Laws were passed to restrict their practices. Many years later however, Mormons are not viewed by all as crazy people or heretics. Finally, they have the right to practice their religion. Thanks to our fantastic constitution, mainstream Mormonism is legal.

And now, they try to make laws to restrict others who are not like them. Any similarities? 320 years ago, people living in Massachusetts had Europe so they could have religious freedom. They burned witches. 230 years ago brave men drafted a letter declaring their freedom, and indeed the freedom of every human to live as they see fit without tyranny. They owned slaves, repressed women, nobility was still very much a factor, and they looked down at anyone who wasn't white. 160 years ago, the Mormons traveled to a desolate area, settled it so they could practice their religion without persecution. Today, we are passing laws to forbid others from doing things that don't agree with our personal views. It's almost like undoing our own evolution.

Right Or Wrong Is Not A Shade Of Grey

I think that most people agree that political correctness has gone way to far in recent years. There are probably many reasons that it is still an actual item though. There is the always present lawsuit looming over our heads, but mainly that stems from the work environment. The people we work for have to be extra careful in this sue happy world, so one can hardly blame them. Also, we all have things that offend us, and many people are hyper-sensitive to certain things, so that adds fuel to the fire. Lastly, we've become a PC world simply because it's something to do. It's politically correct to be politically correct. It's become something people do without thought or interest. We just ramble off PC crap and most of the time we don't even mean it.

Sitting in the cafeteria at work last night, sucking down enough coffee to make it through the night shift, me and a few friends/coworkers were just shooting the bull. A young lady named Malisa who hasn't worked there for very long joined us. I really like her, she's about as sharp as they come. She's an awesome nurse and she's great to work with. Someone mentioned the Britain election, and their views about Tony Blair. (I'm really not into discussing my views on heated topics such as politics or religion at work. I'll discuss issues -NOT MY VIEWS- in more relaxed settings like coffee breaks, but I try to stay neutral.) Inevitably, the point was made about Prime Minister Blair that if he loses the election, the most obvious reason will be his support of the United States in the Iraq War.

The war... a topic of its own, with diverse feelings all across the board. Malisa pipes up somewhere in the conversation, with the now cliche, "I support the troops, but I don't support the war."

That just grates on my nerves every time I hear it. Being the nice, quiet, reserved guy that I am, I just totally ignored that. Until she said it again. So I just asked her, "what does that mean exactly?"

A long look at me, a longer pause, and headshaking chuckles from those who know me well, eventually brought out a stumbling reply from her. "Well" she said, "It means just that. That I support the troops over there, but I don't think the war is right. We shouldn't be over there."

Ok, fair enough. There are a lot of people who believe the war is unjust. There are many valid arguments for the U.S. to mind its own business. But the validity of the war is not my point here. It's that stupid politically correct statement of "I support the troops, not the war." So I bit... "Why don't you support the war," I asked.

She went on about all the usuals.. blood for oil, it was a political move by Bush to take the attention away from other issues, there was never any proof of weapons of mass destruction, Bush acted prematurely and without the consent of the U.N., we are not the boss or the protector of the Iraqis, that we were never asked by them for help, etc. I think she expected an argument from me but I didn't offer one. I smiled, said ok, and went back to coffee and let the others direct the flow of the conversation. Like I said, I really don't see any point in discussing heated issues with coworkers cause it only causes problems. But her thinking is not unique and many others feel the same way, and say the same thing as my new friend did. So I bit my tongue in the name of just simply being nice.

War is either just or it is not. What are valid reasons for war? I guess they would differ from person to person but I would think that on the list could be things like: self defense, defense of others who can not defend themselves, the defense of one's property (whether it be a nation or home), basic individual freedoms such as the right to worship, vote, freedom of speech, have representation in government, freedom to choose our lifestyle, freedom from tyranny or slavery, etc. I would also think the the defense and preservation of the basics such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness would also be on the list. I guess this could be a really big list, and it would vary between people depending on their values and political issues.

So, we have a war. Some say it is unjust, that this particular war doesn't fit their criteria for risking the lives of our young men and women in the military. I'm ok with that. So, for the sake of argument, let's say that Malisa is right... the war is unjust. That means that our government has taken us into battle for reasons that are not altruistic. Basically, we conquered a nation for someone's own personal agenda. Who knows what that agenda is... power, greed, a sadistic need to kill, a diversion, control of oil, the enslaving of a nation, a foothold in the middle east to launch more takeovers, simple stupidity, who knows. But if it is unjust, it would have to be something along those lines, right?

