President Obama's now famous "You didn't build that .." statement was taken out of context and used against him. Those of you on Facebook who used this skewed quote to promote your view seemed more than delighted in his perceived mistake. Had you read the whole speech you would have seen how it was twisted and used against him. It's actually true that no one in this country does it alone when they become financially successful. The freedom to be a capitalist is supported by roads and bridges, police and fire, teachers, military, and many more people and things we all take for granted. The president was simply saying that those who have made it financially need to pay it forward for the next person who wants to succeed. This was an opportunity exploited by the "Right" to cast Mr. Obama as a socialist. It serves only to divide our country further.
Dan Cathy's now famous quote about backing the "Biblical definition of marriage" was also skewed. He was asked, in an interview with a Baptist magazine how he felt about gay marriage. He said nothing hateful. Again many people on Facebook eagerly jumped into the drama telling people to stop eating Chick Fil-a. In 2008 President Obama was asked how he defined marriage. He said it was between a man and a woman. Right or wrong, that's how many people believe. Mr. Cathy is not going around giving anti-gay speeches nor does there seem to be evidence his business denies employment or service to anyone. He simply stated his belief when asked. It was an opportunity for the "Left" to blame the "Right" and it was exploited. The last I checked, we still have freedom of speech. Do we all have to be politically correct? If you are for gay marriage, blaming and condemning those who are against it isn't effective. Chick Fil-a has experienced a huge increase in business this week.
Some of you may think that Liberalism in religion, culture and politics is the problem. Some of you may think that Conservatism in religion, culture and politics is the problem. Blaming is the problem. The eagerness with which we attack each other is the problem. It's a problem, because our blaming prevents us from listening, from working together, and from solving real problems. Your opinion is not the answer to the problem. Being right is not an attainable goal. Dialogue and skillful discussion are needed.
William Frank Diedrich, author of Beyond Blaming
now available on Kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008S2A6TW
or in paperback at http://intelligentspirit.com/catalog.html
No comments:
Post a Comment