America and the Right to be Stupid

I was listening to NPR in the car Tuesday and one report made me so mad I actually had to pull over, have a talk with myself, and calm down.

Two men in Pakistan. Father and adult son. Both are naturalized U.S. citizens. Both have spent the last four years living in Pakistan. Both are related to a convicted terrorist. Father and son want to come back to America, but find themselves on the "No Fly" list. Which means they will only be allowed to board an airplane headed to the United States after they submit to an interview with the FBI which may or may not include taking a lie detector test.

"No fair!" Father and son whine. "We're American citizens! We should not have to endure such humiliation from our own government. Besides, as Americans, we have the right to be stupid, er, we mean, silent." Being true Americans they file a lawsuit. Said lawsuit has not been dismissed out of hand by a judge, and will likely be heard.

Like there aren't millions of American citizens -who haven't spent the last four years in the Middle East or are related to a convicted terrorist- who also must endure such security screenings? I know a man who jokes that when he wants some action he gets in line at the nearest airport.

Has anyone bothered to inform these Pakistani Americans that "the right to remain silent" is intended to protect those who have been charged with committing a crime? They haven't. Moreover, that they are welcome to keep silent but will simply have to remain in Pakistan?

If this case is actually ever heard in a courtroom, it is ever mounting proof that our country is being run by a very powerful yet pampered, insulated, and naive klan. Not a good combination when attempting to fight a global war on terror. If true, we are so screwed.

Our country has done a lot in an attempt to correct horrid and shameful injustices of the past. Nearly every American first grader has internalized the words, "It doesn't matter what you look like on the outside, it only matters who you are on the inside." Our legal system has integrated schools, tried its hand at affirmative action, and generally outted racists for the morons they truly are.

Oddly enough, we now find education and guilt can be a deadly combination. We have concentrated on teaching social justice but have completely neglected teaching street smarts. Perhaps those who run our country from have had no real need for street smarts. They were raised in the safest white bread suburbs. They attended haute schools and colleges where they learned that crime was merely a symptom of society neglecting its own. Huh. I wonder how they processed the criminal convictions of Martha Stewart and Kenneth Lay. Parents probably didn't give them enough hugs. The insulated and privileged did not learn that some people actually choose to be greedy, cruel, and even evil. They admirably learned to respect all religions and accept all nationalities, but did not pick up on the fact that others were being taught to hate and to further their religious agenda by slaughtering innocent people.

Powerful naive intellectuals of this country have had it really good. The world made sense until 9/11. Then, Oh. Crap. The privileged like airplanes. They really enjoy world travel. They are insulated no more. On 9/11 those in first class and corner offices died the same gruesome deaths as those in the cattle car and janitor's closet.

Remarkably, these intellectuals remain painfully slow. How unfortunate that regular folk have to live under the leadership of bright, educated people who can't process the fact that some hate us, want to kill us, simply because we are Americans.

It is a plague. I call it Street Smart Retardation. SSR may be a legitimate addiction, illness, disease, disorder, addiction or whatever. After all, one does not choose raises them. They may have little or no control over the fact that they have been brainwashed out of balance. Have a little sympathy.

It is unfair -but necessary- that blind people not be allowed to drive. It is also unfair -but necessary- that those suffering from SSR not be allowed sit on the bench, make laws, or serve as TSA personnel.

I propose that street smarts be included as a new section on the SATs and graduate school admittance exams. Here is a sample question.

You find yourself walking alone, lost, late at night in an unfamiliar deserted neighborhood. Suddenly you see a very large man coming towards you. You notice that the whites of his eyes are yellow and glassy. He appears not to have bathed for weeks. You notice the handle of a gun sticking out of the waistband of his jeans. This person also happens to be African American. In response:

A. You assume that this guy is dangerous, has hepatitis and a substance abuse problem. You think it is possible that he might rob you or worse. You turn around and run in the opposite direction as fast as you possibly can.

B. You are not sure if this guy is good or bad. Maybe he is just homeless and hungry and intends you no harm. Nonetheless, as he nears you make sure your finger is on the trigger of your mace... just in case.

