The Whiner Line

Here at Cheeze Blog HQ we occasionally get forwarded emails containing urban legends, tasteless jokes, and sometimes a scabrous right-wing screed or two. While unpleasant, most of them pass quickly into our memory like a sunflower seed that we realized too late was bad.

But this particular one would not go quietly, and so I was moved to respond. It is one in a series of what I call right-wing whines, complaints by people who have 99 percent of things going for them and still choose to spend their time bellyaching about that other 1 percent.

Here's the email:

Story in Tampa Newspaper

Will we still be the Country of choice and still be America if we continue to make the changes forced on us by the people from other countries that come to live in America because it is the Country of Choice??????

Think about it...

All I have to say, is when will they do something about MY RIGHTS? I celebrate Christmas, but because it isn't celebrated by everyone, we can no longer say Merry Christmas. Now it has to be Season's Greetings. It's not Christmas vacation, it's Winter Break. Isn't it amazing how this winter break ALWAYS occurs over the Christmas holiday? We've gone so far the other way, bent over backwards to not OFFEND anyone, that I am now being offended !! But it seems that no one has a problem with that??

This says it all!

This is an editorial written by an American citizen, published in a Tampa newspaper He did quite a job; didn't he? Read on, please!

IMMIGRANTS, NOT AMERICANS, MUST ADAPT.

I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Americans. However, the dust from the attacks had barely settled when the "politically correct" crowd began complaining about the possibility that our patriotism was offending others.

I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to America. Our population is almost entirely made up of descendants of immigrants. However, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand. This idea of America being a multicultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Americans, we have our own culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle. This culture has been developed over centuries ! of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.

We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society, learn the language!

"In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.

If Stars and Stripes offend you, or you don't like Uncle Sam, then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet. We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don't care how you did things where you came from. This is OUR COUNTRY, our land, and our lifestyle. Our First Amendment gives every citizen the right to express his opinion and we will allow you every opportunity to do so! But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag, our pledge, our national motto, or our way of life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great American freedom, THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.

It is Time for America to Speak up
If you agree -- pass this along;
if you don't agree -- delete it!

AMEN

I figure if we all keep passing this to our friends
(and enemies) it will also, sooner or later
get back to the complainers, lets all try,
please

What in the world is this guy talking about? We can no longer say "Merry Christmas?" Where? When? And what is wrong with calling it "Winter Break?" That's what they called it when I was in school, in the 1980s, and it didn't interfere with my celebration of Christmas.

I will never understand why supposedly devout, religious people continually want the government to help them observe their religion. Is their faith really so fragile that if the public school stops calling it "Christmas Vacation," then they are just unable to go on believing?

Or maybe they are just the type of people who just like to complain a lot. Like the guy who wrote the piece for the Tampa Newspaper. I did a bit of research on him at snopes.com:http://www.snopes.com/rumors/american.htm Turns out the article was originally written by Air Force veteran Barry Loudermilk and was originally published in 2001 in his local Georgia newspaper, The Bartow Trader

I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that Barry Loudermilk is a white guy. A white American man living in the year 2001. Which makes him luckier than 99.99% of all the humans who have ever lived on this planet. And all this guy can do is COMPLAIN about what a pain in the neck it is to live in a country where not everyone does things exactly the way he does.

This dude is apparently annoyed when he hears people speaking a language other than English. My question is, What could it possibly matter to you what language other people are speaking? Why in the world would you need to know the content of someone else's conversation? I have never understood why this bothers people so much.

"In God We Trust" as our national motto. Again with the need for the government helping people to pray. Doesn't that strike you as a bit odd? I mean, shouldn't religious faith come from within, or with help from the clergy, and not have to be cheered on by the government? Is this guy saying that if we took "In God We Trust" off of the coins that all of a sudden people would stop trusting in God? Not much of a religious faith there, I'd say.

The reason some people get upset about things like "In God We Trust" on coins is the same reason that the Founding Fathers were sure to add the First Amendment to the Constitution, which reads in part: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

In any case, there's no chance that "In God We Trust" is going to be taken off of any coins. This issue has been decided over and over by the Courts and it's going to stay. So relax!

More from Mr. Loudermilk: "If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture."

This is just silly. I'm supposed to move to another country because I don't believe in God? Come on. More than 90% of Americans believe in God. Isn't that enough? Again, is your faith in God so fragile that you just cannot tolerate the thought that there might be one or two people in this country who don't share your religious beliefs?

The last paragraph is the funniest, because after Loudermilk gets done complaining about all the non-English-speaking athiests, he tells everyone else to stop complaining and leave the country. But the only one complaining, as far as I can see, is Loudermilk himself. He doesn't like foreign languages. He doesn't like people to say "Season's Greetings" instead of "Merry Christmas." He doesn't like people who don't like "Uncle Sam" -- as if the cartoon character "Uncle Sam" was the be-all end-all of what it means to be an American.

Once again, this guy is apparently a white, male, Christian American. Just like 90% of the Fortune 500 CEOs, 90% of the Senate, 90% of the House of Representatives, and 100% of all the Presidents we've ever had. In other words, in terms of the history of the world, he is the top dog, the king of the hill. And yet it's not enough. He will not rest until every annoying person in his purview is ejected from the country. Well, cry me a river, Mr. Loudermilk. There are billions of people who would gladly change places with you just for the chance to put up with the insufficiently religious or patriotic people and the other petty annoyances that apparently come your way on a daily basis.

One could say so much more, particularly about the childish "agree or delete" message that often accompanies these little missives, but I'm tired now.