[Op-Ed By Yossi Gestetner]
Yes, I said it: The United States of America as it is today has in a lot of ways gone crazy. No, this is not an attack on President Obama or on the Democrat-controlled Washington. It is simply a review of what the USA has come to, some things under the banner of freedom and democracy.
Here is a partial list:
• Way back we knew that Americans have equal rights. Somehow today, equality means Women First.
• Civil Rights were transformed into Affirmative Action, and have brought endless instances of Reverse Discrimination.
• Freedom of Speech is your right as long as someone does not take you to court for libel, defamation, or go figure whatever crazy law lawmakers on all levels of governments voted into the books since before 1789.
• Way back, Americans knew they had the right of privacy. In these days, however, under the banner of Freedom, everything needs to be made public record, including any Police-reported domestic dispute or traffic arrest you once had. Go figure where your privacy disappeared.
• Officially you have s right of self-defense. But… when using this right make sure not to go too far, because you might land up in jail as a result of a government prosecution against you, or you will likely get sued for millions as a result of assault charges brought to you by the person who intruded your property and privacy.
• It is illegal to write a check today, dated for today, if there is not enough money in the bank to cover it. Yet, in 2009, US banks will earn a total of $40 billion-plus in over-draft fees, including banks that charge you $35 for over-drafting despite that they don’t cover your check.
• Under the name of a “right to choose,” discovered by the courts only close to 200 hundred years after the Bill of Rights was written, doctors may do a procedure on a fetus that others get charged with murder if they do the same. Yes America: Decide if destroying a fetus is a matter of choice, or a matter of murder.
• If you are a Navy SEAL who arrested a terrorist that killed, mutilated, and hung on a bridge American contractors in Iraq, you might stand trial on assault charges for punching this madman in his face. Worse, your own Department of Defense will lead the charges against you. Not enough? If you didn’t commit this act, yet you didn’t report your colleague either (same goes if you don’t want to give up information to the government about a criminal family member), you can be charged with “aiding and abetting” a criminal.
I am certain that more things might come to mind regarding where America has gone crazy, a craziness which is mostly rooted in political correctness, and/or pure stupidity.
NOTE: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of YWN.
To read more from and about Yossi, visit www.yossigestetner.com.(Yossi Gestetner – YWN)
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18 Responses
You are correct, America has become a CRAZY country. The country has turned so “PC” and there is no doubt “PC” is KILLING THE USA!!
Furthermore, what Congress is doing with this spending is criminal. If they would have been in a real business they would have been out of business or in jail. And, leave Pres Bush out of it. Granted he wasn’t a financial conservative, he cant be blamed for everything AND just because he approved 1m in spending doesnt make it right for the Obama to spend over 1T!!
only in America can an editorial publish certain views and then write a disclaimer stating “NOTE: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of the publisher.” ; )
Happy Thanksgiving.
# 1 and 2, can you please give some exemples where and why this is a Purim piece, based on uneducation?
I agree with the writer. very good points made.
This is possibly the most poorly-reasoned “op-ed” I have ever read on this site — and that’s saying something, because poorly-reasoned op-eds are the rule, not the exception here.
First: “Civil Rights were transformed into Affirmative Action, and have brought endless instances of Reverse Discrimination.” — that is such a blanket, gross mischaracterization of Civil Rights gains.
Second: “Way back we knew that Americans have equal rights. Somehow today, equality means Women First.” I know most Orthodox Jews don’t really believe in the equality of the sexes, but the “Women First” comment is pure nonsense.
I’d keep going on and on. But, and I say this with the utmost respect — if you don’t like what America is, for whatever unsubstantiated reasons you may try to proffer, why don’t you leave?
Hey , Flatbusher ! Why dont u answer at least one of his points ?!! Huh ?! Why a navy seal is brought to trial for punching a terrorist ?!! I dont know ’bout his education but I could definitely say a thing or two about yours !
I think all the real crazy stuff is missing from the list…
Uh, Mr. Johnson,
Glad you think you know what Orthodox Jews believe in regarding equality of the sexes. In case you’d prefer to be educated rather than bigoted, I’ll inform you that Orthodox Judaism in particular believes in equality; different roles, though, which may be confusing to you.
