“They who are without sin should heave the first stones.” The Man probably doesn’t mind your taking liberties with His language since the message is accurate. Only He may take issue with your belief that, of all the Godly lessons, this one needs a fat asterisk. You see, if you take His admonition at face value, you must avoid the blame game at all costs. Well, with all due respect, you’re not buying it. Especially now. The foundations of this exquisitely conceived nation have suffered serious fractures. Somebody’s to blame for the financial meltdown and the rush to Socialism. Identifying the culprits should be easy. Then we need to collect a mountain of stones and throw the hell out of them. Here’s a plan: strip away the guiltless and what’s left over are the guilty. Ingenious, no? The guiltless fall into a huge camp. These are the individuals who sustain themselves and/or their families. They prepare themselves to do something productive. They always work and live within their means. They incur productive debt only for essential goals and always manage that debt. They shun unproductive debt like the plague. They repudiate drugs. Along the way, they build nest eggs, pay taxes, cheat no one, ask for nothing and patriotically support their communities and country. Routinely, they are depicted as nerds, prudes or puritans. Routinely, they are square, un-cool. Hollywood despises and ridicules this dull group. Naturally it would. The guilty are everyone else. They are members of the Instant Gratification Society who never admit it. They care more about appearances than substance. They happily go on the hook for Caribbean cruises but bitterly resent the cost of health insurance. Millions of these respectable citizens engage in the use of recreational drugs that support the multi-billion dollar trafficking trade that in turn ruins millions of lives. They have their electronic toys, slick wheels, lattes, fancy digs and fancier duds; and they owe for most of it. They, more than anyone else, are responsible for a nation saddled by debt. Yes, they were lured by easy credit, bewitching ads and the envy of all things cool; but nobody forced them to slop at the trough. But if consumers deserve a few years of hardship for their guilt, most of our Senators and Representatives, current and past, deserve nothing less than a firing squad. They had it in their power to abide by the Constitution and prohibit the Federal Government’s interference with the banking business in the name of social engineering. Presidents may promote dumb ideas but the greatest fault begins and ends with Congressional malfeasance. Typically, ignorant Americans by the millions blame the banks and big business because some businessmen are crooks. They happen to be just like some of the crooks in churches, charitable organizations and city halls. But ignorant, spoiled Americans have to hate someone; so with Hollywood’s and CNN’s help they blame the captains of industry and other “fat cats” who are more responsible than anyone for this country’s great achievements, standard of living and philanthropic triumphs. Surely, everyone knows the fat cats could never be so incredibly successful and wealthy unless they were crooks, right? So let’s blame the very people who create the jobs. That makes a lot of sense, Martha. Don’t blame the politicians because all of us know they are selfless public servants who earn every dime of their meager salaries, pitifully small kickbacks and lifetime retirement packages. We have laws to protect the people from crooks in the streets and crooks in ivory towers, but we have no laws to protect us from the parasites in Congress and paid bureaucrats who suck up and squander American taxes to meddle where they rightly have no jurisdiction. In the end, of course, millions of brainless Americans continue to put the same charlatans back in office. And like teenaged zombies at a rock concert, we swoon at the unctuous, evangelical rhetoric of a new demagogue who feeds on our fears and ask us to behave like good little sheep. Well, things could be worse. If Jim Jones were the candidate, we would need an oil tanker full of cyanide. It’s definitely time to find a smooth, flat river rock.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” MLK said a lot of things that suited his purpose, but these words will ring loud and clear on November 4, 2008. Because on that day, Dr. King, just a smidgen under 100 percent of all “black” citizens will vote for a “black” candidate, proving that this candidate will be judged primarily by the color of his skin, regardless of his character or lack of it. You doubtless view this assertion as a racist observation. How true. Racism and prejudice have never been more robust. On election day, tens of millions of “white” people will vote for a “black” candidate. Conversely, only a handful of “blacks” will vote for the “white” dude. You do the racist math. Regardless of the outcome, we should do something about race terminology. Black people aren’t really black. They’re some shade of brown. White people aren’t really white (except perhaps for Icelanders), but fall into shades of pink or tan. For years, there were accepted terms for race designation: Asian, Negro, Caucasian, Indian, etc, etc. But black people didn’t like the term Negro (derived from the Latin niger, i.e. black) even though historically it was a term of deep respect. Caucasian is out of use as well; so you see, Dr. King, the color of skin is now the approved designation. Carrying this inquest further, you would have to say black genes are superior to white genes. In America, if a black father and a white mother have a child, the child is black. If a white father and a black mother have a child, the child is black. Under any circumstance, no matter how far removed from the land of origin of one parent, the child is African–American. You must admit we increasingly have become a land of hyphenated people. Being an American now is not what it once was for the hordes of immigrants who passed Ellis Island and other immigration centers. They also had dreams, Dr. King: to be American citizens and speak English. Nobody called them Blank–Americans and they enthusiastically adopted their new language. But times change. Multiculturalism is the new order of things. As ancestral cultures flourish in the form of zealous organizations and political movements, a united America diminishes. English is not the default language. Western culture is not the default culture. And race takes center stage. If you’re interested, you get a glimpse of the future of multiculturalism at penitentiaries where gangs organize along racial lines and all members judge their neighbors by the color of their skin; and to be fair, by their origins. Congress may want to consider a name change to go along with the trend. One naturally comes to mind — The Hyphenated States of North America. And when somebody asks you who you are, recite your color. It will be up to them to decide if you have character.

Some people want to take what belongs to others. In a nutshell, that’s the basis of all conflict among humans. If individuals the world over would respect the rights of other individuals — in other words, leave them and their property alone — things would be just fine, thank you. But some humans can’t bring themselves to allow others their liberty. We call these humans The Controllers. In one way or another, Controllers are predators. They take what doesn’t belong to them. They steal through force and deception. Except for Nature’s pestilence — weather and disease — all human despair is the work of Controllers. Who are these people? They’re all around you. The honest ones are The Marauders who take risks.These are the outright criminals — murderers, batterers, thieves, rapists, terrorists, cheats and the like. The prisons are full of these individuals and millions more of them walk around undetected. Without them, we would need the police only to catch innocent speeders and handle the carnage on our highways. The Legislators are predators who make laws allowing governments to steal money from one individual and give it to another. This practice is not called slavery because The Legislators are elected. But however you slice it, governments confiscate the wages (labor) of The Producers under the threat of imprisonment. Involuntary servitude did not end in 1865. The Carnivores are the millions of individuals who willingly and knowingly encourage The Legislators to steal more and more of the earnings of ordinary citizens. Under the guise of government respectability, The Carnivores steal from their neighbors, families and friends and feel perfectly justified in doing so. Perhaps the worst of Controllers are The Dictators. These ultimate criminals, with the backing of an army of Marauders, confiscate material resources and enslave people through fear of incarceration or death. Quickly, the Mafia comes to mind. The Controllers come in all sexes, sizes, races and religious persuasions. They are rich and poor and ethnically diverse. But they share one thing in common — the determination to plunder what is not theirs. In the natural order of things, The Carnivores, like locusts or leeches, always grow in number. They enthusiastically give power to The Legislators who, as payment for power, do their bidding. The Producers — or prey — are the slaves. They are rich and poor and ethnically diverse. But they share certain things in common — the determination to work, fend for themselves and place no burden on their neighbors. But, at the point of a gun, they turn over much of what they earn to The Controllers. Who are these people? Think about it.