The cost is participation

by Mike Crouse, Publisher

Every few years we citizens have the opportunity to make a judgment, and have a say by casting their vote and electing our representatives, senators, and leadership of our individual states and our nation. By voting we are actively taking the most visible step of participation in our political process, exercising our individual prerogative and making a judgment on the direction our government's policy should undertake in the immediate future, which in turn has a direct effect on each of our lives. Yet in spite of the undeniable importance of this process, the past few decades we've witnessed a decided decline not only in simple act of voting, but in participation in the process at all, in the mistaken belief that ignoring that reality absolves you of responsibility. Nothing could be further from the truth.

For all the whining, complaining, and blame for the gaggle in Washington DC, and at individual state houses, who produce the sausage that is legislation, and "craft" that legislation into the rules and regulations that affect all of us, we in fact are getting what those who participate have given us: we got what we asked for, even those who leave the hard work to others. Those who sit in the wings ignoring or not wishing to "dirty their hands" in the political process have in fact enabled the radical fringe and political back room hustlers unfettered control by surrendering their control, along with another small piece of our own freedom by remaining silent.

We've changed substantially as a nation over the past forty years as well we should, changing as the world around us changes, gaining on some fronts, and substantially sliding on others, and in the end we've managed to steer the general public's sentiment away from participation and as a whole, avoiding conflict. There is a segment of society, which would hail this as a great gain for civility, and a move towards greater tolerance and overall understanding... but they were and are wrong.

Our form of government comes at a cost beyond the obvious dollars in cents we wrangle over on public spending, and taxation: that cost, that obligation, is vigilance in the form of actively participating in the process whether you like it or not. When founding father Benjamin Franklin was asked at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention in 1787 what had been created, he replied, "A republic, if you can keep it." Not a democracy, not a democratic republic, but a republic, "...if you can keep it." Keeping it requires participation, having an opinion, taking a side, making a judgment and being actively involved.

But over the past several decades rather than encourage debate, and striving for excellence, we've inexplicably shifted towards the milk-toast mind set to the embrace of political correctness preaching blind partial tolerance, which in fact has given us a self-censorship that stifles debate and threatens the very foundation of our own freedoms. It's an embrace of mediocrity and a loathsome entitlement mentality that's lulled our nation's institutions from vigilance to docile acceptance of others standards while they in turn show no tolerance for ideas beyond their own. It is a particularly unhealthy state of affairs when as we see in these politically correct times that the result has not been compromise but a "winner-take-all" style of legislation and public policy that is bankrupting both our nation and our character.

Embracing entitlement

Historically you have but one entitlement as a citizen: the OPPORTUNITY to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The only guarantee is for the opportunity... it is up to the individual to prepare, pursue and compete, which seems a particularly galling concept for the politically correct crowd. Yet while some subscribe to the idea of equality being coupled with entitlement, that is a new concept that by no small accident coincides with the decline of many of our institutions, not the least of which has been those areas where was must compete globally.

We'd witness the change, subtly in the 70s first in school grading for academics in the belief that competition for grades should reflect "effort" rather than achievement. Thus what had been a curve to celebrate excellence in achievement comparing you to your class, it became a subjective... and whereas there were only the top two percent would have achieved an "A" and the next 15% a "B" and the majority with a "C" denoting "average" the curve was distorted in an attempt at feel-good elevated "self-esteem." While this was presented as enlightenment, the result has been anything but, and with good reason: it does not reflect the real world, which is competitive.

The same lunacy drifts into kids sports programs as well, where the effort is to encourage entitlement and discourage the concept of competition. Thirty years ago, at season's end you'd congratulate your team on the completed season, not accomplishments, encourage hard work, the pursuit of excellence, and a better future. A decade ago as we approached the baseball season's end I had a call from a parent asking, "...what are we going to do about the trophies?" Upon light reflection I asked what seemed obvious, "Trophies for what?" The logic of this parent was, "...trophies for completing the season!" What idiocy... they had simply been there, shown up, learned, and participated. A trophy was overkill, and tarnished any sense of accomplishment, reducing a kids mindset to their being "entitled" by virtue of being alive... definitely the wrong message. I disagreed, told the entire group of parents why it was a poor idea, and they proceeded to do it anyway, adding to the dust-collection of crap in their offspring's rooms, making mom and dad feel good, and ignoring the benefits of participation and striving towards excellence.

Is it any wonder we've raised at least two, if not three, generations who embrace not only mediocrity, but entitlement, with only a hint of excellence in their mindset or vocabulary.

At the root of this cancer is the concept of political correctness, which fosters mediocrity, encourages partial tolerance, abhors free critical thinking, encourages self-censorship, criticizes judgment and ignores the realities of our competitive world under the guise of enlightenment.

As much as the "enlightened" would disagree, their PC-speak has not encouraged freedom and understanding, but discouraged a free discourse and eroded the very standards and thinking that has maintained and broadened our freedoms since our founding.

