REBEL DAD: ‘I’m Not Going To Be Shamed Into Silence Because I’m Christian, White, And Straight’

ClashDaily.com reader, Ron Burns, wrote the following Facebook manifesto giving his acquaintances a big heads up to the fact that he’s not going to go silently into the politically correct night. Check it out…

Please allow me to take a moment to apologize in advance to all of my Facebook friends.

I have friends that are pastors, attorneys, entrepreneurs, medical professionals, technology professionals … and friends who are hard working blue collar men/women, tradesmen/women, servicemen/women, and homemakers. I have friends who never graduated high school, and friends who hold multiple doctoral degrees. I have friends that I’ve known since the 2nd grade, and friends that I’ve met only in recent months. I have friends who are liberal, conservative, libertarian, and anarchists. I have friends who are gay, who are straight, who are old, young and in between, with kids and without kids, married, single, divorced, remarried, it’s complicated, etc. I have friends who are atheists, agnostic, Jewish, Christian, buddhist, new-agers, and “meh, whatever.” I say this not to brag, but rather to make the point that if you are a FB friend of mine, you are someone that I actually know, have actually talked to or gotten to know indirectly on more than just on a superficial level, and that I feel I have something in common with.

Those of you who know me well – or haven’t blocked my posts from your feed yet – know that I’m opinionated. I like to think that it is not just a blind opinionation, but one that is principled, intellectually honest, based on fact and logic and reason, and one that is open to conflicting points of view – if those points of view are also based on fact and reason, and can withstand scrutiny and debate.

I have to confess, however, that I’ve had it – something inside me has snapped. I’ve had it with political correctness, with staying silent for fear of being considered a bigot, a sexist, a racist, a homophobe, a Bible-thumper, an elitist, or whatever other perjorative is thrown at someone who bucks the pervasive PC culture, and dares to step out of the keep-your-mouth-shut-because-you-can’t-possibly-understand corner of shame and silence that Christian, straight, white, middle-aged males are supposed to embrace in America today. I have just as much skin in the game – maybe not more, but certainly no less – as anyone else does.

Even though you may have – previously – considered me to be quite vocal and opinionated, I want to give you fair warning that I’m taking the gloves off. My posts are comments are going to be more raw, more real, and more challenging … I’m going to call BS where I see BS, going to question false premises and flawed assumptions, going to question things that are factually incorrect or dubious, and – most of all – going to call out ignorance, intellectual inconsistency and hypocrisy in the things that others post. I encourage and challenge you to do the same with the things that I post.

I don’t intend to be – nor will I be – hateful, spiteful or mean-spirited. If I am, then call me on it … I will sincerely apologize. If I’m not being any of those things, however, and I nevertheless offend you or upset you, then don’t expect an apology from me. Instead, look at what it is that I’ve posted that has offended/upset you, and ask yourself why.

This may seem odd to a lot of you, but to me it makes perfect sense. Up until now, I’ve seen and read a lot of pure manure that is posted under the guise of being issue-oriented, and decided not to comment or respond because it wasn’t worth it to me. I would think about the subject being someone’s “pet” cause, or about how it didn’t really pertain to me, and choose to not engage so as not to ruffle any feathers with my view on the matter. This way of thinking was influenced by “open-minded” people who “de-friended” me because I did nothing more than simply express an opinion that was different than theirs.

Now, I realize that those of you who are really my friends, even if we completely disagree, will still be my friends – and that those of you who are not really my friends will sort it out on your own. Pushing 50 years old, having 4 kids and a wife who mean the world to me, and seeing the world – especially the nation that I grew up in – going to hell in a handbasket has made me realize that every one of us (even Christian, straight, white, middle-aged males) has to make their voice heard, and stop being cowed into silence and/or acceptance by society’s thought police. I’m sick and tired of single-issue fringe groups, who represent a radical and statistically insignificant percentage of our Nation’s citizens, shouting down and demonizing anyone who disagrees with or challenges them. I’m tired of seeing good people being savaged and having their lives ruined for the thought-crime of simply standing up for their beliefs without bringing any harm to anyone else. I’m tired of seeing good people run for elected office only to be slimed by those who are already covered in it. If every single issue, every single aspect of life in America, is to be made into a “War” … then war they shall have.

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” (Edmund Burke)

Ephesians 5:10-14