So why the hell do you support the troops in the slaughter and take over of an innocent nation? Do we disagree with WWII, but support Hitler's henchmen for slaughtering 6 million Jews? Hitler was definitely unjust, his motives far from pure. How many people did he personally kill? I really don't know, but I'm assuming not very many - if any at all. He simply sent his troops to battle, gave orders, gave others responsibilities, and the world suffered a tragic loss of lives because of it. How could those people not know they were in the wrong? How could anyone in good conscience run a gas chamber killing women, children, and elderly people by the hundreds in a batch? One could easily rationalize that it was a few select people who ran these gas chambers, the real evil ones. But wouldn't that be only the people in charge? What about the cooks, or the the soldiers simply on guard duty, or the lowly private that was ordered to pull the trigger as people were lined up on the edge of a ditch? Do not delusion yourself into thinking that it was only a select few. A colonel does not pull triggers, pull the switch on a gas chamber, does not herd people like cattle, does not pull guard duty, does not clean up afterwards. He gives the orders, average soldiers follow these orders. It took hundreds of soldiers to run each of the concentration camps, thousands of them marching door to door deciding who was a Jew and who wasn't, hundreds of thousands of them attacking people in every corner of Europe.

DO NOT GET ME WRONG AND ASSUME -EVEN FOR A MINUTE- THAT I AM COMPARING OUR SOLDIERS TO HITLER, HIS ACTIONS, OR HIS TROOPS. I am simply pointing out that unjust is unjust, from top to bottom. A war is either right, or it is wrong. The average Joe in Hitlers army made their own decisions. They supported his actions. They may not have even agreed with him, but they did not have the courage to stand up and say "No, this is wrong! I will not shoot this poor old lady, or this little kid simply because he/she is a Jew." I'm not judging them, I wasn't there. Maybe they felt like their very lives or the lives of their loved ones were at stake if they dared defy orders. Who knows what choice I'd make if I were in their shoes. I'm sure many made different choices, they did have some resistance there. But I'm not talking about those people, I'm talking about the soldiers taking lives.

I was an American Soldier. I am a veteran. I served my country, and am proud of it. A soldier is trained to follow orders. We didn't question them. We did as we were told always, without thought. That's what makes a good soldier. You put your trust in your sergeant, your captain, your general, and your president and do as you are told. That is bred into you from day one of basic training. You become an automaton. The military is a conundrum of sort. As I just stated, a soldier does not have the luxury, time, or right to question orders. However, soldiers are taught to be thinkers, to be able to act in an instant, to be able to make decisions. In one instant you are saying "yes sir" to your superior, and the next second you're barking orders to those beneath you. It is almost contradictory. Also, soldiers are held to a higher standard. A higher morality is expected of us. We are trained to kill people, and trained to have a higher standard at the same time. Part of that higher standard is the absolute to protect the innocent and weak. Each of us, soldier or not, has an obligation to ourselves to uphold that which is just. If we commit an unjust act, then we are responsible for those actions.

How many of you would attack your next door neighbor just because I told you to? Probably not one of you would. (I would hope not anyway!) What makes you think the men and women of our armed forces are any different than you and I? They are mostly kids, from all over America, from all walks of life. Most of them believe in the cause, they believe they are helping, they believe they are just. If you were in the military, and totally horrified by what was going on, thought that we were simply conquering a nation with unjust motives, wouldn't you do something? Wouldn't you get out? Would you have joined in the first place? I know that you can't just quit the military.. it's not that easy. But if I thought I was committing murder, I would find a way out. What would I rather be judged for... going AWOL or murder? Which would be easier to sleep with at night?

These soldiers are not blindly following orders. They are doing what they feel is right. They have faith in their leaders to lead them in the right direction. They feel that bringing the downfall of a terrorist and tyrant they are further securing their families here in America. They have an obligation in the military to follow orders as long as those orders a legal and just. If those orders become otherwise, they have an absolute obligation to disobey those orders. They are not mercenaries, they are average citizens doing their duty. Their duties do not include murder and the pillage of a nation. If the war is unjust, then each time an Iraqi is killed, a murder has been committed. So when you say you do not support the war, but you support the troops, all I hear is that you do not support the war, but murder by average citizens is ok because someone told them to do it.

This line has just got to go. If you really feel that the war is unjust, then don't support it any way shape or form. Become an activist -not just a stupid, pre-programmed, no thought involved individual, that says things simply out of political correctness- and do something about it. If our government has gone so far as to take over a country for no other reason than greed or something of the sort, it is time for our government to go. Fix it. If you don't think that it's quite at that point, then back them up. Fully. You can not sanction one, and not the other. The war is a complete entity, involving governments, citizens, soldiers, business, and us (and others) as a nation. It is not two different items, but an intermeshing of many things to bring about this action. Right is right, and wrong is wrong. It can't be both. It is as bad to kill one Jew -because he is a Jew- as it is to kill 6 million Jews because they are Jews. It was just and right to protect the world from the likes of Hitler. He was not here, yet we were threatened. We were ok though, but it was time to protect those who could not protect themselves. Our soldiers stepped up to the plate, and became heroes. Each and every one of them. Our nation was great, and will be remembered for a very long time for its valiant and heroic actions. WWII was not two different things, a war and the soldiers. It was just one thing, right.