C. This poor man is one of God's beloved creatures, a member of the human race just like yourself. Maybe he lost his job as a corporate executive at IBM last week in the last round of job cuts. Maybe his job was outsourced to India. Poor thing. He was likely abused and neglected as a little boy. Now the pitiful bloke is downtrodden and homeless. Hey! Maybe he can give you good directions! As he nears closer, you grab your wallet. You want to give him some cash for a hot meal.

Lolly's Got It Right

Someone tell me. If it is okay for insurance companies to profile in order to secure profits, why can't airlines profile in order to save lives? A teenage boy pays more for car insurance than a forty something, married soccer mom. Such rates are based on statistics, not personal habits. Well, until you get into an accident or receive a speeding ticket, that is.

Muslim radicals must be laughing at us. They can count on political correctness and pathetic naive policies to assist them in carrying out their terrorism plots against us. I thought assisted suicide was illegal in this country.

I'm not Muslim or from the Middle East. Nonetheless, if (female) airport security wants to do a body cavity check or even a pelvic exam before my next flight, I will endure it. After all, it would be less invasive than being blown to bits over the Atlantic Ocean.

Instead of calling it "The War on Terror" it should be named "The War to Continue and Embrace American Stupidity."

Someone Check. Are Bill's Eyes Permanently Crossed?

Yup. Billy fell off the wagon and has been playing with his thingy again. I don't think Bill understands why it is so hard for his regular readers to cope with his nasty habit of frequently changing his blog format.

Bill, remember the contrived "New Coke" controversy? Imagine if Nestle announced it would begin adding raisins to all Hershey bars. What if the Wall Street Journal started dotting i's with a big bubbly hearts? What if District 150 announced it was going to take over ancient Glen Oak Park, cover it in asphalt, and place a big, ugly, new fangled institution there? Oh, yeah. That's right...

This is Peoria, Dude. We despise change. Now knock it off before it falls off!

Lies, Damned Lies, and Blogging

Polly is in a state of flux. Re-evaluating my place in blog world you might say.

There is a lot going on in the world that I would love to blog on. For starters, Thank God the ACLU doesn't have any pull in Britain. How did British authorities ascertain imminent terrorist attacks via air planes? Wide spread intelligence gathering. Keeping in mind the alleged terrorists were targeting international American flights, I think every U.S. citizen owes a big "Thank you and God Save the Queen" to the diligence and common sense of the British government.

Ah... but I digress. What I wanted to write about was the minor controversy swirling about my blog and the numerous pictures I have posted and the false claims as to my identity. I'm not going to justify anything. Dishonesty and fantasy has been repeatedly implemented on PollyPeoria by its author. My attitude has been, "It's just a blog. It's supposed to be fun. I can post anything that I find amusing and represent myself as anything/one that I believe my twelve devoted readers will find amusing." I really didn't think anyone would take an anonymous blog too seriously. There are upscale, upstanding, responsible, professional blogs out there. This just isn't one of them.

Some of the devoted twelve have e-mailed me to disagree. Since I have come to respect a few of them, I'm reconsidering my attitude, my blogging ethics, and whether or not to remain anonymous. I have to remain anonymous due to work and personal relationships that I hold dear. So the real question is whether or not to remain anonymous or remain at all. Well, whether PollyPeoria should remain at all, that is.

I've underestimated how much I've come to enjoy venting by blog. It has been a healthy experience. I have really come to appreciate what I consider to be blogging's biggest perk: My quirky opinions and my tendency to debate endlessly now only annoy those who choose to read PollyPeoria. Those who choose to be annoyed. I no longer (unknowingly) verbally assault people at bars and cocktail parties. My significant other no longer dreads taking me out in public or to social functions. I have been slow to learn that not everyone enjoys heated political discussions, and some even get their feelings hurt when confronted about their views and beliefs. Imagine that!