And no, perhaps it’s better you don’t “go on and on”, because your canards are frankly boring. However, lets rephrase your last sentence: if you don’t like what YWN permits as op-ed’s, why don’t you find other venues in which to participate?
Why don’t you go drop white phosphorous on innocent children?
This is an excellent article.
Somebody just planted numbers 1 and 2 for a joke; anybody can see that this article hits the nail on the head.
I loved the one about overdraft fees.
YWN editor if you write “the veiws of this editorial is not necessary ” would have been a better disclaimer
To Yossi G.,
You forgot a big one. In spite of all the advances in civil rights, the largest group being dicriminated against is religious people; namely religious accommodation in employment (including frum people). Before all the libs start screaming at me, this is based on fact, not my opinion. Even though our congress has time and again put forth laws to protect religion in the workplace, it has not withstood the litmus test of the courts. Example -TWA vs. Hardison. Even though this case, does allow for accommodation and courts have upheld it in other parts of the country, in the East Coast where most of the libs are, I don’t know of more than one case winning, everything else is undue hardship acc. to the Courts. The libs find a way to discriminate against religious people more than conservatives. If you look at this objectively, not with your skewed liberal glasses, even if you agree with the Supreme Court (which I don’t) in TWA, how is it possible that in the 2nd & 3rd circuits that the exception is the rule and not the exception? In other words, how could we have so many undue hardships for all these companies? This isn’t reality -only pure systematic discrimination.
To Mr. Johnson,
I would gladly leave -if the Courts will repent and order the companies that have discriminated against me to pay me all the money that is due me acc. to the laws written in our US legislation, so I can afford to leave.
I find it ironic that you are so ignorant of the American legal system that you sarcastically dismiss the legal origins of the ‘right to choose’ (which I incidentally believe is wrong) yet you seem to labor under the delusion that the right to privacy wasn’t created in the exact same way. You have a couple things in your article that weren’t _absolute_ nonsense. I applaud your critical thinking skills. You are truly an inspiration to us all.
America truly has gone crazy if someone with a second-grader’s knowledge of grammar can be expected to be taken seriously when he posts a so-called “op-ed” piece online.
Mr. Johnson,
I think you mistakenly stumbled onto the wrong website. Your offensive comments are not wanted here, and the white phosphorous reference is juvenile at best.
to # 17: This Yossi guy (if it is his real name) writes the following on his blog:
“p.s. while enjoying my writings, readers might come across grammar (or perhaps some spelling) mistakes. Please understand that besides the fact the I don’t have editors and proof readers to review my writings here, I also try to post writings as soon I can in order for the readers to have them at the first chance possible. As a result, I don’t sepnd much time double checking for grammar and spelling mistakes. Therfore, dear reader:focus on the content, enjoy it, and ask others to read it when and if you find my writings interesting.”
to me it looks that he knows his shortcoming in writing. at least his content is great.
charliehall,
From what I see you post here, you are among the last people to preach about Judaism.
Bottom line is, these charges should be dropped. As long as they arent, Barach Hussein Obama mmm mmm mmm and his hentchman AG Holder are the ones responsible.
Johnson these kids are being trained to kill you. The adults that hide out with them are hunting to kill kids. In order to kill the adults that are hunting to kill kids some of the kids that are being trained to kill you may get killed before they kill you. And you believe these adults that hide out with the kids that white phosphorus is thrown on them and you believe that they are not trying to kill kids only adults and that the kids are being trained to kill others not you. Then who are you? I don’t believe you.
I have to agree with much of what #20, charliehall, points out about the Op Ed. Stripped of the historical and legal context, the Op Ed writer, Mr. Gestetner, made a number of errors and over simplified how gov’t and the legal system work.
As for #21, Mr. Levin, I have to point out that charges against the SEAL members are neither (1) the first charges of this type brought against members in the military or (2) under the purview of AG Holder [the SEALs are held to the standard of the Code of Military Conduct and are being processed by the Judge Advocate General and the Courts Martial system, not the civilian Dep’t of Justice].