The majority of the urban public has moved far afield from Pres. Kennedy's challenge at his inaugural address: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Today's entitlement mindset would laugh, and complement each other at successfully "working the system" to full advantage, with no apparent understanding that they are directly encouraging the demise of not only their but their children's freedoms as well.

The crush of the past three years economic decline is helping dispel some of these mistaken notions and beliefs, as the reality of real-world economics comes home to roost with people losing homes, jobs, factories closing, and personal bankruptcies. We are witnessing the consequences of political correctness go awry, dumbing-down of education, embracing mediocrity, downplaying competition, and the idea everyone's entitled to everything. Those who are in a position to capitalize are countries who recognize the world is competitive, and countries such as China, and India are very ready because they've worked to compete where we are ready to sit on our haunches.

There is hope in this scenario that comes from those who understand we live in a competitive world, and must place our efforts in changing the public's attitude from entitlement, and free rides, to working hard, working smart and competing through our own embrace of excellence.

To do that we cannot be content to sit back and leave the hard work to others.

The first step is in restoring our government, and the mindset of our decision making body to finding solutions, and making the system work, and away from the "winner-takes-all" mentality. This will not come overnight and absolutely demands that we participate in the process, at the very least by voting, and preferably by being involved in campaigns and legislation both directly with your time and money, and by involvement with other organizations such as your state logging associations, and with the American Loggers Council.

We get what we deserve. When you ignore public policy, you get what others want because you've given them your freedom to choose. Be smart, be involved.

Mutual tolerance

We're inundated in the conversation over tolerance, which has gone on essentially unabated throughout my lifetime, and was made into a very public issue when John F. Kennedy ran for president in 1960, the issue then was tolerating a Catholic as our president... something most of today's populace might well find surprising. Tolerance should be respect for another's right to their point of view... a definition lost on many.

The natural resource industries have been lectured to for decades by the environmental industry on our being intolerant (amongst other perceived faults), inflexible, incapable of change, taking the stance that "...what's mine is mine, what's yours is negotiable." It's Difficult to negotiate with someone who literally has nothing to lose.

One of the sacred cows in any meaningful discussion of tolerance should be the basic premise that tolerance is a two-way street: I tolerate your beliefs and you tolerate mine. We don't have to agree, but we should be able to discuss it.

The politically correct tolerance takes a decidedly left turn from what should be. Tolerance in the lofty towers of elitist liberal America demands you're tolerating their point of view, and they're ignoring yours... after all they are right, yes? Well, at times.

We have this theme repeated time and again through the national media in their mythological unbiased reporting not only on what makes and doesn't make the news, but how those within the news are characterized. If you're a Democrat, you're simply a Democrat or a moderate. If you're a Republican, you're right wing, conservative, Christian conservative, or any number of other labels. "Just doing our job of unbiased coverage..." um, sure.

And while the current media hot button is on religious tolerance, the public policy realities as interpreted by media and presented as tolerance to the general, demands tolerance to some, promotion of the environmental religion, and contempt towards Christians. We'd suggest we follow the Bill of Right's example of tolerance to all religion, which themselves are tolerant of others, non-violent, and good citizens of the world.

It is unrealistic to be openly offensive to one party, then expect that party to tolerate your intolerant viewpoint.

In the end genuine tolerance is respect... seeking middle ground, and finding solutions everyone can live with.

Change we can live with

Pres. Obama's recent speeches reflected the same point of view, with the same promises we've heard since he began his Teflon coated campaign for the White House four years ago: light on specifics, heavy on blame, large on speaking down to his audience but prophetic on one particular point he's beaten into the ground since his entry onto the national stage: change.

"Change is coming," the President repeated, as I listened to a news clip on the radio as I was driving, which brought a big smile to me. Change indeed, and not too soon.

Political correctness is an insidious cancer on our freedoms, and used with skill by the current majority in an attempt to both silence and villain-ize their critics.

The current session of congress proceeded to shove massive policy documents through congress in a series of backroom arm twisting sessions, and side deals, demonstrating the transparency, and high ethical standards promised by Speaker Pelosi was but a rabble of meaningless words.

But the rabble has not escaped unsullied in spite of the best efforts to put lipstick on the pig and make it appear as fine art... in the end, it is a pig with lipstick, and a truly angered public has been brought into action like never before. Certainly the election's several weeks away in November, but there are any number of people involved in the process, campaigning, putting up signs, attending rallies, and most importantly generating an energy of enthusiasm to this campaign.

Finally we can agree with this president's promise that in fact, "change IS coming." Let us hope that not only the constituency of Congress is dramatically altered but the attitude is as well, towards finding solutions that work for everyone, get out of this long entrenched, "winner take all" mindset, and bring the members of congress into the same world, rules, regulations, health care and benefits they prescribe to the rest of us.