I've been a bit surprised as to how strongly some folks feel about the false pics and my fantasy identity. I apologize. I never considered myself a journalist and in my -admittedly- odd world, I didn't think I was being unethical. I figured as long as I wasn't downloading anything artsy, copywrited or trying to make people believe I was seriously Scarlet Johansson, morally I was in the clear. I have attempted to protect my identity, true, but I have also tried to create an identity that makes clear who I am not. Every now and then I will get an e-mail that says something to the effect, "Because of your opinions on ________, everyone at work thinks I'm PollyPeoria and is giving me a hard time. I think PollyPeoria is an idiot and I wish you would post the fact that you- whoever you are, Dumbass- is not _____________." I am sympathetic to those falsely accused of being me. I mean Polly. So, occasionally I have posted a fantasy piece with the purpose of building up my alter identity and also makes it clear that Polly could simply not be George Bush, because George Bush would never mud wrestle. Well, maybe he would, but he would get his ass kicked.

Some folks keep things simple. Back and white. They are who they are and they would never dream of misrepresenting themselves on a blog. Nothing wrong with that, admirable even. I insulted a few of these people by not adhering to the same high standards of transparency. For that, alone, I apologize. Not for being transparent, but because I didn't mean to insult anyone. I simply believe(d?) that it was okay to employ falsehoods on something I never meant to have been taken too seriously.

The problem is that I did have quite a few serious posts that I did want taken seriously. I have blogged on some fairly weighty issues, and certainly didn't want my posts on abortion, gay marriage, or the war in Lebanon to be taken as jokes. I didn't think co-mingling the serious with the silly -meant to misrepresent my identity- as a problem. I thought the divisions between serious and silly were obvious. I have been informed that they weren't.

So Polly is pondering. Even know it all Polly can be wrong. Maybe. I guess. Sorta.

What Polly REALLY Looks Like...

You asked for it. You have no one to blame but yourselves.

Passion of the Pathetic

I admit it. I'm a Mel Gibson fan. Not huge or anything. In fact, I've never seen Braveheart or even Mad Max. I did see Passion of the Christ and was impressed that such a solid film was directed by a celeb who starred in all those cop action flicks. I don't think I've seen any of those either. As celebs go, I've always put Gibson in the Good Guy column. He comes off as a nice guy. He's been married to the same woman forever, and has something like a gazillion kids. Plus, he is easy on the eyes. Although Mel's years of smoking have caught up with him. Well, his skin anyway. He's got that turkey neck thing going on. As usual, I digress.

Mel is sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry so sorry for anti Semitic comments he made during his DUI arrest last weekend. He now wants Jewish leaders to meet with him to discuss what is required for Mel to "heal." That's all well and good, I guess, if he is sincere and not just trying to retrieve his career out of the crapper.

What gets me is that Gibson seems to regret his words more than his actions. That is, he is more bothered by his claim, "Jews start all the wars in the world" than he regrets getting behind the wheel of car drunker than a skunk, and driving 80 m.p.h. in a 45 m.p.h. zone. Yes, I know Gibson blames the "disease of alcoholism" and I don't doubt that he qualifies as an alcoholic. I just think Mel and the media should be as concerned that Gibson actually committed an act that could have easily gotten innocent people killed. Maybe if I wrote he committed an act that could have gotten innocent Jewish people killed, my point would be better made. I'm not Jewish, and I freely admit that if Mel had said something rude about women or my religion, I would be pissed- but not as pissed as I would be about the drunk driving.

Gibson's words were both hateful and shameful. However, more fuss is being made over his words (by both the media and Mel) than his CRIME. Like it or not, racist speech is constitutionally protected. This is America. You are free to be an ignorant ass if you want to. Driving in a manner that could have plunged a family off Highway One and into the Pacific Ocean deserves a little jail time. Mel is a repeat offender when it comes to driving drunk. I can buy alcoholism is a disease that is difficult to control. However, I don't buy that one has an addiction to driving while drunk. If Mel could string a bunch of anti Semitic remarks as well as drive a speeding car, I think he was capable of using a phone and a credit card and calling for a taxi.

I really hope Mel gets his meeting and healing with Jewish leaders... while behind bars.